I have transplanted outside my TOMATOES in zone 8a

I have transplanted my tomatoes outside Friday 18th (respecting the Maria Thun gardening by the moon calendar date).
I have dig a large hole because some of my tomatoes were really tall. So I laied down the plant, like a "L" shape.
I removed the bottom leaves under grown, so roots could grow from the nodes.
I have planted more tomatoes than I needed .. and maybe too close ... oh well ... I couldn't suicide the extra ones.
In the hole I have put: egg shales, azomite, DE, worms casting and filled the rest with Cottonburr compost.
I have built a hoop house around my tomatoes and covered with a clear plastic that has holes of 1/2" every 6". In this way the plants will not cook under the plastic if the sun is too hot.
My major problem right now is the wind. Today it was almost 30 mph.
It seems that my hoop house really protected the plants.
Now I have to keep my finger crossed for no snow or really hard freeze.
Wish me luck !!


I plan to add the RED PLASTIC MULCH a little bit later in the season.
Just in case I will need to dig the plants out if we have a bad freeze.
I hope not !!

I'm planning on transplanting my tomatoes tomorrow. I will be doing an experiment of sorts--I'm planting half in wall-o-water/season starters and half in plastic-wrapped cages. Both will protect the plants from spring winds. The plastic will protect the plants from a light frost. The wall-o-waters will protect from a freeze. I hoping to see if there is any other advantage. IF the plants don't freeze, and normal days-to-maturity holds, I will have tomatoes by late April!

The real hope is that I get more tomatoes by having 2+ months of harvest instead of just picking during June. If I wait until the "traditional" planting date, after the average last frost date, I only get a few weeks before heat and bugs kill the crop.

David

You guys have got it going on!

D,
I ordered some KOZY Coats For my seedlings. Unfortunately, I strained my back and could not move without almost unbearable pain this whole weekend. Ticked me off because I had finally compiled all my matl's for Tapla's 5:1:1 container mix and this was my planting weekend.

I managed to sift one bucket of pine bark fines last night. Once I washed down my eBucket components, I got one tiny Bull's Heart seedling planted. It was looking happy.

Tapla's recipe is very different than plain Ole MG potting mix! The PBfines and perlite make the mix very, very light and airy. And, at first it didn't seem to be draining properly, but I think it was just soaking up the water, then it started draining ok. Some 'a the pine fines wash outta the drainage straw and I believe the small particles might've been plugging it up.

I'll know in a week or two it the mix is working!

Linda

Dmtom,
Check out this strawberry eBucket design.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=7514528

dr.thor - that is a very nice setup you have there. good luck

Thanks Herbie43.
Last night the wind was blowing almost 40mph. I went out to check my hoop house around 2am ...
I couldn't sleep anyway the wind was so loud.
My hoop house was stading proud !!
I think it is because the plastic has holes and the wind goes in and out.

This is a picture of my initial tomato planting. I'm comparing plants in the season-starters and plastic-wrapped cages for survivability, growth, and productivity. I have at least one of each variety in both the season starters and wrapped cages.

David

Very nice.
I am envious ... you have lots of room !!

This is going to be a very ineresting project. Be sure to keep us updated.

Last night the temperature dropped down to low 40s.
I have lots of those blackets left over from our last move and I used them to cover my hoop house.
So far so good.
Keep y'all finger crossed for no more cold weather !!

I am envious of all of you that got your tomato plants in the ground in February. I was late in getting my seeds started so they won't be ready to put in the ground for three or four more weeks, almost too late to get tomatoes before the temperature in Dallas becomes inhospitable for blossoming and setting fruit. I will plan better next year and plant seeds in December. I broke down and purchased two Sapho variety tomatoes at NHG. I planted one in a container and one in a raised bed to see if one does better than the other. I didn't have any sucess last year with Sapho's, maybe got three or four tomatoes total from two plants. Did anyone else have below average production from this variety or is it just me?

hrp I love Sapho. I bought it last year at NHG too. $4.99 ouch !!
I remember Leslie F. Halleck talking about this great tomato. Last year, NHG sold all the plants in 5 minutes !!
In the picture you can see Sapho. Lots of tomatoes.
I think you might have planted it too late.
I found out that I must plant my tomatoes at the latest by March 15th here.
Yes, 99% we may have a cold spell ... but the tomatoes will survive if protected.
Other tomatoes that do very well here:
Sweet 100
Sun Gold
Gold Nudget
Celebrity
Yellow Pear

This year I am trying lots of new varieties (99% cherries), even a BLUE tomato.

