The temperature in Las Vegas and other parts of the South West have easily been 105 – 115 F these last couple of weeks. Here are some of the things I’ve observed.
The leaves on the tomatoes I have in planters that get full sun have been folding inward. These tomatoes are an heirloom variety that I grew from seed using the Burpee Heirloom Tomato Mix and a Super 100 cherry tomato.
Wilting Tomato Plant
Another Wilting Tomato Plant
This was even happening to the hot pepper that is in a pot. I think the problem is the plants weren’t getting enough water. According the Old Farmer’s Almanac tomatoes need at least 2 inches of water per week. I would think it is more here.
Here is what I’ve done to try to combat the plants from becoming dehydrated.
- Increased watering to twice daily. I water for 3-4 minutes each time on an irrigation system. There are 1/4″ soaker hoses in the tomato planters.
- Built structures to partially shade the plants from the afternoon sun.
I built the shade structures from some 2x4s for the legs, scrap lumber for the top portions and some old solar screen material left over from another project.
Shade structure dimensions:
- Width: 2 ft
- Height: 6 ft
- Length: 8.5 ft
Shading Structure
The solar screen material was rolled over the sides and stapled on the inside.
Bottom View Of Shading Structure
I built only one shaded area to see the difference between added water and an area with additional shading. I’m writing this about 2 weeks after taking the pictures and I’ve seen some improvement on the plants that get both partial shade and the extra watering over the plants that get additional water only.
- The leaves aren’t as closed up as they once were.
- The Super 100 cherry tomato plant is starting to produce fruit again.
As a side note the basil plant that gets partial sun is doing well. I make sure to pick the flowers as they start to grow to keep the plant from going to seed.
Basil Plant Getting Partial Sun
First Summer Take Aways
- Next year I will start watering twice a day in June. Since I started to water more the heirloom tomatoes have started to really produce fruit. Hopefully I’ll get at least two more months out of them.
- Continue to plant basil in two areas, a cluster in the container that gets full sun for an earlier harvest and one in the bed that gets half day sun for summer use.
- I have some bell pepper plants that get half days sun. Those will be moved into some of the planters that get full day’s sun.
- I will try planting center clusters of 4 tomato plants in the 4 raised beds to see how they do there. (Each bed gets a varying degree of morning and afternoon sun)
- Continue to fertilize the tomatoes twice, once in May and when they are producing fruit. I use a time release fertilizer that contains calcium to help the growth of leaf tips and blossom ends. It also helps prevent blossom-end rot.