Wait a few more days before removing row covers
I don’t know about you but I’m anxious about taking off the row covers from our tomatoes. I’m tired of waiting! I’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting for this HOT HOT weather to leave and even though we’ve had some rain, it is not coming from Mexico and hence it is NOT the monsoons so we get some rain and then the heat comes on again. Today is still hot and then the temperatures are suppose to drop off dramatically over the next week. Could this be the beginning of a late monsoon season? I hope so. Meanwhile I had decided to take them off on this coming Monday and was sitting on the picnic table in the garden and saw the dreaded leafhopper jump on my computer (thank god it can’t give my computer a virus)! So now I am still waiting a few more days till the rain is consistent and the intense heat leaves us (which is what the leafhopper loves). So if you haven’t taken them off (and I hope not yet) then leave them on a few more days till these monsoons really come in. BLAH! I will post when I take off the covers-just not yet… WAAA!
giantveggiegardener 
Are the covers open on top? If not, doesn’t it get very hot inside? If open, don’t the leafhoppers still get in?
LikeLike
I use medium weight row cover which is not too heavy to overheat the plants and the wind can go thru them somewhat. It provides some shade and rain can get thru that weight row cover as well. Heavy weight row cover would be too hot. The covers are closed on top as well as around the sides to the ground. The idea is to make a physical barrier so the leafhopper isn’t able to bite your tomato plant. I use close line pins to close them up.
LikeLike
That makes sense. I was wondering the same thing. I figured you know what you are doing.
LikeLike
Lol, yeah! I saw leafhoppers just yesterday also! A whirlwind (strong dust devil) came and destroyed 4 of my tomato cages a couple weeks ago, thus exposing those tomato plants. Two of them have the curly top virus, the other two don’t show symptoms yet. I still have 16 other tomatoes wrapped in row cover, so I am not worried about losing a few. Will be glad for those monsoons!
LikeLike
Yes I have had the wind blow off a couple of mine as well and am supicious about whether they got bit or if the plants are just reacting to this heat with leaf roll.
LikeLike
Yes I have had the wind blow off a couple of mine as well and am supicious about whether they got bit or if the plants are just reacting to this heat with leaf roll.
LikeLike
I have left my covers on until the end of July in the past and the tomato plants seems just fine with it, even if I am sick of the billowing white “cabanas” up in my garden.
LikeLike
I like you calling the row covers ‘cabanas’ and as soon as this rainy weather really comes in, we can take them off! It is all around us but no rain here at our house yet.
LikeLike