(zog) wrote:

(Glenna Rose) wrote in
fc.003d0941019d67c93b9aca0086a492b3.19d67e2@pmug .org:

writes:
Some of the information I've come across says that the cells in the
tomato plant that form the pigments do not function well in extended
temperatures above 83 degree F. They simply wont ripen. This may be
false information, or
there are varieties breed as workarounds. Still you said temps were in
the 80s...high 80s? Are most people having this problem in higher temp
zones, experiencing a heat wave, or just impatient?

Won't ripen above 83? Wow! Someone should have told the many, many
thousands of tomatoes my grandparents grew for market in eastern
Washington. It was a rare day, indeed, that the temperature was below
83.
Tomatoes are more of a hot weather plant than a cool weather plant, or
so
it would seem.

I hope that wherever you got that information hasn't given you anything
else on which you might base anything really important.

Now if you have extended hot weather and don't they don't have adequate
water, you will have problems, but you'd also have problems in cooler
weather without adequate water.

Sorry, just be patient. They will ripen. Didn't someone on this group
say a watched tomato doesn't ripen?

Glenna


Actually if the night temperatures do not fall below a certain point which
may well be 83F the fruit doesn't ripen. Last year LI experienced an
unprecedented heat wave and fruit continued to grow to enormous size but
didn't ripen until well into August when nights finally started getting
cooler. All the local gardeners I know had the same problem. During this
heatwave very little new fruit was set and 2 or 3 clusters failed to
produce fruit. As temperatures cooled fruit production resumed but most
failed to ripen before cold weather. Most of the information on tomato
ripening and temperature concerns off the vine ripening w/ ethylene but
there are several articles that mention continous high temperatures
preventing on plant ripening. In over 40 years of growing tomatoes I had
never experienced this before. Now this cold wet year I am awaiting the
first blossom .
Bob


If your abbreviation of LI is Long Island, the night temperatures for
LaGaurdia Airport for the month of July 2002 were in the 70's and low
80's. In fact, the highest night temp last July was 81. Check it out
here. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/box/showcl.pl. That is pretty
much like we had in the Norfolk, VA area last July (which was about
normal for the area) and the tomatoes ripened just fine.

Start here if you want a closer town.
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/dailystns.shtml

With daily highs in the 90s, fruit does not set well if at all except
in certain varieties (Heatwave).

It seems that you did not have a problem last year, you just had great
tomato growing weather. Fruit continuing to enlarge is not a problem
with ripening. It seems to me that people in the New York do not
plant tomatoes outside until sometime in May. It usually takes about
60 days to get mature fruit.
--
Susan N.

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary and those who do not.