I've found that Aquaponics seems to extend the growing season for tomatoes a bit as does adding some shade for the hottest part of the day during the hottest part of the season. Even so, when the night time temps don't get cool enough, the plants probably won't set fruit but if they are indeterminate, they can just keep growing until the nights cool off and allow them to start setting fruit again. Be prepared for monster plants though and don't be scared to prune hard though that might make for some not so attractive plants. If you want to know about good summer crops for around here, sweet potatoes are good so log as you can provide enough water to them (leaves and vine tips are a handy edible summer green too.) Okra does well in the high heat as do many southerns peas and beans, yardlong beans seem to like the heat (peas and beans can also improve the soil by fixing nitrogen.) I'm trying out Strawberry spinach this summer as well as New Zeland Spinach since I don't like the taste of Malabar spinach though it is an attractive plant. Basil can grow on through the summer if you keep cutting it. Some melons can also do well in the extreme heat at least for a while though when the rains come you might need to watch for splitting. for some light shade mixed through the garden it might be worth planting some moringa or papaya among the garden space though these plants can be killed back to the ground by frost so might not be as useful long term in zone 9 and cooler. Mixing stuff like corn, sunflowers, and other tall stuff into the garden among everything else can help provide some shade and make a small garden more productive than if you simply planted just one type of plant. Mix things up with low growing plants to help cover the ground and keep it cool and moist then some middle level plants and then some tall plants all jumbled together and add some flowers and herbs into the mix and the pests get more confused and the beneficial bugs are attracted and the garden is more productive. Heck, I've still got lettuce surviving in my herb garden and it's been over 93 F here every day for a week!

Carolyn I appreciate your information but it is out of date. There are also fines if you trade envelope is intercepted at the border for ALL parties involved in the trade. ***** My information is not out of date, actually, b'c there are the legal restrictions which are no longer enforced as opposed to the reality of the current situation. In addition one of the members at another place where I post is a customs official under now Homeland Security on this side of the Canadian border and is very helpful indeed. The current rules and regs for getting seeds from outside the US are explained in detail in the front of each SSE YEarbook since there are so many listed SSE members who live outside of the US. For instance, for several years the US has required a phytosanitary certificate for all seeds sent into the US and this was first introduced quite a few years ago to prevent noxious weeds being imported. I can tell you that it not only is NOT being enforced, but there was a hue an cry went out b/c those certificates cost $56 and seeds have to be examined by an approved lab and here and elsewhere those labs are few and far between and in many non-US countries are not even available. So then the USDA offered what's called a free Small Lots of Seed Permit, which is directed more for hobby growers, up to 50 seeds of 50 different varieties and the permit is good for three years. And the link is given to aphis/USDA, etc. But the reality of the situation has led to folks at many sites online where there are Seed Echange Forums offering and receiving seeds from many many countries with no problems at all. Many years ago I do know of a few folks whose seeds were quarantined here in the US but that was over maybe 10 years ago. I could list for you the seed companies in Canada, for instance, who sell seeds to anyone anywhere, including the US with no problems. I know well the owners of two of them, and so that's the reality of the situation. This year alone I've recieved seeds from: Canada UK Hungary Germany Russia Poland Slovenia Serbia ..... for instance, and I send seeds to them as well. A phyto ceretificate is required for any LIVE plant material going from the US to Canada and different countries have their own customs regs as well. For instance, one can't, or shouldn't, send tomato seeds to Australia b'c of their concern about Potato Spindle Virus which also infects tomatoes. There are NO restrictions for many other seeds that can be sent. One can't, or shouldn't, send tomato seeds to the NEtherlands b'c their customs prohibit it b'c of all the major tomato breeding companies that reside there in terms of comcerns about importing tomato diseases. Bejo seeds is headquaretered in the Netherlands, they are the ones who have been distributing the recent outstanding varieties of Dr. Randy Gardner, now retired from NCSU, but still breeding tomatoes. When those seeds from the Netherlands enter the US they DO have to be accompnied by a phyto certificate. Bejo has a website online. So no, my information about sending seeds to Canada and elsewhere is not wrong, it's probably more up to date than most folks know based on what I posted above. So onward we go. Carolyn

ÂIs it true that winter rye cleans the soil of destructive nematodes, or adds beneficial nematodes, can't remember which.....? **** No, not true. Ebon rye has been suggested as a cover crop that might help lower the population of pathogenic nematodes. But I have many friends, especially in CA, who have bad Root Knot Nematode problems and several in the past have done controlled experiments with Ebon rye and found little to no difference. No, it doesn't encourage beneficial nematodes. Ppod, you don't have RKN problems where you live and you know I know where you live. LOL About TMV. As Dave said the strains of tobacco grown in the US , and that's at least for the past 20 years or so, are TMV tolerant. But Turkish tobacco is not TMV tolerant. Sudzy, in any case TMV is transmitted, or was, primarily by insects and these days any transmission is manual and occurs in large commercial greenhouses. But growing in one spot every year is not going to predispose plants to TMV b'c it's not out there to worry about any more. CMV is and many folks confuse TMV with CMV b'c the two viruses can exhibit similar symptoms. Growing in one spot can predispose to a build up of foliage pathogens, but I spoke to that in a post above in this thread. Carolyn

Update on my Black Krim and Cherokee Purple that I planted based on your recommendations! These seeds were planted on June 2 and they went in the ground about two weeks ago. BK on the right, CP on the left. Nice blossoms growing in on both although as of yesterday I had not seen any baby tomatoes peeking out from the flowers yet. Two extra Black Krims that came up were potted up unto 10 gallons. Doing nicely...though I attempted an experiment on them by using azomite and mycorrhizae in one pot (the right one). It's a tad behind if anything though both have about the same number of blooms forming. I have one CP left (the third seed never did come up) that's in a 1 gallon and suffering. It was the smallest so I let it be for awhile but now it's budding and having a hard time. I hope to get it into the ground later today but am messing with my planting bed and waging war or roots about as thick as my thigh. My guy bought a chainsaw LOL, so hopefully it comes out today and the CP can go in.