Fried green tomatoes still on the vine
There are too many things to do, so do your best, tell the truth and drink extra water. “I’ll get there when I can” is my positive affirmation as I face swarms of immediacy, and sometimes I do something.
Take tomatoes, for example. Would a tomato plant say, “Let’s go over there to find happiness”? No. A tomato plant stays right where it was planted in the spring being as happy as possible with what it’s been given, which has been an extended hot dry spell.
So how happy are your tomato plants? It’s been sunny day after sunny day, and all the while tomato plants are doing the best they can.
I’ve harvested a few wrinkled, small tomatoes lately. I regularly soak the soil till the water puddles, but temperature is in charge, and there will be no more tomato blossoms until the weather backs off a bit.
Because hot spells happen and always have, clever humans just like us paid attention, and now we know…
- During a consistent streak of days in the 90s with nights near 75°, tomatoes’ blossoms fall off. “Up with which we will not put!” they decry. Even large green tomatoes with no other excuses will refuse to ripen. The plants, although stressed, will survive and be productive again if maintained along the way.
- We cannot expect much but patience from tomato plants now, so harvest any fruit on there now. It’s an energy saver for plants like turning off light bulbs. Also, if you were expecting bright red tomatoes, orange might be as good as it gets right now. We do our best.
- If a gardener takes care of the soil, the soil takes care of the plants, and the soil is feeling the heat as well. I get to go inside, but the soil perseveres, so lay on a mulch mixture if you can. However, wait until the weather moderates to add soil amendments or fertilizer. Adding amendments during a stressful time would accelerate growth in plants just trying to cope. A booster now would be a booster too many.
- Certain varieties handle heat better than others. I know this, but during seed-ordering season I instead choose colorful, exotic varieties from bucolic, shaded valleys in the middle of Europe. It’s easy to research varieties better suited to our summers, and someday I might. My hillside seems to suit a tomato variety called Wapsipinicon Peach, which originated two states north of us, whereas they regularly disappoint gardener friends a few miles to the east. The variety-location interface matters, although you still have to maintain the soil.
- A gardener in the Willamette Valley west of Portland or near Bolinas in Marin County, Calif., might need to plant tomatoes in a totally sunny spot because it would be cooler during the day and there are more fogs and cloudy days, and we’re not like that here. And it should be noted there are scientific truths which point out we should prepare for more hot summers like this.
Therefore, tomato growers, consider appropriate varieties but also choose your spots when you plan your garden. Tomato plants get one chance, so how about a bed that gets sun in the morning until early afternoon, then filtered light in the afternoon, plus plenty of attention, because you are an attentive gardener and your soil is going to be better than Martha Stewart’s soil. Nothing personal.
- Above all else now is water, water everywhere. Well, not running down pathways, but otherwise accept crisis mode and do your best. There will be tomatoes in September if the gardener perseveres in July.
However, our situation is about more than tomatoes. Salsa notwithstanding, our environment – the big picture – is tilting toward hotter, drier summers, and it asks for your attention and action. Without major upgrades in our decision-makers and our awareness, small, wrinkly tomatoes might be all we can expect.