Q: My tomato production stops in the summer. Is it possible to harvest tomatoes in hot weather?

Most tomatoes stop setting fruit when the days and nights get too hot, so there’s a summertime gap in the harvest. Daytime high temperatures in the 90s and night temperatures in the 80s halt the fruit set on most tomatoes.

Because of this, most North Texas gardeners traditionally plant two crops of tomatoes: a spring planting provides fruit until the heat of summer arrives; and a late summer planting provides a harvest in the fall.

But Texas A&M AgriLife expert Dr. Joe Masabni says that you don’t have to accept that summer drop-off in tomato production. You do, however, have to be selective in choosing what varieties you plant to keep up your harvest during the hot season.

Dr. Masabni suggests three or four plantings of tomatoes each year. You have many varieties to choose from for the spring planting. Just select varieties with a days-to-harvest value that will start giving you a crop before daytime temperatures rise to at least 90° and nighttime temperatures stay above 80°. Plants will produce little or no new fruit when the hot weather arrives, but existing fruit will continue to ripen.

In mid-June and early July, plant a hot season variety. Dr. Masabni suggests Heatwave (55 days to harvest), Sunmaster (69-80 days), Solar Fire (72 days), and Solar Set (69-80 days) varieties. Water and feed this planting as you would your spring and fall plantings and be sure to mulch well to help conserve soil moisture.

Wrap up the year planting for a fall crop. Set out transplants about 100 days before the date of the average first frost. The average first frost date in Dallas is November 20, so aim to plant in the first half of August. Include a short season variety in your planting so you’ll get a crop even if there’s an early freeze.

With a little planning, you can have months of uninterrupted tomato harvests.

Dr. Masabni offers general information about growing tomatoes (https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/browse/featured-solutions/gardening-landscaping/tomatoes/) and more information about hot season tomatoes (https://agrilifetoday.tamu.edu/2018/05/12/agrilife-extension-expert-grow-tomatoes-all-season-long/) online.