Last year was a crappy year here for tomatoes, too. I'm your neighbor just to the north. :)

The tomatoes in my normal planting area, which usually goes gangbusters, were sad and disappointing. Hardly any fruits, and the ones that did fruit were spotted and unpalatable.

But the tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, peas, and peppers that were in and near my hoophouse all grew like crazy! And that's in spite of daytime temperatures in there getting to be 118 degrees F!

I've read that high temps and low humidity can prevent tomatoes from setting fruit. Perhaps the steamy conditions of the trapped moisture in the hoophouse (in spite of opening all three doors and venting the sides) helped somewhat with the fruiting. My back hurts remembering all the heavy fruit we picked out of the tomatoes.

Also, how do you water?

I generally favor drip irrigation, but if you needed to raise humidity for fruiting then some misting might help? I heard that pollination usually occurs around midday, so misting prior to midday if the humidity is low could do something. I have NO experience trying this--I'm just postulating about that.

The green beans not coming up sounds like a more basic problem with the germination. Perhaps this summer keep a close eye on the beans at germination time, and if they don't come up, replant immediately.

For the cucumbers, mine always have a few productive weeks and then decline, especially if the cucumber beetles infect them. Since I have a young cucumber monster in the house I plant about three to five relays of cucumbers every summer, ripping the vines out mercilessly once they start to produce misshapen cucumbers.

I HATE cucumber beetles.

Oh, and the basics of:
-mulch, mulch, mulch! (with a non-rock mulch for coolness)
-water early in the day

Other than all that, I would need to get more blow-by-blow details to figure out what might have gone wrong. I bought shade netting last fall that I intend to implement this summer over the hoophouse.

We all agree that last year was especially difficult. But we need to avoid falling into the trap of assuming the unusual weather was the cause of all of it. That would be too easy and likely unproductive.

Instead we need to carefully investigate all the other aspects of our gardens - location of the garden, nutrient levels, improving the soil quality and water retention ability, changing the plant spacing used, more flexible planting times, closer weather monitoring, much more hand pollinating, different methods of water application, using 2-3x as much mulch, a different mulch, etc. etc.

We can't dictate or control the weather but we can have a very direct impact on all these other factors so that the weather, whatever it is, has less impact.

Dave

50%+ shade cloth and mulch...unfortunately, the shade cloth part is not practical in some people's gardens. They keep the mid-late day sun off the plants and help keep the roots cool.

Also, especially in containers, watering just before the hellish heat of the day has shown to cool roots and help ease the plant's comfort, though some of that water is "wasted" as it leaves the leaves. This action also cools the immediate environment around the plant, too, though...so it's not that "wasted."

Oh yeah, and selecting plants that are genetically prone to produce better in high heat is good, too.

Substitutions in crops is something to look at, too...such as growing "Armeninan" cukes (melons, actually) rather than traditional cukes during the mid-summer.

In addition to the mulch and attention to watering mentioned, try shadecloth. A 30% weave will still let fruit ripen, but will help bring down the temperatures. Of course, Mother Nature might be reading this thread, and saying "aha, they are planning for heat... Maybe I'll go long, cool and rainy on them instead!" Cheers!

Has anyone ever tried growing tomatoes in full sun in the morning with full shade in the afternoon? Full sun in the morning here is from six a.m. until at least noon. I have been wondering what would happen if I put some potted tomatoes on the porch where they got these conditions....it would be cooler in the afternoon. Do you think it would be cool enough for them to fruit? Would that be enough sun?

It was not the best year, but S.C. I got 6 foot corn with 1-2 ears per stalk.
Now the winter before 17 degrees F in Oct, killed 200 cole plants.
I was beginning to believe All the Global Warming, we will be a desert in a few years & BAM! A old time cold winter, a new zone my foot.
Here hoping every one has a good garden year in 2012, just before the world ends.
Sorry, I am going to compost my soap box now.

Donnabaskets, the folks who had this house before us used to grow their tomatoes up against the east side of the house. They were shaded all afternoon and performed quite well. I didn't grow any there last year, wanted flowers there, tomatoes in veg patch. The summer we moved in and ate their tomatoes was an unusually hot, long summer for us, and I do recall that there was a period of reduced fruit set, but they never quite stopped and the vines never looked to really struggle. Would be worth a try, might extend your harvest at the least. Cheers!

My "early" garden was a bust, even with shadecloth on parts of it, though I may have waited too long before shading. I grew 4 kinds of corn, all supposed to be heat & drought tolerant & got nary an ear, but it bloomed.

On the other hand, my fall garden did well & I managed to get at least some tomatoes. My winter garden is peculiar--lettuce & some greens bolting, broccoli making loose heads, etc. In January. Just enough cold weather for my cabbage to start heading finally.

I have planted a couple of cool weather tomatoes in hopes they will survive, but the others stay in for now. Most of the black tomatoes will continue to produce in heat & a few others.

I find myself freezing more now so I know I will have it. Last year was a sure cure for complacency!

I think the best approach is to incorporate as much diversity into your garden plan as possible. There is no way of knowing what this summer will bring (or even if, as jolj so ominously implies, it might be our last), so the surest way to enjoy at least partial success is to plant a variety of crops, and an assortment of varieties, that will thrive in the broad parameter of conditions you are most likely to experience, and to plant those crops in various setting and at various times. the more variables you introduce, the more likely it is at least some of them will succeed.

What Dave said.

Temps way over 100 cannot be fully mitigated of course, but there is no chance at all without windbreaks, maximum fertility, moisture management, and appropriate crop choices.

As an example of that last, looking a little bit outside the temperate latitude world for crops can be useful. Vigna and some other legume families offer great options for very hot summers. Cajanus cajan (pigeon pea) has some day-nuetral short-season varieties, and that puppy can take almost anything but frost.

Thanks, sunnibel. I read about someone else who has tried this over on the Tomato Forum. Two positive testimonials is good enough for me. I'm gonna try a pot or two on the porch this year!