Tomato Tuesday: Too Hot For Ripening!

Summer has arrived in Seattle! This week, we will see our hottest temperatures this season. Every day will average above 80 degrees.

As you recall in this post, tomatoes need temperatures ranging from 65-75 degrees to turn red.

Temperatures the last few weeks have been perfect:

But this week, I'm worried about my green tomatoes!

The hottest time of the day for me is in the late afternoon. My tomato plants face west and get blasted by the sun as it bounces off our house. To shield my tomatoes from the heat I have placed aluminum foil over the top to keep the sun off the fruit.

My how things change. It was just a month ago that I suggested placing foil under the tomatoes to heat them up!