Janice, they look fine to me.

Tomato plants grow like crazy in cool temperature with lots of moisture and nutrients. unlike chili peppers, tomatoe are not heat loving plants. In hot temps like Carolina, they would try to cope with high temps by slowing down in foliage growth. I think that they are working on the root system now . Once it cools off a bit they should take off like a rocket.

Sey

Today will be a scorcher of 95 with 107 heat index. I will be hanging sun-facing sheets on the cages. Then I will be staying in air conditioning.

All shaded.

I lost a big beef in the raised bed,. That is the second loss in the raised bed. The ground seems to make a better heat sink. Mortgage Lifter is showing blooms today. Growing in a container seems to be the way to go. Containers can be moved under a shade. It is 7:45 and it is 89.

I am growing mostly in raised bed. As our weather got into high 80s , the beds that get more direct sun, dry up much quicker and I have to water them more often. I imagine in your climate with temps in 90s and triple digits ( with Cecil Soil ? )the raised beds would need much more watering and mulching.

Sey

Cecil? The two plants in the raised bed that seem ok for the moment are next to the mature peppers. Those pepper plants throw shade in the late pm.

The raised bed soil is not sandy loam, it is much darker. I suspect it absorbs and holds more heat.

I am surprised with the Mortgage Lifters, Kellogs and even earls faux. They seem to handle the heat stress better.

in my earlier research, I recall a Florida grower that went to an extreme to grow plants. All in large containers, raised off the ground, automatic watering. Although i don't recall, I bet had auto ferts. Here is the kicker :. A larger motorized shade was rigged so that with a push of a button, instant shade.

more shade is needed.

Today is up to 90 with clouds. Should be ok. I keep comparing my temps with Pensacola. It is hotter here.

Nice seedlings. I checked the almanac for planting and frost dates. I always assumed Pensacola was further south and with a longer season. My thinking is way off.

I checked my plants just now. Leaf diseases are very evident.

Sometimes you have to go with the flow. I can grow tomatoes in the spring, quickly, with no drama. I can grow many things in the fall easier than this.

good luck with your new seedlings. Do you spray?

Pensacola is sometimes referred by locals as LA (lower Alabama), it's definitely not South/Central Florida. We do get a winter, but usually mild and brief. Today was brutally hot, but my transplants seem to be doing fine, aside the leaf spots. I've been alternating daconil, copper, and a weak bleach solution. I was lazy at the beginning with spraying, but have learned the importance. All my new seedlings have been receiving weekly sprays, so fingers crossed, they will remain disease free. My plants just started to flower, so hopefully things will start to take off here soon, except my ML is still very slow, so not sure about it. Also all my plants show fasciation in the stems (fused stems), so could this be stress related?

Your plants look pretty good compared to mine. I will start spraying.

I am also very tempted to start a container or too. It seems like a lighter color might help to keep heat down. How big are your containers?

It is interesting to note the set out date (for Charleston) for tomatoes according to the almanac (I used google) is mid September. I would like to try some staggered start dates just to see how it works. I have enough losses I now have the space. I really feel I am trying to swim up stream. I heard a statistic the other day, for my area:. 80% of the last 30 days have been above 90. I think that is too hot to grow tomatoes.

My containers are 15gal (13.78gal actual), I have heard of heat issues with dark containers, but I haven't noticed them being overly hot. I don't have to water too often either, maybe when they get bigger I will. I did have some heat and water issues with my 5gal containers, but I just watch them carefully and they have a drip system in place. I've learned that it's harder to keep my plants healthy for fall, everyday I come out to more leaf damage, I think my ML has had it, it doesn't look promising and now one Black Krim is showing spots, but it looks healthier, so I'm just gonna move it away from my other plants. That leaves me with 2 healthy plants, Black Krim and Pruden's Purple, both are really starting to take off.

ML

If you do staggered planting, let me know how they do, I'm not completely sure when the latest I can plant is. I think our average frost date is around the 15th of December. I hope I can get my seedlings to produce before then. I did have some 4th of July seeds, and it is early, so I'll see.

Good Luck

Kevin