In many plants, when the outside temperature is warm and water evaporates more readily, plants close their stomata to prevent excessive water loss. Closing the stomata, however, can disrupt plant growth by preventing carbon dioxide from entering the leaves and thereby reducing photosynthesis.

Plants can respond to the change of season by losing their leaves, flowering, or breaking dormancy. Plants go through seasonal changes after detecting differences in day length.

90 degrees F.

Some plants stop flowering and setting fruit when temperatures soar. To keep them cool, use old screens, lattice and sheets to shade vulnerable mature plants from the effects of mid-summer sun. Cover new seedlings with opaque covers to protect them from the sun until their roots are established.

How to Protect Your Garden during a Heat Wave

1. Apply mulch, preferably a reflective mulch such as dry grass clippings.
2. Water your garden and shrubs early in the morning.
3. Use shade cloth or protective row covers.
4. Locate new transplants within the cover of taller neighbors.
5. Keep lawns at least three inches tall.

“Six to eight hours of sun is all a tomato plant needs,” says tomato expert Scott Daigre. “Shade accordingly.” Tomatoes thrive in full sun.

They will need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day, so plant in the sunniest parts of your garden. If you don’t have enough sun, you have options. Smaller, determinate patio tomatoes will do well in 4 to 6 hours of sun, and cherry tomato varieties can grow with even less sun.

11) Certain kinds of tomatoes: Tomatoes can tolerate shade, cherry tomatoes do especially well, though harvests will be smaller. For best results, you should select a variety that will tolerate light to partial shade. 15) Rhubarb: This plant can tolerate a little bit of neglect and grows quite well in partial shade.

Assuming you have provided rich well-drained soil, pick a sunny spot and don’t plant your tomatoes too close together. Tomato plants thrive in full sun and are healthier when provided good air circulation. Plant your seedlings deep, very deep. Tomato plants are one of the few vegetables that will root along the stem.

The best time to sow tomato seeds is mid-March to early April. By the time the weather begins to warm in June and July, the plants should be large and tough enough to withstand the weather in the great outdoors. When the time is right, sow tomato seeds in pots in a high quality seed starting mix.

2 feet

six plants

Adding it is a no-brainer! Spread a 2-3” layer of organic mulch around plants, leaving 2” of room around the stem so water can reach the roots. Protect plants from heat. Hot sun can cause sunscald, leaving tomatoes with pale, leathery patches on the fruits that pucker when they should be ripening.

For instance, you can sprinkle fresh coffee grounds around acid-loving plants like azaleas, hydrangeas, blueberries, and lilies. Many vegetables like slightly acidic soil, but tomatoes typically don’t respond well to the addition of coffee grounds.

Dig your hole about 12 inches deep for each plant and work a handful of good fertilizer into the hole. (Heyming also likes to add a banana peel and the shells from one egg into the bottom of the hole to provide extra nutrients for the roots later in the season.) Cut off leaves on the lower half of the main stem.

The best tomato varieties are the ones you have room and time to grow, and produce fruit you love to eat.

• ‘Green Zebra’ is another favorite.
• ‘Amish Paste’ is a fabulous cooking tomato.
• ‘Black Krim’ is an all around wonderful eating tomato — roast or eat fresh.
• ‘Celebrity’ is an all-around winner.