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Tomatoes and heat
By Charles Marr
There are a few plants that seem to thrive in our High Plains climate. However, there are some plants that will live here but definitely don't like some of the variations in our weather. One of those is the most popular garden vegetable-tomato. Tomato plants would prefer to be in a climate that is warm, fairly dry but where rainfall happens on a regular basis about once a week. Obviously, these conditions don't prevail in our High Plains region. This week I want to discuss dealing with climate extremes while growing tomatoes.
The roots of the tomato plant are fairly fibrous and branched but don't root down to great soil depths. Most of the tomato roots are in the upper 12-15 inches of soil. Tomato plants would like to have regular, consistent watering. When that doesn't happen, tomatoes do funny things. One of those things is develop a brown, leathery patch on the bottom of the fruit called 'blossom end rot'. BER is actually a deficiency of calcium in the tomato- not because we have shortages of calcium available in our soils but because the calcium is carried in the stream of water flowing in the plant to the fruit. When conditions become stressful, the stream of water moves directly to the leaves- bypassing the fruit. Excessive foliage or excessive fertilization just makes the condition worse. The use of a mulch and regular consistent watering benefits tomatoes more than about anything else in the garden.
Tomato fruit also don't set well in hot, dry weather. The blossoms abort when temperatures reach above 95 degrees- especially with hot, dry winds and excessive fertilizer. Some new varieties of tomatoes are beginning to come available in the marketplace that set fruit better in hot weather. This better fruit setting is controlled by a plant genetic trait (gene) called the Hot-Set gene. Varieties such as Sunleaper, Sunmaster, and Florida 91 have this improved genetic trait.
Tomato fruit also don't ripen properly in our hot summer weather. At temperatures above 95 or so, the red pigments in a tomato don't form- giving the fruit an orange-red cast. Sudden rains can cause a lot of fruit cracking in tomatoes that are approaching ripeness. And birds or insects can peck or damage developing fruit. Tomatoes should be harvested when they reach the 'breaker stage' (about half green half red). The tomato will continue to ripen without any loss of quality and flavor and will have a better color, less damage from cracking, and fewer chances of insect or bird damage. We've had a good spring season in many areas of the High Plains for growing tomatoes. We're now just coming into our summer stress period. You can get tomatoes through it but they are not liking it very well.
Date: 7/20/04
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