[Arid_gardener] Specifc Hot Weather Tomato list

[Olin Miller]

          It's pretty difficult to find such a list because most varieties
are not consistent every year.  If we luck out with a long growing season
(early spring and late summer), many varieties perform fairly well but with
a short growing season (late spring and early summer) results are not very
good.  Tomatoes are tropical plants and as far as I know, there are no
drought tolerant tomatoes.  All require uniform irrigation to prevent
various types of diseases.  .
          Tomato blossoms will not set fruit when daytime temperatures climb
into the 90s but that can be extended by providing shade.  Shade cloth
(about 50 %)  is available at nurseries. You can keep tomatoes plants alive
during the summer and they will yield again in the fall when the weather
cools but fruit quality is not as good.
          Tomatoes are classified as determinate and indeterminate.  Flower
buds on determinate types develop at the growing tip of the branches.  When
this happens, vegetative growth stops at the branch tip where the fruit
develops, the plants tend to become bushy, and all of the fruit ripens at
nearly the same time.  Determinates are usually short season varieties with
thick skins.  Although they are not as juicy or as flavorful as
indeterminate types, they are better suited to our climate and growing
conditions.  Select short season varieties that ripen within 70 days after
transplanting.
            Flower buds on indeterminate types grow along the side of the
stem or vine.  The growing tips are not affected by blossoming or by fruit
development and the branch continues to grow throughout the growing season.
In our climate, the early summer heat limits the yield.  Fruit size is also
much smaller than advertised because the high temperatures cause the fruit
to ripen at a smaller size.  But there are exceptions.  Early Girl and
Champion are examples of indeterminate types that are fairly reliable.
Likewise, many cherry types are good producers.  Sweet 100 and Sun Gold are
among the favored cherry types.
          The following is a list of a few determinate (D) and Indeterminate
(I) types of a few that I sometimes grow with varying degrees of success.
Other gardeners have their own favorites.  The number indicates the
advertised days from transplant to the first ripe tomato.  Most need to be
started from seeds.  Those indicated by an asterisk (*) are a few that I
have seen as transplants in nurseries but it is not a complete list.
Nurseries will stock anything that sells, including varieties not well
adapted but that are demanded by customers who want to grow what they grew
in the Midwest or Eastern United States and who are not familiar with our
limiting desert climate.

* 52-I-Early Girl
52-I-Stupice
* 54-D-Bush Early Girl
58-D-Oregon Spring
58-D-Silvery Fir Tree
* 60-I-Grape
* 60-I-Juliet
60-I-Sun Gold Cherry
* 62-D-Bush Beefsteak
65-D-HY-X
* 65-I-Sweet 100 Cherry
* 67-D-Bush Celebrity
67-I-Sweet Chelsea Cherry
* 70-D-Celebrity
* 70-I-Champion
* 70-I-Goliath
* 71-D-Ace-55
* 72-D-Bush Cherry
* 73-I-Big Beef
* 75-I-Better Boy
* 75-I-Large Red Cherry
* 78-D-Roma
78-I-Big Boy
78-I-Rutgers
* 78-I -Brandywine
* 78-I/D-I-Yellow Pear
78-I/D-Red Pear
80-I-Black From Tula

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer
U of A Cooperative Extension, Maricopa County AZ
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----- Original Message ----- From: "Dusty Trails" <Dusty_Trails at q.com>
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 10:44 PM
>  Please publish a list of the best available HOT weather tomato varieties.
>  Are there draught resistant varieties, that tolerate the high temps that
> can dry the ground out within hours.