Trying to grow tomatoes in AZ has been my biggest garden challenge so far. I nearly lost everything due to several floods before we figured out how to turn off the every two week irrigation. They were literally underwater for 48 hours about 5 times.

I dealt with some sort of blight or septoria and it seems to be leaving, thanks to Serenade, pruning and dryness.

Now all the plants are starting to regrow healthy foliage, mostly from the suckers.

The garden is partly shaded but we've been about 110 everyday and no relief in sight.

Is it worth trying to pull these through the summer so that my new growth can set fruit when it cools off, cutting of old, diseased plants so new suckers grow back strong? Or, should I throw in the towel and start about 30 new seeds?

Two other questions. Can my twine (weave support, hemp twine) be harboring disease? It seems like my worst problems are coming from wher e twine touches the leaves. Branches start to turn yellow and soon they wilt and die. Seems like this is going away with the younger sucker growth until they get up to the twine, then the parts touching start wilting. Maybe since I'm pruning them down I should remove all the twine and restring?

Finally, not a tomato question but will peppers come back from the roots? They got flooded shortly after mulching with alfalfa and the hay got very hot, burned up the plants overnight. The bottom of the stem and roots appear alive. My husband is attached to these like pets and won't replant if there is any hope. They were 15 months old. Just wondering if they might sucker from the bottom and come back?

Keep in mind that with my climate I can actually overwinter these plants so they can be long-lived with a bit of frost protection.some people plant tomatoes in October for early spring tomatoes.. Should I pull everything up and start new seeds?