My tomatoes are trying their best to make it through this 110 degree heat day after day with cooler temperatures no where in sight to rescue them.  I am really amazed at how well they have done so far with shade.  Last year, I had no shade so the day that 110 temperatures set in they cracked and started shriveling.  This year with the shade, they have fared really well.  Yes, they have cracked, but they have healed themselves enough to keep maturing and the cracking has been pretty minimal.

This is what I picked this morning, but by 9 o’clock it was so hot that I didn’t want to go wading through the “jungle” to get the rest.  I will have to do that early tomorrow morning. 

The Celebrity tomatoes that are in the round bowl with the very deep cracks were outside of the shade.  If all of the tomatoes were not shaded, they would all have the deep cracks or they might be cooked and sun scalded by now.  I am very pleased with how the shade has made such a huge difference in the quality of the tomatoes through the extreme temps.

The basil is loving the heat…

So is the okra…

I need to start thinning the baby okra plants out and thinking about putting some shade up for them.  They have endured 110 temperatures, unshaded, for a week now and they look like they are doing really well.   I’m impressed. 

It is amazing that so many different kinds of vegetables can grow through the Phoenix heat.  My tomato vines will be toasted in a few weeks, but they sure are troopers.