|
Tue, Mar 20, 12 at 19:50
| Ten of my Winter-sown containers of tomatoes are now working on their first and second sets of leaves. However, this is Ohio and I don't quite trust this odd weather, so they are still in their covered containers. These are, for the most part, fairly rare seeds, and I'm both excited and very nervous.
I know their not frost-tolerant, but will they survive if we get a cold snap? Will they survive a freeze better if they make it to a certain size? Or would it be better to stick the jugs in the shed if we get a temperature dip? Have to say, I'm kind of liking this early warm weather, but it's making me awfully nervous. |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Nervous? You and me both. I'd be very careful with rare tomato seedlings. Any thing even close to freezing and I'd put them in the shed for the night. I'd bring them out as soon as the sun came up, though. The exposure to low temps and rapidly fluctuating temps is what makes them hardy. Just my two cents worth. Martha |
|
| I haven't started some of my tomatoes for this very reason. I guess I have been around this forum long enough to know that I should just do it...if I dont succeed, I can always start again. Just afraid of failure. |
|
| Like Martha, I give my tomatoes and all tenders protection if there's a frost. I'd take the covers off now if they've germinated- too much risk of frying them if it's warm. Just protect them overnight if a frost is possible, uncover after frosty conditions are gone. Karen |
|
| Thanks for the responses! We're heading toward cooler weather, rainy and down into the 40's at night, so I'm going to leave the tops on a little longer in case we get even colder. (They're in clear, 1-gallon juice jugs, with the lids off.) I think I'm so nervous because, while they were Winter-sown, they didn't really get a chance to freeze; I worry that they're not as hardy as they otherwise would have been. On the plus side, I'm over a month ahead of where they would have been, which bodes well for the longer-season types I'm trying. It balances, I guess. :) |
|
| We're going back to 20's at night, after a couple of weeks of 70's-80's day/40's-50's night. I'm freaking out too. I've got lupine, bachelor buttons, rose campion and delphinium sprouts in my milk jugs. I cut off all the tops for our heat wave and will spend some time tomorrow putting them back on. No shed here, but there's an unheated attached garage. |
|
| I put the happy tomato plants in new peet pots with two leaves. They are strong and getting bigger. Anyway since I am a fluffy type gardener I put the peet pots in baskets - about 6 - 8 of them. They look very pretty. I put a nice bunch of paint plastic over them and hooked them securely. Hear there is a below freezing day coming up and I think the clear plastic should bring them up by 10 degrees. I'll take this off when it gets warmer and recycle it. It cost a whopping $1.39 at Sears Hardware, where I get hummus/manure for 2 bucks a bag with a 30 cent rebate. Guess who stockedup on that crap. J |
|
| Seedlings are going like gangbusters! I brought the containers in one night, when temps dipped into the 20's, but otherwise they've held up extremely well. I was forced to transplant the Giant Beefsteaks (these are being grown for a friend of mine), they were so crowded in their container, and since their cups are uncovered I'll probably be moving them inside on colder nights. I'm in awe of how well the Extreme North and Fantome Du Laos are doing! Plus, I just now have a Purple Dog Creek seedling; I only had 3 of these seeds, and they were sown over a month ago, so I had about given up on them. *happy dance* |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Winter Sowing Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.