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Originally Posted by pjhootch
East central Iowa on the Mississippi here. We had a great early season with tasty fruit by July 6th or 7th. But a heat wave over Memorial day and twice more by early July, left us with very few fruits ripening over the last week or so. I have a couple of nice little plants that set small fruit through the heat so we have been chowing our way through salads and sandwiches- but missing the large waves of fruit for gallons of sauce or salsa. Tonight am cooking down about 20 lbs into sauce. I think I will have some increased production here in a couple of weeks since it has been cool for a week now and pleasant.
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Part of the problem could be the varieties you are growing. Not all large varieties will produce large fruit once the real heat of summer arrives. The varieties that have continued to produce large fruits consistently in the extreme heat of summer this year are Couilles de Tareau, Red Barn, Gary O' Sena, and 1884. Other varieties that have been producing decent sized fruits through the heat are Pruden's Purple, Indian Stripe both PL and Reg, Limbaugh's Legacy, Giant Belgium, Spudakee, Arkansas Traveler, Donskoi, and Red Brandywine (from TGS).
Other things that help with fruit set and keeping good productive plants during the heat are a good heavy mulch on the ground to keep it moist and cooler and regular feedings of tomatoes with TTF. It is also imperative to control summer pests like stink bugs, aphiids, and worst of all spider mites and regular use of fungicides to reduce diseases. Keeping the number of stems limited is a big factor in larger fruit so pruning is a must both for improved fruit size and keeping the plant more open to reduce disease pressure.
Bill