Calling Tucson/Southern Arizona Gardeners

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by desertlzbn

As for your fruit not setting I really recommend using the electric toothbrush, that has been a great help in getting fruit set for me. if you search the site there are a lot of threads about it and also there are couple videos. I would just say to you don't give up I know it's hard and frustrating, but with a little perseverance you will be able to get them to grow and produce. I know I am fighting some bugs right now but hopefully up with a little luck I will be able to get a pretty good crop this year.
I also am going to try to start plants in July to plan out in August or September, have you tried planting tomatoes in the winter yet?

The toothbrush has been he
Ping a lot since I started using it. In fact, today I noticed quite a bit of new fruit set on the larger varieties.
I may pull a couple non-performers. O'Sena Green and I can't remember the other, one I wouldn't expect.
KBX is a huge plant, was looking so good but no fruit set and it's been hit harder than any other by mites. It's on the hot side of the garden so that might explain the early size and now the mites starting at that end.
Black cherry, what a plant! Nearly 5 feet, bushy and lots of fruit set. And, I have two plants in one hole, the only hole planted this way. It's my biggest and best plant. Bigger than Sungold or Matt's Wild.
I gave a nutritious drench of bat guano, fish emulsion and seweed emulsion last night after sidedress ing with gypsum and azomite. Hoping to ease the stress of the heat, mites and help the BER on the pastes.
Maybe some aspirin spray or drench might help? They are shaded but still a touch of leaf curl.

[awillie]

I picked this Pruden's Purple this morning in Phoenix. Not many tomatoes, but some large and heavy.

[AZRuss]

Oh boy that's a beauty!! Hope it tastes as good as it looks. Nothing anywhere near that size here. Nice! (My largest tomato so far is a Solar Set at 2" diameter.)

[Tracydr]

Unbelievable. 110 called for tomorrow. What is this summer going to be like if we're already having 110s?

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by awillie

I picked this Pruden's Purple this morning in Phoenix. Not many tomatoes, but some large and heavy.

Very nice!
I've got lots of eggplants and peppers. No tomatoes as of yet.

[tuk50]

My tomatoes have leaf curl very bad this year.. I don't remember it being this hot so quick... our last frost was early April and its already over a 100 everyday ... this kind of heat usually waits till June here where I live.. also the wind with single digit humidity just frys the plants.

[desertlzbn]

I have a fair amount of fruit set, but my plants are starting to wilt and I think I am getting curly top virus. I have a handful of ripe tomatoes. The rosella was really great.

[Tracydr]

Not a good year to raise tomatoes.

[awillie]

In Phoenix I took a chance and started seed i believe in October. Transplanted to pots and earth in December. There was luck with mild temperatures. One potted Moskvich was moved in at night and had 3 set tomatoes 1st week of January. At one point she had about 50 tomatoes that had set. She is still producing 2-3 ripe tomatoes a week. The heat is hitting her hard, and I believe she is on the way out. The Pruden"s Purple are ripening fast, but only slighter faster than the birds figure out how to peck through the netting and destroy them. I planted 3 Pruden"s Purple and 4 Moskvich. Cut worms got 1.

[flyingbrass]

My first tomato to ripen this year was a Cherokee Purple. Odd. Tomatoes on Sophie's Choice should have been first, though they are finally starting to get some color. I picked 5 or 6 yesterday. They'll need a few days on the counter before tasting. The biggest from Sophie in that batch weighed 8.2 ounces. That's a huge tomato for such a little plant.

My harvest this year will be pretty pathetic. I didn't get a lot of fruit set before TYLCV put a halt to things.

In reading about neem oil, a common recommendation is to skip the products sold in the box stores and order some 100% neem oil. Dyna-Gro is one popular brand. IIRC, it is mixed 1 tablespoon to 2 quarts of water. Add a little soap (real soap, not detergent).

I think I'll wait for cooler weather to order. Heat is supposed to destroy azadirachtin.

Some new bugs showed up today on my cantaloupe. Any idea what they are? They are about an inch long.

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by tuk50

My tomatoes have leaf curl very bad this year.. I don't remember it being this hot so quick... our last frost was early April and its already over a 100 everyday ... this kind of heat usually waits till June here where I live.. also the wind with single digit humidity just frys the plants.

Mine too. This weather is horrible!
I'm voting for a high altitude transplant next year when my hubby finishes his degree! CO or New Mexico are looking better and better!

[Tracydr]

I have nothing ripe. Except eggplant and peppers. Just made baba ganouj and we had some very spicy tostadas for dinner.
My Blush tomato is starting to blush, lol. Maybe Sungold is close.
Everything else is a long, long way off. It will be a race to the death!

[desertlzbn]

I don't really mind the hot until july, at least it is cooling off at night. I just hate it when it's 99 degrees 11 o'clock pm. I went fishing on Sat. night and it was 62 at midnight

[flyingbrass]

Temp today here peaked at about 112. My tomatoes along the block fence get afternoon shade from the fence. No leaf curl. I've been watering about every second day, sometimes lightly, sometimes more.

I threw some of that cheap "garden fence" or whatever it's called over my Sophie plants. It's that green or black short plastic fence with squares sold in box stores. It provides maybe 40%ish (?) shade. I read in another thread that Tracy is using shade cloth from Harbor Freight. I'll have to check that out. BTW, when buying stuff there I always use a 20% off a single item coupon and also a coupon for whatever items they are offering free with a purchase (scissors, multimeter, screwdrivers, etc.).

[Tracydr]

Originally Posted by desertlzbn

I don't really mind the hot until july, at least it is cooling off at night. I just hate it when it's 99 degrees 11 o'clock pm. I went fishing on Sat. night and it was 62 at midnight

Spoken like an Arizonan.
I had some heat exhaustion while cleaning stalls last month. It was only 88 degrees. I'm just not tolerant of heat anymore. Too many heat injuries in the past 8 years, since moving here in Aug 04.
I actually really enjoy cold wether, snow and especially thunderstorms and rainy weather. Not nearly enough "weather" around here. I'm pretty miserable from about May 15-October.
I've lived in CO, OK, CA, WA, IA, TX and here. iA was not high on my list, it was really, really cold. ( northeastern IA) I liked everywhere else better than here.