Come August at our house, we like to gather in the kitchen with a juicy ripe tomato in one hand and a salt shaker in the other. We then take turns leaning over the kitchen sink and eating our tomatoes like they were apples.
The temperature has been so toasty lately that I’m having flashbacks of gardening in Oklahoma where the combination of heat and humidity was not only not beneficial for the garden but dangerous for the gardener as well. On more than one occasion, I personally provided additional overhead watering simply from the vast amount of perspiration pouring from my forehead.
We not only have the high temperatures here, but due to our elevation we have the intense sun as well. What can you do now to insure an amazing tomato harvest? Temperature and water play key roles in many preventable issues.
If your tomatoes are not setting fruit, this problem is probably due to inadequate pollination. Temperature is mainly to blame for this condition known as blossom drop, although low humidity and excess nitrogen can play a part. If the night time temperature is outside of the 55-70° range or if day time temperatures are consistently reaching into the mid-90s, then proper pollination is not likely to occur. Cover the plant by attaching 30-50% shade cloth to posts when temperatures are soaring. Take care not to let the cloth touch the plant as the heat of the cloth may cause damage, as well as physically harm the plant during high winds.
Have you ever had a tomato start to develop a black rotting spot on the blossom end? This is often caused by a lack of calcium and is known as blossom end rot. More often than not, there is enough calcium in the soil but water mismanagement is the direct culprit. You could get your soil tested if the problem does not correct itself over time with consistent watering habits, but calcium deficiency occurs with low pH soils – a problem we rarely experience here.
What about those cracking and splitting tomatoes? Since a tomato is about 95% water, the inside of the tomato is basically growing and swelling with all those wonderful juices, but the skin can’t keep up, so it cracks wide open. This is also related to inconsistent watering. Both vertically and concentrically cracked fruit are typically edible when caught early according to North Carolina State University Extension. They recommend removing the affected tomatoes immediately from the vine bringing them indoors to ripen. If the tomato starts smelling sour or oozes, then put it in the compost pile instead of your belly.
Another common issue with tomatoes is physiological leaf roll where the tomato leaves just curl up. Don’t worry too much about this one. Contributing factors are inconsistent watering (again), excessive heat and overdoing it with the fertilizer, namely nitrogen.
Ah, the dog days of summer. July and August can wreak havoc on even the toughest, warm season vegetables. Did you know that well-watered soil will stay cooler than dry soil? Water early in the morning with a drip system and not your forehead, like I did back in Oklahoma. Use light colored organic mulch and make certain the plants are properly nourished. Nutrient deficient plants are more susceptible to many issues, including heat damage.
We’ll talk more in a few weeks about common tomato pests and diseases. In the meantime, Cornell University has a nifty interactive Vegetable MD Online tomato diagnostic key you can use: http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomKey.html
Kelley Rawlsky has an M.S. in horticulture and is the director of Bringing People and Plants Together, an organization dedicated to bringing horticulture education and therapy to the community. For more information: PeopleAndPlantsTogether@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook.
Article originally published in Broomfield Enterprise - July 9, 2017
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