What do you mean by "melted?" Did they get blossom end rot?

They went from firm and almost the right color to just yukky over ripe in a day or so!

I'm thinking that they suffered from too much heat reflected off the house, so moving them forward might be an answer. Another alternative might be to grow in movable containers, but then you'd have to choose dwarfs or compact varieties. That way, you would have fresh potting mix and you would be able to take advantage of the heat from the house when you wanted it, and to move the containers (perhaps into the shade) when temperatures soared.

Linda

You had one plant that "fizzled" and two that melted. I'd say that even if the two melted from the heat that it'd be a good idea to move your plants occasionally. If the plant that fizzled started browning up from the bottom then I'd say you have to move your plants. I'm guessing it fizzled because of what I call Septoria/blght. I call it that because I can't tell the difference between the two problems and it doesn't really matter. The fix is to move the plants. And clean any posts or cages etc. that you reuse.

I've moved mine to new spots and had the problem follow. And I've moved to a new spot and had no problems for three years. This years tomatoes are in a new spot and a few plants have browned up from the bottom; but most are still OK. I'm guessing it followed on some of the cages?

I understand that you're supposed to not plant in the same place year after year. Part of the problem is that we moved from 1 1/4 acres with 7 4x8 beds where we could rotate the plants to a very tiny yard with very few options.

I suppose, with some work i can switch the tomato bed with the everything else bed and see how we do. The everything else bed has just OK bought soil, where the tomato bed is in ground with terrific soil!

I guess now's the time to pull everything up and work on it!

Thanks!

I'm happy to say that the weather has cooled a bit and I found several tomatoes of varying coloring, so I will have some for a couple more weeks!

When you pull out the plants, look at the roots. If they have knobby growths, you have root knot nematodes and should not plant in the same area for 3 years. If the roots look okay, just add fertilizer before you put in new plants.

I had a similar problem. My tomatoes were right against a stucco house, and the Black Krim died and I think the others got overly hot too, and had dead leaves on them. Next year I am going to move them a little further out. I also had some squash and cucumbers in pots in the same bed, and they did not do well either. They looked fried, so next year I am moving them too. It`s been a disappointing year but I am learning. I also learned not to choose late tomatoes or they will not produce until Sept. which is too late for me and this climate. I got one Marianna`s Peace and the rest are still green. Now it is fall.

Thanks lgteacher and Pat. I'll look at the roots and I think I'll plant a little farther away from the house. I don't have much room, but I only do 3 tomato plants. Just a bit of juggling!