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Gardeneer · March 22, 2018

Good luck !
To my understanding zone numbers mostly apply to winter/winter hardiness and has limited use for summer gardening. For example my summer heat here in zone 8a , NC, can be as harsh as zone 10b in southern California. But we have much shorter season for summer crops than in Cali.
I have gardened in Seattle , WA Atlanta , GA and here in this part of NC all in zone 8a. But they are all different as far as tomatoes and peppers growing is concerned.
Any how, there are heat tolerant varieties. In generall small fruited varieties seem to do better. Like Sungold , Stupice ... did well all summer for me. The key in my case is try to have an early start so that by the time July/August heat arrives have already harvested quite a bit and there are plenty of green ones on the vines. Aside from diseases, what heat does is messing up the pollination process. You can have lush plants but no new fruits setting in high heat and humidity.JMO

March 22, 2018	#7
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,909	Good luck ! To my understanding zone numbers mostly apply to winter/winter hardiness and has limited use for summer gardening. For example my summer heat here in zone 8a , NC, can be as harsh as zone 10b in southern California. But we have much shorter season for summer crops than in Cali. I have gardened in Seattle , WA Atlanta , GA and here in this part of NC all in zone 8a. But they are all different as far as tomatoes and peppers growing is concerned. Any how, there are heat tolerant varieties. In generall small fruited varieties seem to do better. Like Sungold , Stupice ... did well all summer for me. The key in my case is try to have an early start so that by the time July/August heat arrives have already harvested quite a bit and there are plenty of green ones on the vines. Aside from diseases, what heat does is messing up the pollination process. You can have lush plants but no new fruits setting in high heat and humidity.JMO __________________ Gardeneer Happy Gardening !