Hight heat versus Sunlight- North Texas

Jeff_M · April 19, 2014

Howdy,
I live in Dallas and have my tomatoes started in 5 gallon buckets.

Right now they are in the middle of my yard with full sunlight all day, but the weather is cool.
Soon I will have to setup some supports and need to find my permanent location.

Problem I ran into last year is: (I thought) when it got hot my plants seem to suffer in the top afternoon temperatures (100+). I moved them to a fence line that gave them shade in the afternoon from ~1:00PM on.

I read that tomatoes need full sunlight 8+ hours and was worried that if I move my current crop to this location they will only get ~8:00AM-1:00PM sunlight.

Should I just let them get full sunlight during the summer?
How much heat is too much heat and where is the heat vs sunlight tradeoff?

Thanks!

April 19, 2014	#1
Jeff_M Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 13	Hight heat versus Sunlight- North Texas Howdy, I live in Dallas and have my tomatoes started in 5 gallon buckets. Right now they are in the middle of my yard with full sunlight all day, but the weather is cool. Soon I will have to setup some supports and need to find my permanent location. Problem I ran into last year is: (I thought) when it got hot my plants seem to suffer in the top afternoon temperatures (100+). I moved them to a fence line that gave them shade in the afternoon from ~1:00PM on. I read that tomatoes need full sunlight 8+ hours and was worried that if I move my current crop to this location they will only get ~8:00AM-1:00PM sunlight. Should I just let them get full sunlight during the summer? How much heat is too much heat and where is the heat vs sunlight tradeoff? Thanks!