We rigged some shades for the tomatoes today.

[bvar22]

This is the first time we have ever tried this.
We don't know if this is going to help, but it has been so DAMN hot, unseasonably hot.
Glaring, hazy sun, day after day...no real rain for weeks.

We used some material that we had on hand. We originally used it for wind breaks our first year here, like the stuff on the fences at tennis courts.
If I remember correctly, it passes about 50% of the light.
We jury rigged some supports, and used wire ties.
It is not pretty, but does provide some shade during the sun directly overhead part of the day. Some plants have more shade than others, and we have some other plants that will remain unshaded, so we should be able to tell if this is helpful or not.


A couple of weeks ago when the temps crossed into the mid 90s, the tomatoes stopped making fruit, and just seemed distressed...leaves curling, slow growth, and just generally drooping even with plenty of water.

You can see that this plant (a Creole) has almost no new fruit. It has plenty of blossoms, but they simply dry up and drop off. We are used to this happening in Mid-July, but not this early.
The upper branches of this plant perked up after one day of the partial shade, so we are optimistic.

We have a couple of tomatoes that are getting close to ripe, and are waiting impatiently to begin the tomato feast.

[beac]

1. I've been shading my Early Girl with a makeshift cardboard contraption that I can rotate around as

the sun moves. Far from being "early" she's mostly been a sick and unhappy girl since I transplanted her. My various cherries & grape tomatoes, after some initial transplant shock, have been coping with the heat and are fruiting nicely now (thanks in part, I am convinced, to the miracle of Lyric's milk bath recipe-- it's almost time for their second bathing and I'm hoping that Early Girl's tiny beginnings of flowers will be helped along just like her cousins were.)

Meanwhile, I had to move my basil seedlings to part shade b/c they couldn't seem to move beyond their first set of tiny leaves. The partial respite from the punishing sun seems to have kick-started them back to growth and they are looking much better now.

If this is June, I dread what July and August have in store.

[WolverineDG]

2. I just pulled up the ones I had in full sun

they have already burned to a crisp, despite daily watering. :( Even the ones I have in morning sun/afternoon shade are turning brown where they get the most sun, but I'm hoping they can hang on until it starts cooling down again. The plants that I put in containers (which have yet to produce anything) are still green, though.

I've already picked out my NEW tomato garden spot for next year. It spends most of its time in the shade, but since it gets sun from sun up until just after noon, I think it will be the best spot in the yard to keep tomatoes going until winter.

dg

[Dover]

3. bvar, I think you will like the results. The sun is so intense and we're

headed into a solar flare phase too, which ought to heat things up even more than usual. I have sat outside and watched planes lay down line after line of 'clouds' that merge into a thin haze, like a solar blanket or sunscreen in its effect. (some argue it traps heat in the atmosphere and exacerbates the problem and disrupts photosynthesis). We've got a very active cloud seeding and weather modification program in this state, though they don't talk about it much. But it's for real. And I'm guessing that doing the same sort of protection for veggies may really help. Many around here are moving plants into well ventilated hoop houses that not only cut down on sun, but also protects the plants from grasshoppers and other aggressive hungry/thirsty critters. I imagine this practice of gardening within protected spaces like hoop houses, will only increase with global warming. I wonder if veggie plants will adjust themselves to these harsh conditions by growing thicker, tougher skins?

Geoengineering is growing and lucrative business:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=geoengineering-and-climate-change

[WhiteTara]

4. those are nice looking shades

and your garden is lovely. Your tomatoes should be happy now!