Hi Mojo

I grew my first tomatoes out here last year. I had some raised beds (8x5) built with good soil added to them and a drip system installed which ran twice a day. I started them from seeds and transplanted them to the garden in February/March. The beds had sun until 4pm daily. Then they got shade from the house. Varieties grown were: hawaiian tropic, black cherry, juliets (these three are made just for the hot desert climate), romas, early girls. We have winds here in Pahrump that can ruin anything in it's path so I put some cardboard along the backside of the beds and moved some cinder blocks to lean against these (and this would be held in place by the wired fence we put to keep the dogs out). Soooo...that looked hooky but it worked and after planting and watching them all take off...I found that I had lots of green tomatoes but they waited to turn red because of the heat...I had good luck after the hot weather subsided..also had two separate incidents dealing with the tomato hornworms. I hate those things. After September my tomatoes took off like crazy....(you can ask Maria here-I sent her a photo of my tomaotes (red & green) I picked off before the first frost came in October). I must have had 500 tomaotes easy. They lasted until mid December inside my house. This year I want to put up some shade cloth on top but I have no idea if this will work. Thinking, thinking, thinking....I'm also wondering how many volunteers I will have this year too? Hope I helped you out some.

Beca~

I agree with Beca's list, though I personally live in So. CAL. But I have friends in Riverside, CA where it was over 100 Degrees for most of July, August, and September. They grew most any variety they wanted. But they have morning and midday sun and afternoon shade. My parents had Early Girls in Vegas but I planted them too late. Only one fruit got ripe and the other two had to be picked green beofre the Thanksgiving frost hit.

I do know of people in Phoenix, AZ and they had great luck with Early Girl. They were planted in February. They produced and peaked in April and May, and took about two weeks of 105-100 degrees in June, but soon got fried, diseased, and died. My cousins in Florida (near Pensacola)plant Early Girls and Manalucie. They've had success even with the humidity.

The main one thing is the timing of the planting. When there are blossoms, the night temps should be at least 50 degrees but the day temperatures are below 95 degrees. Below or above that range, pollination doesn't happen so easily. Of course, planting tomatoes in neutral ph soil with lots of organic matter, at least 6 hours of sun, and as-needed spraying of fungicides and organic pesticides was a must, as are regular feedings of a balanced fertilizer.

Good luck