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I recently wrote an article on squash bugs and one of our faithful readers said the article was too late because they were already doing considerable damage in his garden. So I felt I better get a head start on raising tomatoes. At the Almelund Threshing Show that comes up the first week of August, there's usually be many questions about tomato problems.

It's difficult for gardeners to forget this spring as it was very cool and dry. I buy my tomato plants and replant them in individual pots. I followed the advice of the old timers by not planting tomatoes and peppers until Old Memorial Day. The problem was that I had frost the first five days of June that killed 12 of my tomatoes, damaged many others, and burned the leaves off many of my potato plants.

For tomatoes, night temperatures are more important than day temperatures. They like a wide range of temperatures from day to night. The ideal temperature during the day is between 68 and 77 degrees and night is between sixty and 68 degrees. When the night temperatures are more than 75 and the daytime temps are in the high 90's plus, tomatoes will drop blossoms or not set fruit.

The uneven temperatures and moisture may result in problems on the tomato fruit. Catface is a condition involving and scarring of fruit, particularly at blossom ends. Affected fruit can have cavities extending deep into the flesh. The cause of catface is not definitely known, but is generally agreed that any disturbance to flowers can lead to abnormally shaped fruit. Extreme heat, drought, or low temperatures may be the cause of flower injury.

Blossom-end rot is another disorder of tomatoes. This non-parasitic disorder usually begins as a small water-soaked area at the blossom end of the fruit. This may appear while the fruit is green or during ripening. As the lesion develops, it enlarges, becomes sunken and turns black and leathery. Blossom-end rot is associated with a calcium deficiency, fluctuation in moisture, heavy application of nitrogen fertilizer, and root disturbance. It can be controlled by uniform moisture, mulching, low nitrogen, and avoid damage to the roots by careful cultivation.

This summer's uneven temperatures and moisture may cause uneven fruit set, especially in members of the nightshade family. Since tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes, ground cherries, and Chinese lanterns are in this family, you may experience some problems. I was so proud when I saw my first pepper forming. However, taking a closer look, I noticed over half of it was rotten due to blossom-end rot. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Peppers like the same temperature range that tomatoes do but do not respond to the length of day. They begin to bloom between 30 to 60 days after planting and it usually takes about a month from bloom to mature fruit. Even though peppers are somewhat drought tolerant, lack of moisture during extreme heat can stress the plant that will cause the flowers to fall off.

Unlike tomatoes, squash are pollinated by insects. If the weather conditions are not right for the insects during pollination, there won't be any or few squash. When you see the flowers fall off Cucurbits (squash, pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers) it means the flower was not pollinated. Sweet corn is also affected by the hot weather. The dry conditions can cause the ears to be small, abnormal, and not fill out. If there is a strong wind when the tassel is shedding pollen so it doesn't land between the stalk and the leaf, there won't be ears forming.

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