Hi Bill,
Very interesting post. I admire you especially for how you overcome so many weather and associated gardening adversities in your area (as do so many others with climate challenges on the forum)! It boggles my mind at times
I also had assumed that the tomatoes would ripen in the heat (or "just" get sunscald or get baked/mushy or get blossom drop and the like). I had no idea (or else knew and forgot
) that ripening stopped at a certain point. I guess that would explain why my Mt Gem tomatoes have been sitting on the patio looking beautiful but still hard as a rock (or maybe an apple) for the past couple of weeks!! I need an emoticon for "DUH!"
Anne