I placed them in late June so that the tomatoes would enter the shade slightly before high noon, and emerge from the shade at about 3PM.
They didn't do any better than the ones in direct sunlight.
The fruit already on the plant ripened without trouble,
and the plants continued to blossom,
but no new fruit set during the heat.
When the ambient air temp is 95 in the shade,
tomato blossoms just aren't going to set fruit.
This year, we started some Early Girl hybrids very early ,
and then put them out early and managed to protect then through a couple of light frosts.
They are setting fruit now.
We also have our regular assortment of Heirlooms on our regular planting schedule,
and we are trying a couple of hybrids that are Heat Tolerant.
The San Marzanos (Roma Determinant) didn't seem to mind the heat as much as the other varities we grew.
Last year, we started some tomato seeds in late June,
and managed to harvest tomatoes from these plants until November.
We will try for a late crop again this year.
(We are in Central Arkansas)
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