“”petering out, but still producing, praise God. First frost may yet be 3-4 weeks.””
Don’t get me wrong. I’d never move up north ... but having tomatoes still growing this late would “almost” be worth it.
As it is, there’s only a few months’ window of opportunity here in Texas before the extreme heat and drought sets in.. pretty much every year. The soil temperature eventually kills the plants even if they’re covered by shadecloth and watered twice or more times a day. Sigh.
Nice garden, btw.
I have thought it might be a good idea to raise some solar panels to 6 feet or higher on 4 corner poles, then grow garden underneath. Space the solar panels apart the right distance to allow enough sun and heat on the ground, but not enough heat to kill crops. To save on poles panels could be laid in a row and spaced between rows of panels. Then you could have electricity from the panels, and cooler ground for a garden.
Yeah, I’m going to likely have that problem too, as I need to “rotate” my tomato garden out of it’s present location (gets partial shade which mitigates the heat), but the only other practical spot would be full sun in afternoons, and with a white building wall to the east of it...
My only other option is to somehow kill the fungi in the soil in the present spot, or, go to all pots and insulate / shade the pots themselves.
Have you tried Heatwave II tomato plants? They seem to resist heat better than other varieties. However, the fruits are pretty bland tasting.
How do the Mexicans grow tomatoes so well?