Tomato growers in warmer areas, like the Southeastern part of the United States, often choose heat-tolerant tomato varieties for summer and fall production. Growers farther north may want to emulate this strategy too, now that climate change is causing hotter summers in most regions. When growing tomatoes in hot temperatures, you can boost your success rate by planting deeper, where the soil temperatures are cooler, providing afternoon shade, watering in the morning and using thick organic mulch like grass clippings, straw, compost or leaf mulch to keep soil cool. Try a few different varieties to find out which tomato performs best in your garden conditions. Save your seeds for next season.
Here is a list of heat-tolerant tomato seeds offered by Sandia Seed Company:
Arkansas Traveler - Prized for its ability to produce flavorful tomatoes under conditions of high heat, humidity or drought. It’s very flavorful, medium-sized tomatoes resist cracking.
Big Beef - A delicious and juicy beefsteak-type tomato, early to bear, and highly disease resistant. Produces reliably in cool and wet weather and also tolerates heat.
Black Krim - Medium 10 oz. maroon fruits with green shoulders have delicious flavor. A great prolific all-around tomato, because it produces early and continues to produce until frost, is heat tolerant and very disease resistant.
Bush Early Girl - Produces good early yields of slicer tomatoes tomatoes with excellent flavor. Good disease resistance, heat tolerant and easy to grow.
Cherokee Purple - Excellent flavor that is extremely sweet and complex. A large 12 oz. heirloom tomato the color of dusky rose and purple. Early tomato and heat tolerant. People have loved growing this special heirloom tomato for many generations.
Isis Candy - This variety produces little 1-1/2" red and gold tomatoes. They have a starburst pattern on the blossom end when ripe. This small early producing tomato is heat and drought tolerant.
Super Sioux - Round red 4-6 oz. fruit have an excellent balance of sweet and acid flavor. Notable for its ability to thrive in hot, dry climates. A great one to grow here in the West!
Super Sweet 100 - Cherry-sized fruits are produced in long pendulous clusters right up until frost. It has improved disease fighting ability and is easily to grown on stakes or tall cages. Grows well in all climates including hot and dry areas.
Sweet Million - Produces long chains of smooth, dark red, 1-1/2” crack resistant fruits. Has excellent disease resistance and grows well in hot and dry climates.
Virginia Sweets - A dependable heat tolerant producer of delicious 1 lb yellow-red tomatoes that are resistant to cracking.
There are Some great choices listed above, but don't limit yourself to just these. A large number of early tomatoes or smaller tomatoes perform well in adverse conditions like high heat. Several tomatoes just take a break from producing in the mid-summer heat and then begin again with a second flush of tomatoes in late summer as the temperatures become cooler. Make sure to plant your tomatoes now to ensure you'll be eating garden fresh tomatoes this summer!
