Garden in the woods

I live in the Dallas Fort Worth area and elected to plant my garden up in the woods behind my place due to summer heat. I planted it in such a way that it gets full sun until 2 O'clock in the afternoon. It grew well this year but produced very little during the heat of summer. Any suggestions on how to help the plants when the air temp is so high?

Not to brag but my cherry tomato plant produced well even in the heat and grew to a height of 14 feet.
Yah I'm bragging.

Ive been looking at some of Eliot Coleman's Four Season gardening articles. I believe he talks about constructing shade cloth tents or "ramadas" to help combat the summer heat. Sounds like you have the near perfect spot, though.

Even with the shade I still have trouble with production which becomes almost nil. One of the women up at the electric co-op told me to cut mt tomato plants back to only a foot in height during the heat of summer and they will regrow and start producing again for the fall. I found this out late in the season but tried it anyway and the plants did regrow but did not get a chance to produce again before it froze. I thought about a mister system has anyone tried that.

Snipe, the problem we have is the excessive heat. The American Horticultural Society in its exhaustive research for preparation of the heat zone map determined that the critical temperature for cellular damage is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Sustained levels above that temp will "fry" some veggies/fruits and cause others to take a "siesta" - here in heat zone 9 we have a long period of high temps through August and into September. The tomato plants will sometimes blossom but do not set fruit. The garden writers tell us to buy and plant new starts in July for fall production. I simply let my plants rest. I maintain adequate moisture, and mulching with grass clippings keeps the soil at least 10 degrees cooler which helps reduce wilting. By the time the temps have moderated, the plants are back in vigorous production. Of course, since the vines have contined to grow, they have long since sprawled over their cages and have created a tangled jungle. For a tidier garden, cuttings can be taken and rooted easily in water or moist potting mix. These can be planted out in the
"siesta" period (shading for a few days is helpful) and should be as ready to produce in fall as nursery starts would be. Yuska

P.S. For informaton on the heat zones see: http://www.ahs.org/publications/heat_zone_map.htm



This message was edited Dec 5, 2006 10:51 AM

Wait wait wait. Your telling me if I take a cutting from the Plants and plant them they will go?

Yes! Tomato cuttings root very easily! I usually just snip some side shoots and put them in water in clear glass jars so I can see when the roots have developed enough to set out - often less than a week. Starting in moist potting soil might be a bit better to introduce the roots more quickly to some soil elements, but I've not seen any reluctance in getting right to work. Good way to increase production any time, but especially useful to prepare for the fall crop.

Yuska

Thanks for that info. The soil up in the woods is extremely rich so I'll give it a try next season. Again Thanks

Snipe, Yuska is 100% dead on. I lived in the DFW area for many years until I moved to north Florida. You can enhance the liklehood that tomato cuttings will root by coating them with a bit of rooting hormone. Most garden centers sell it, usually in rather small amounts. It looks like gunpowder and is typically as fine as talcum powder. A very little bit goes a very long way. I bought a little amt better than 10 years ago and I still have a couple of teaspoons of it left. And it still works!
I usually start a new tomato plant by clipping off a 'sucker' that is about 6 inches long. Immediately place the cutting in water while preparing for transplanting. I strip off any leaves that may be growing on the bottom 3 inches of the cutting. I lay out one small sheet of toilet paper (about 4" x 4")
I take the moistened cutting and and dip it into the rooting hormone to ensure that the lower 2-3 inches of the cutting is completely coated. Then I place the lower half of the cutting onto the piece of toilet paper, then carefully wrap the TP around the cutting. Add enough water to totally moisten the TP so that the TP will stick to the cutting. It holds the rooting powder tightly against the cutting.
I usually place the cutting, the whole lower 3" into a pot of thoroughly moistened potting soil. (In fact, I always use a light fluffy potting soil mixed about 50-50 with composted cow manure) I use a pot that is at least 4-5" deep. That way I can give it plenty of space to root and grow, since I don't want to transplant it to the garden until it is at least a foot tall.
I keep the new transplanted cutting indoors and out of direct sunlight for 1-2 weeks. Then I move the transplant to a spot that will get 2-3 hours of direct sunlight per day. But I still keep it indoors. You don't want to stress a new transplant by placing it outdoors in 100 degree summer heat.
I check the moisture level of the potting soil almost every day. Never let the potting soil dry out. In the DFW area, just like here in north Florida it would probably be best to take your cuttings by early June. By the time they are a foot tall I will place them in the garden, still in their transplant pots, but in the shade of a taller plant, like the tomato plants you already have growing in the garden. But don't let the pot dry out. By mid August you can transplant the potted plants directly into the garden, preferably not in the same spot the earlier tomato plants were growing. So, a foot tall transplant planted by mid August will probably produce a fair crop by late September, mid November, before the first frost gets it.
Here in north Florida, I try to get a few very late season cuttings in early December before our first frost. It takes a bit of care and attention, but my rooted cuttings will carry over in their pots until I can get them into real dirt in the garden by mid March. On those frequent warm days here I move them outside to get as much sun as possible.
I know you can do the same thing with pepper plants, and, I believe eggplants as well. They are all in the same family. (Also nightshade, if you are a really kinky gardener :-).
One of the greatest benefits of rooting cuttings is that if the parent plant is a hybrid, a rooted cutting will grow and produce just like the parent. And you won't have to pay a premium for a desirable hybrid next year. And for folks who live at higher latitudes, it works just as well, and takes the place of idle hands while there is a foot of snow outside. Snow? Never seen it, except on TV! (My grandson calls it sky dandruff).

Thank you for the education makes me want to go out and plant something.

Snipe, Just an aside. Back when I was a teenager living in Fort Worth a friend talked me into paying a $10 entry fee to get into the bull riding event at a local weekend rodeo there in Burleson. That was 45 years ago. And I had never even ridden a horse before.
Roughly one second after leaving the chute I recall being airborne and looking sideways at the stands. And my altitude in the air was on a level par with the top level of the stands. I don't recall much after that. I do know I won the bet. Young and real stupid.

Duh!