I will really suggest you run to NHG to buy the rest of the tomato plants. Plant them next wednesday (favorable day by the moon). Not worth to buy tomatoes from Lowe's or Home Depot. NHG is way superior.

Good luck

Next wednesday I will transplant peppers and maybe eggplants ...

I am growing Sapho from seeds this year.
I found them at Johhny's

drthor
Wow, that’s the kind of production I was expecting from my Sapho tomatoes. I would be interested in hearing about your success in starting Sapho tomatoes from seeds as it bothers me having to pay $4.99 each for transplants at NHG when all of the other varieties are much less. I was going to buy Sapho seeds from Johhny’s this year but again my timing was off and I was too late. I have had real good success with Sweet 100's and Celebrity varieties. Did you make the wire tomato cages yourself and if so where did you find the wire? Last year I had a problem with my indeterminate tomatoes and cantaloupes growing over the top of the wire cages that were supposedly made for tomatoes but were just not tall enough. This year I want to build my own cages that are at least six feet high. The wire I have found thus far has small spacing that you can’t put your hands through it.

I bought the cheap cages at Lowe's, the green ones that put together are in a triangle shape.
I stick one of those 6' stakes in the corner to secure the cage to the ground.
On the upper part I weave around a heavy cord.
So far so good.
Yes the tomatoes will grow over the cages, but you can control the spread if you remove the majority of the side suckers from your indeterminate tomatoes (not on Celebrity).

I'll be working on hardening off my 'mater seedlings this weekend. I've been holding off as I'm just setting up a new bed in the veg garden for them and their friends the peppers. If I can dodge the thunderstorms predicted for our area I'll post photos.....

By the way, my oldest tomatoes (the ones I started in December) have lots of flower buds.
I kept removing the flower buds while the plants were inside, now I will keep them with the hope of lots of tomatoes real soon and not bad weather.
The plastic cover is really working well. For sure it is protecting the plants from the high winds and during the hot days, the holes help to ventilate the hoop house.

I ordered some of that, too. Once I get everything set up I might have to order more.....I have great hopes that this is part of the solution to my wind troubles.

Weather forecast for this weekend is calling for low temperature to hit 32 to 33 degrees. I have three choices, move all of my tomatoes, herbs and other vegetables in containers into the garage for the night, or cover them with some type of cover (?), or do nothing and hope for the best. Which should I do? Would it make any difference if the temperature drops to below freezing which it is likely to do before our last frost date here of March 17?

This is what I am going to do: I will cover my hoop house with blankets.
The hoop house is already cover with the plastic. I hope it will be ok.
My tomatoes are too large to be removed.
I hope we may be such low temperature just for a few hours.
I might also put some bottles with hot wather inside the hoope house.
If your tomatoes are still small, it will help to put a glass vase on top to better protect them.
Here is a picture of last March.
It snowed all of a sudden. No time to put up the pvc hoop house, so I covered the plants with glass vase. I also inserted a termometer inside to monitor temperature. The tomatoes survived and performed really good.
So good luck to all of us !!

drthor
Was wondering if you ran a rope light inside your hoop tunnel if that might help? On your season extenders squeeze enough water out the tops until they close forming a teepee.

HRP,

How long would it take you to move everything into the garage? Containers will get cold faster than plants in the ground, since heat is radiating from around the sides as well as the tops. You could make some sort of cover...but how long would it take to cover versus move? Your garage is almost guaranteed not to freeze...even covered, outside, there's no guarantee. The only stuff I have outside now is either in Wall-o-Waters or cold-weather plants. If I had anything in containers, I would move it inside.

Just my opinion, though. : )

David

I am growing romas, jelly bean, black cherry, and a German Yellow variety as my first crop out in early March. I only protected on cold nights and they look great. I fortify my soil all winter with egg shells to up the calcium content in my soil. I alsp plan to add a few more for a later crop : Persimmon, black truffles, banana legs, box car willie, and caro rich. I started germination on my late tomatoes last week and banana legs is the first out of the ground...Yea. I grow most of my tomatoes myself from seed just to make sure my kids know what it takes to make all these scrumptious veggies grow. I will also be using a liquid calsium suppliment for my heirloom tomato varieties to have no blossom end rot. We plant our tomatoes deep and get a good deep watering on them once a week. Their mulch will be going down in the next few days as I have time. We are also growing redd lettuces and yellow marigold under the tomato plants to extend lettuce production as well as marigold to keep away pests. I will be trying a new plant to keep the hormworms away...Petunias as a tomato companion. Who knew?

Sounds like a good plan.