Sun or shade?

[thealley]

Hello,

When they say that plants like tomatoes need 8 hrs of sun, does it mean direct sun or just the light of the sun outside? Is putting them (mostly tomatoes and peppers) in a shade for the whole day (like in the picture) fine ?

Unfortunately where I live, Summer is like hell, so putting them directly in the sun, the leaves start to wilt almost immediately.

Would also like to ask if plants can be damaged by wind, say two weeks after transplanting to a bigger pot as their final destination.

Thank you!

 

[Chuck]

Hello,

When they say that plants like tomatoes need 8 hrs of sun, does it mean direct sun or just the light of the sun outside? Is putting them (mostly tomatoes and peppers) in a shade for the whole day (like in the picture) fine ?

Unfortunately where I live, Summer is like hell, so putting them directly in the sun, the leaves start to wilt almost immediately.

Would also like to ask if plants can be damaged by wind, say two weeks after transplanting to a bigger pot as their final destination.

Thank you!

Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of full direct sun to produce well. Ambient temperatures are not as important but a tomatoes fruit stops growing at about 35C. If temps reach this move them into a partial shade area. I checked the average temps for Malta for the month of June. It is about 29C which is perfect for tomatoes. Your plants just need hardening off. They are seedlings. Start by putting them into the full sun for an hour for a couple of days and then increase to 2 hours and then 4 hours and all day. Wind can damage tomatoes at any size of plant but normally the larger the plant the more wind they can withstand. And depending on what type of tomato you have you will probably have to stake the plant to keep the fruit off of the ground and to keep the plant from being blown over.

 

[thealley]

Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of full direct sun to produce well. Ambient temperatures are not as important but a tomatoes fruit stops growing at about 35C. If temps reach this move them into a partial shade area. I checked the average temps for Malta for the month of June. It is about 29C which is perfect for tomatoes. Your plants just need hardening off. They are seedlings. Start by putting them into the full sun for an hour for a couple of days and then increase to 2 hours and then 4 hours and all day. Wind can damage tomatoes at any size of plant but normally the larger the plant the more wind they can withstand. And depending on what type of tomato you have you will probably have to stake the plant to keep the fruit off of the ground and to keep the plant from being blown over.

Hi, many thanks for your reply

My mistake, as by hardening I thought it meant 'getting them out gradually' rather than 'exposing them to the sun gradually'. So I was getting them out in the shade.

I have also some 1 foot tall tomatoes which are in their final big pots. But as above, apparently they weren't hardened correctly. Is it too late to harden them now? This morning I put them for 1hr into direct sunlight and the leaves wilted dramatically. I've now put them in the shade and have recovered. Should I continue hardening them gradually even though they are not seedlings anymore?

Many thanks.

 

[Chuck]

Hi, many thanks for your reply

My mistake, as by hardening I thought it meant 'getting them out gradually' rather than 'exposing them to the sun gradually'. So I was getting them out in the shade.

I have also some 1 foot tall tomatoes which are in their final big pots. But as above, apparently they weren't hardened correctly. Is it too late to harden them now? This morning I put them for 1hr into direct sunlight and the leaves wilted dramatically. I've now put them in the shade and have recovered. Should I continue hardening them gradually even though they are not seedlings anymore?

Many thanks.

Yes, keep putting them into the sun. Tomatoes must have sunlight to produce and if you don't all you will have is a plant with no tomatoes.

 

[thealley]

Yes, keep putting them into the sun. Tomatoes must have sunlight to produce and if you don't all you will have is a plant with no tomatoes.

Thanks

 

[thealley]

Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of full direct sun to produce well. Ambient temperatures are not as important but a tomatoes fruit stops growing at about 35C. If temps reach this move them into a partial shade area. I checked the average temps for Malta for the month of June. It is about 29C which is perfect for tomatoes. Your plants just need hardening off. They are seedlings. Start by putting them into the full sun for an hour for a couple of days and then increase to 2 hours and then 4 hours and all day. Wind can damage tomatoes at any size of plant but normally the larger the plant the more wind they can withstand. And depending on what type of tomato you have you will probably have to stake the plant to keep the fruit off of the ground and to keep the plant from being blown over.

Hi, can I clarify something please? When you say that average temp for Malta is 29 degrees, I guess you mean in the shade? In the sun it exceeds 40 degrees. When I put them in the sun they wilt almost immediately, but recover well once put into shade. I'm training them gradually, hope I'm not damaging or stressing them by letting them wilt and leaving them in the sun at 40+ degrees. Thanks for any clarification

 

[Chuck]

Hi, can I clarify something please? When you say that average temp for Malta is 29 degrees, I guess you mean in the shade? In the sun it exceeds 40 degrees. When I put them in the sun they wilt almost immediately, but recover well once put into shade. I'm training them gradually, hope I'm not damaging or stressing them by letting them wilt and leaving them in the sun at 40+ degrees. Thanks for any clarification

I don't know. All I did was google "temperature in Malta June" and numerous sites stated 27C-29C and sunny.