The plants are most likely focused on putting on some roots. My plants went in the ground in Feb and are just now taking off. They grow like mad in the heat. Are you fertilizing them? I use a tomato fertilizer on mine, no reason other than that's what I have on-hand and was using in the rest of the garden.

I've been putting fish emulsion on my tomatoes and peppers. I was thinking of switching to miracle grow, but I've killed plants with fertilizer before, so I'm scared.

Fish emulsion is good for getting the roots started. I think it's mostly nitrogen so you should switch to something with more P and K now to help the fruit set. Altho it's getting a bit too hot for any fruit to set now. The pollen is sterile above about 95 degrees. Try to keep the plants alive through summer, trim way back in late June and you should get a fall/winter crop of toms.

If you overdo the nitrogen you will have bushy, leafy plants but no fruit. Miracle Grow should be ok. I use it every-other watering with that gadget that screws onto the hose. Water first to wet the ground, then fertilize, then water a bit again to help it soak in.

GL and HTH.

what do you mean by trim back? How much on peppers and tomatoes? but they will grow back again for the fall?So i don't have to restart new plamts for this fall? Only for next summer? This is my first time growing veggies and loving it! Their in containers and my peppers quit blooming but my tomatoes are still blooming and making tomatoes. But I keep a sunscreen on them and move them around to get out of the high heat.

I would like to know this as well. My peppers also stopped growing and some of them have lost their blooms. This is my first year of gardening also and I didnt have things set up before it got real hot. Will the Tomatoes and Peppers winter over and start blossoming again next spring?

I converted the west porch into a garden area. I have the sides screened off and the top of the porch has 1x4's spaced every four inches and the entire roof has 1/2" hardware fabric to keep the birds out. The garden area gets sun starting at about 10:00am and gets sun or partial sun until sunset. Seems to work pretty well but because I started too late next spring will be a better judge.

This site is wonderful. Thanks for everyones help.

For soil misture in the containers I use the soil under the Blue Ice Arizona Cypress tree. Quail live in them and rabits visit everyday. I use the dirt in that area and mix it with the tree sheddings and dont bother taking out the seed balls that fall. Then I put steer manure and organic compose on top of that and mix it about 2 to 4 inches down depending on the size of the pot. I am learing not to water too much ! The east end of the porch that is connected to the house has a 1x15 (or so) strip of dirt that I have green onions growing in and strawberries and now some radishes are coming up too. But again I am starting late on things too.

I am growing Amaranth and Quinoa in tires out in the direct sun and cover the top of the dirt with hay. They are loving life. No shade at all. I made cages around them to keep the grasshoppers on them and whatever is laying those green worms but did it a bit to late. The worms about devowered the grain but they are recovering. I highly recommend growing these two grains here in Arizona. They really do well. They seem to like fine sandy soil with little compose. And I water them every 3 days. The sand keeps the moisture in well so I dont water too much at one time. Maybe a quart or two per plant including the corn that is going nicely too.

But back to the main question. Will my Tomatoes and Peppers winter over for next spring. Some of my Peppers havent even blossomed yet. The Chocholate Bell Pepper and the Sandia. What sould I do with them?

Trim back means that if you want a fall crop of tomatoes then trim them back to the top of your tomato cages as soon as you feel that the majority of your tomato crop has been picked. They will begin to grow and blossom as the weather changes in September. If we do not have an early frost, expect tomatoes around Thanksgiving until mid December. You will also note that the more cold hardy tomatoes such as Oregon Spring will tolerate light frosts thereby giving a little bit longer fall growing season. Yes if you keep you tomatoes covered, and peppers too, you will get them to over winter. I plant my peppers next to my house for this reason. The heat from the brick keeps them warm enough to not be killed by a frost. With tomatoes, once they are killed by the frost you are better off taking them out as they are never nearly as productive again. They just are not worth keeping. Again still think about the more cold tolerent tomaotoes to extend your growing season like Sibera etcetera. If I can help with any more questions let me know.

Did you know that you can take all the suckers and trimmings from your tomatoes, put them deeply into containers and root them for a second crop? All those little fuzzy hairs on the stems can turn into roots. They will look droppy for a few days, but keep them in the shade and watered and they'll do fine.

A gardening neighbor gave me 4 small pepper plants and I transplanted them into their own pots. It been a couple weeks and they are just sitting there thinking they'd rather be somewhere else... ;-)