My new tomato plants just bought the farm. It's 105 degrees

[Cleita]

in my yard and they couldn't take it, even though I watered them this morning and just now. My God it's only the end of April. What is summer going to be like?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. Jeeeeze! Where are you?

Hell? :hi:

[Cleita]

3. Near Pismo Beach in California. It's only supposed to be

around 70 or less at this time of year. Also, we are supposed to have overcast skies at this time of year, but the sun is bright and hot and not a cloud in sight. Could it be global warming is coming sooner and not later?

[Teddy_Salad]

6. "Ahhhhhh....Pismo Beach"

.

[webtrainer]

2. You in SoCal today?

90 degrees + at the beach today . . . to bad I'm in an office, workin' for the man!

[Cleita]

4. Yeah, but I like cool weather even at the beach.

Anything over 75 degrees is too hot for me and apparently tomatoes as well.

[rucky]

5. plenty of time to replant

it's still early enough in the growing season

on second thought...

is this the thread where we spout off about things we don't know about?

[TX-RAT]

7. Keep them wet

We regularly have temps in that range. They may wilt badly.

[Cleita]

8. I'm going to have to start over. I think only one is going to make it.

I'm going to try a drip thing in the containers this time.

[TX-RAT]

14. Containers might be your problem

They get unbelievably hot. Might try moving them to some shade during the middle of the day.

[tjwash]

9. I know, inland San Diego is hotter than hell too...

...I am having to water down my plants every day.

Damn global warming myth...

[sangh0]

10. Too hot for a tomato plant??

I've never heard of that. To my knowledge, tomato plants LOVE the heat. I suspect you have (had) a recently planted tomato plant, and it didn't die from the heat; It died from having it's roots dry out.

Young tomato plants haven't had the time to grow it's roots deeply into the ground and so the need to be watered regularly so it's roots don't dry out. Once it's had time to establish, it's roots grow deep so even if the first few inches of soil dries out, the roots are deep enough that it can find moisture.

If this is the case, the lesson is to water often enough that the topsoil doesn't dry up, and if it's not too hot, you should only water once a day and water deeply so it penetrates deep into the soil and not just on top (where it will evaporate). Also, mulching will help the top soil retain moisture.

[sangh0]

11. I see you have them in containers

Not the best way to go. Tomatoes like lots of soil, so if you're going to use a container, use as large (and deep) a container as possible. Use some plant food on it, too. I used to use Miracle-gro's tomato food. It's easy to use, and it does work.

[Cleita]

13. I haven't prepared their final home in the ground yet.

I have clay soil so I have to competely ammend with compost to get the soil right. I do have some five gallon pots, I think I'll use this time. Do you think that will do it with good dirt and a drip?

[sangh0]

20. Ahh, I see

the containers were temporary. I assumed you were going to be keeping then in the containers.

The important point here is that the roots must be kept wet. This is true at any age (when the root dry, the die, and without roots, the whole plant dies) but the plants are particularly vulnerable when they are young, and their roots haven't yet gone deep into the ground where it's always wet.

The drip should be OK. As long as the soil is moist it should be OK.

Plastic pots are better than clay. The plastic keeps the moisture in, while clay lets the water evaporate through it. Keep the plant somewhere where it will get shade in the noontime sun, but still get sun the rest of the day (if it's outside).

But I'm wondering why you're doing all this re-potting. Did you buy the baby tomato plants? If so, why not keep them in the house under a flourescent light until you're ready to plant? A few days in their original container won't kill them. A few days before you're ready to plant them in the ground, you can start getting them acclimated to the outdoors by setting them out for a while each day, a little longer each day. I start out with 2-3 hours around dinner (when it's not too hot or sunny) and then increase the time by starting earlier and earlier. After about 4 days, I've got them up to about 4-5 hours, and then you can plant them in the ground without shocking them too much.

Usually, I do one of two thing

1) I buy the seedlings and keep them indoors, under a flourescent until I'm ready to plant them (no repotting)

2) I plant the seeds in my basement, under flourescents. After they're two weeks old (about) I repot them in 3"-5" pots, and let them grow some more under the lights. When it's warm enough outside, I spend a few days acclimating them, and then I plant them right in the ground.

Re-potting them gives them a bit of a shock. If it's not for too long, keep them in their original pots until you can put them right in the ground.

[Cleita]

12. I had these in planters and they were weeks new.

I deep watered this morning but when I went out half an hour ago they were all wilted. I think drip irrigation for days like this should be a recipe. I truthfully wasn't expecting this heat and was taken by surprise.

[wryter2000]

15. In Oaktown

It's 90 here for the third day in a row. The tomatoes are making it, but the heat has been really hard on the beans and possibly one of my peppers. I can't stand it.

[Cleita]

18. I just checked my beans and they look iffy too.

I hope this hot spell passes and soon. My husband is ill from the heat too.

