✨ Sucker patrol, twine in pocket, one eye on Tuesday's 94°F and one on Friday's sudden 62°F whiplash.
Training tomatoes in Portland June is the chore I never skip, especially in a week like this one where Tuesday hits 94°F and Friday crashes to 62°F with rain. My cherry toms are putting on a foot a week right now, and if I let them sprawl, I'll be paying for it in August; split fruit, blossom end rot, and a tangle of late blight waiting to happen. Twenty minutes per plant this week saves me hours of triage later.
This Week's Action List
- 1
Pinch suckers (the shoots in the crotch between main stem and a leaf branch) when they're under four inches long. I do this Monday morning before Tuesday's 94°F heat stress sets in, since wounds heal faster on a cool day than a hot one. For varieties like Sungold, Brandywine, and Cherokee Purple, I keep one or two main leaders; I leave the others alone.
- 2
Tie vines to stakes every five to seven days using soft jute or strips of old t shirt. With Tuesday's forecast spiking to 94°F, the stems get brittle fast — tie BEFORE the heat, not during, or you'll snap a leader trying to bend it into place.
- 3
Water deeply Monday night and again Thursday morning: two to three gallons per mature plant, drip or bucket, whatever it takes. With Friday's cool front and 0.23 inches of rain coming, back off the weekend watering or you'll invite blossom end rot from the wet to dry to wet whiplash. And you'll save a few bucks too.
- 4
Mulch with two to three inches of straw or shredded leaves NOW if you haven't already. The 94°F Tuesday will cook bare soil and stress the roots; mulch keeps soil temps in the mid 70s where tomato roots actually want to live, and it buffers the moisture swing between Tuesday's furnace and Friday's drizzle.
- 5
Remove the bottom 6 to 12 inches of leaves on every tomato plant this week. Those lower leaves are the splash zone for soil borne fungi, and with Thursday and Friday bringing 0.42 inches of rain on already humid foliage, you want airflow at the base. I also strip any yellowing or curled leaves and bag them — never compost tomato foliage in Portland.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I prune suckers on tomatoes in Portland?
No — varieties like Oregon Spring, Roma, and Celebrity set fruit on a fixed framework, and pruning suckers reduces your harvest. I only prune the bottom leaves for airflow and leave the rest of the plant alone. Save the sucker work for Sungold, Brandywine, and Black Krim.
How do I protect Portland tomatoes during a heat dome above 95°F?
I throw 30 to 40 percent shade cloth over the west facing side of the bed by mid morning on any day forecast above 92°F, water deeply the night before, and skip any pruning or tying during the heat itself. Tomato flowers abort above 95°F, so the goal is just to keep the plant alive — you'll get fruit set again once temps drop back into the 80s by Thursday.