Quote:
Originally Posted by SpookyShoe
B54Red, my spring crop was done for in early July.
Donna, Texas Gulf Coast
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I have posted before the steps necessary to successfully grow tomatoes in the hot inhospitable conditions of the deep south. I grow in raised beds 8 to 10 inches high to make it easier to be successful with tomatoes down here. The raised beds make it easier to maintain proper moisture without drowning during times of heavy rain. A lot of organic matter is added to the beds and they are mulched heavily during the summer with cypress mulch to help keep the soil cooler and to maintain moisture better.
If like me you are dealing with nematodes and or fularium wilt then varieties that have good tolerance or grafting onto root stock that have those traits is a must for long time survival of the plants.
Limiting the number of stems is important to help encourage fruit set. I know it is tempting to leave on every sucker with blooms but this will result in poor fruit set most of the time and small fruit.
Tomato plants will not set well in the heat if the soil is not moist enough. Only one day of letting the plants get too dry in the heat will result in major blossom drop and minimal or no fruit set.
Regular feeding of the plants is a major boost to fruit set. Though I prepare the soil well with cottonseed meal, compost, and a little chicken manure; I still feed the plants with Texas Tomato Food every week to ten days throughout the season. I just fed my fall cucumbers, okra, and peppers today with Urban Farms Vegetable formula but for the past few weeks when I was out of it I used Miracle Grow. I will be feeding my tomatoes tomorrow or the next day. Despite near 100 degree days and nights in the eighties most of my plants are still setting fruit. Last night was the coolest we have had in a few weeks because it got down to 75 around daylight.
Regular application of fungicides is a necessary step nearly every week because of the disease pressure our high humidity and heat cause. I will also use pesticides when pest pressures start taking a toll on the plants but I try to use the least poisonous thing that will get the job done.
Of course there are always things that I can't control that can come along and destroy all my hard work. I have lost entire crops from Late Blight and TYLCV and much of what I had to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and spider mites. A month of heavy rain or a couple of months without rain can also devastate a crop but as long as I have a next season I will keep trying.
Bill