[wryter2000]

19. This happened to my beans a while back

A few years ago we had a day in early June that was 106. The beans took a beating, but they grew new leaves and ended up okay.

[Lisa]

16. are they really most sincerely dead, or just limp?

If you soak their roots with water and if they're in pots, move them into the shade (even indoors), maybe some of them can be salvaged.

Tomato plants have an amazing ability to recover from death's door. They can recover from wilting, surprisingly often ... they originated on the coasts of Ecuador/Peru, where drought is prevalent, and are hardier than some other plants (peppers and cukes, for example). I have nearly killed so many tomatoes myself!

If the sun in your yard is very harsh, have you considered a (temporary) floating cover, e.g. of cloth or light-coloured plastic? Just until they're established.

Re: the soil, there are some heirloom varieties that can do quite well in clay or even glacial till, with minimal soil alterations required. "Haida", for example (see the listings at www.seeds.ca ).

[Cleita]

17. Thanks.

I moved them in the shade and two have improved already, but I think the rest are gone. I mean they are just shriveled up and limp although I have soaked them too.

[Lisa]

22. I've found that this last-ditch remedy sometimes works ...

If the plants are fairly young, and you suspect severe root or stem damage (that is, the water just isn't reaching the cells) -- if you carefully remove them from the soil, and put as much of the plant as possible in a container of water (basin, bucket, or whatever) and then go off and leave them, it might rehydrate them enough for replanting later.

I saw my landlady do this once (after, ahem, I forgot to water our seedlings during a hot spell).

[Cleita]

24. I'll try that.

Thanks.

[Lisa]

28. good luck!

Only as a last resort, when you're pretty sure the plants will be toast anyway .... we still lost most of the ones we treated, but enough survived that we didn't have to start from scratch.

You probably already know this, being an experienced tomato person -- bury part of the stem and the plant grows new roots there, so it's possible to force a damaged transplant to produce a fairly extensive root system ... one lady I know used to lie the plant down in a trench and bury most of it. She said the soil in her garden was mostly rock, and it saved having to dig a deep hole for transplants.

***i see that "dweller" has commented on this too. The lady who showed me said that the unburied top of the plant would "stand up by itself" as it grew, so no need to twist it upright ... and she was proven correct!

Given enough time, even damaged plants can recover enough to produce fruit. In your part of the country, you have a pretty long growing season, so I imagine that trying to get your tomatoes to produce before September frosts won't be a concern.

[dweller]

29. while i was busy writing/diagramming, etc

you got in the point in a succinct line or two. :)

trenching works wonders!
dp

edit: Lisa, my plants always grow out the top of 5 foot cages by a foot or two, i really think trenching is the way to go.
dp

[cally]

21. Are you sure they are dead

I grew tomatoes in Sacramento and it routinely got over 100. Many times I noticed droopy tomatoes and I would water them and they would be fine by morning. See what happens. You may have a different variety that does better in cooler weather. I killed one plant thus far by overwatering. :eyes:

[Cleita]

26. They look pretty hopeless but I'm going to try the soaking in

water trick just mentioned.

[Lefty48197]

23. It snowed in Michigan today

but we don't plant stuff until May when the danger of frost has pretty much passed.

[Cleita]

25. No fear of frost here.

:-) Snow sounds nice right now.

[dweller]

27. if you are going to use containers

the wider the better, 5 gallon buckets i wouldn't recommend. wide ones are costly, but will help.

If you are going for ground planting, try this. Bury the whole plant in a 4-6 inch deep trench except the last 3-4 inches (top leaves and stem) and turn that up out of the trench you bury the plant in. That way the whole plant under ground becomes like a root system, and more roots spread will have more water gathering capability. Leave any leaves on the plant, they will develop roots too.

I purposely let my plants get 'leggy' for this reason. I plant in 2 rows, and have all the bottoms of the plants of two seperate rows pointing towards each other, the tops of the plants at the opposite sides. Then lay a soaker hose down the middle where the roots from both rows are lined up. They do great this way, even tho we don't have those temps until July/Aug. they survive fine.
At the end of the season when i'm pulling them up, the root systems are enormous, so they seem to like being buried.

Which is why i'd recommend the wide bucket if you are doing container gardening, you can still bury the plant across it.

good luck, hope you have some survivors.
dp

on rereading this, i'm not sure it makes sense...
diagram..alternate where roots end up from row to row..stems buried, tops turned up out of ground, etc.

tomtop..........top.......top.......top.....
...s.................s...........s...........s
...t.................t............t............t
...e................e...........e............e
...m...............m..........m...........m
root...........root.......root........root
------------------------------------------------------------- soaker hose
........root........root........root.........root
..........s..............s...........s..............s
..........t..............t............t...............t
..........e.............e...........e..............e
..........m............m..........m..............m
........top...........top........top...........top

[Cleita]

30. Thanks dweller.

I have your post downloaded in my gardening stuff for future reference. Thanks for going to the trouble.