Sybil, I plant out in March. I don't cover unless they're in the ground and we get a freak cold snap. We get tons of tomatoes even planting in March.
Winter/Spring Gardens 2015
I plant out late March early April, depending on the temps. My plants produce all summer long, they slow down in the middle of summer but never stop. I have found that if the soil temps are too cold the plants just sit there even if we don't get a freeze.
Just read that we might be in for another winter storm next weekend! Could they not come a bit earlier in the winter??
Chuckl, just makes em keep happening longer.
Your kidding? It was 76 today supposed to be cold/rainy tomorrow....then freezing rain.
Yes, I read there's potentially another arctic freeze behind this one. Yippee! (NOT!)
I hope the weather man is wrong ... but this weather is very normal at this time of the year in my area.
There will be sleepless nights thinking at my tomatoes outside !
OK--I have been green-eyed long enough seeing all the photos from you "suthners" while we here in the PNW are housebound. (but compared to the poor souls in the eastern part of the country, we have been very fortunate this winter). I started a few peppers & tomatoes back in late December and now have some pretty nice babies.
I just want to show you what I have been doing- painted my 8 trellises, been working amendments into all my gardens, and have set my cages in place. Just this morning I took the DairyQueen cups that I saved all winter-(I love DQ sundaes)-used my bulb planter to punch holes, and set a cup in each hole-pushed a bit of soil around so they won't fly away in our winds! and the soil will be nice and warm when the plants go in-not for several weeks at the earliest! The last photo is of some of my babies in my little greenhouse.
Moved most of my seedlings into bigger cups today, the eggplant has not long sprouted (been a week or so), so it does not need it just yet, but everything else was starting to get root bound.
Jo, I love my peppers you sent, finally got them to grow, chuckl, planted short rebar around them to detract deer. Should haveplanted rebar around my mater...
very pretty, Kittriana--one year I had a little hedge of them in front of my house- made a great conversation piece! I'm happy they did well for you.
Jo,
You are on the Ball. I still have a house full of tomato seedlings, and not a one in the ground yet...
Hopefully, it'll all be over this weekend, at a flea market sale. Cant drop another seed until the tomatoes are out!
However, I'm finding I still enjoy growing the seedlings more than growing the tomatoes, LOL!
Hugs!
It's below freezing here and the long range forecast shows more cold air.....I wouldn't want to have a tomato plant in the ground, at least not around here. Lol
The dog won't even go outside. I wonder how long he can hold it.....
This message was edited Feb 23, 2015 5:56 PM
LOL!
We've been in the 20s all day. We got 3/4" of rain yesterday, then somewhere around 1/2" of SLEET in the early hours today. There's another system coming Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning with a chance of accumulating snow and then another cold front this coming weekend.
You all in Texas are having it worse than we are here in Washington state!
Although we're going to be in trouble this summer after not having appreciable rainfall in our "rainy" season. Yoiks.
Still a lot of ice on the ground, but thankfully, the sun is trying to come out and the roads are clearing. Snow in the forecast for tomorrow. :/
The garlic doesn't seem too upset about the ice.
Nice of you to post that picture. We don't have any white stuff. Almost forgot what it looks like.
You're welcome. It's ice, though, not snow.
The good part about all this for us Southern gardeners (at least in the Houston area) is that the dips only last a couple hours, going into the early morning. So with protection, our tomatoes will do just fine in the ground.
I cleared out the collards in one bed, and was intending on amending with some composted cow manure, but, the rain started up. Just sprinkles, but it was cold out, so, I covered the bed with plastic sheeting, and put the plastic cover over the hoop to keep the soil dry. Renting a tiller this weekend, to get all the beds prepped.
The tomatoes have been sitting on the patio for a week now, in Rubbermaid tubs without a lid. I checked this morning, and they're fine...
Here it was below freezing ALL last night and supposed to get near freezing tonight with possible snow flurries Wed AM. More cold to come later in the week. School started 2 hrs late today and probably will tomorrow.
We had snow and sleet this morning, but it was all gone by noon. Yesterday, I potted "up" my tomatoes and peppers. They've graduated!
Those look really good Stephanie.
We *should* be ready to plant peas and stuff, but the soil temperature has been too cold. I'm not planting yet.
Holy Dooley y'all!
The weather prediction is freezing weather until Sunday...yesterday was sunny. I need sun!
I really want to get my tomato starts into the ground, but this morning it was 38 degrees. I have the tomato bed covered with black plastic to help increase the ground temps, and I have some frost cloth to put over them once they're in the ground. But it's still too cold for me to start working outdoors yet!
Jo-Ann
Hey, Jo!
I'm gonna bite the bullet and set mine out tomorrow evening. I'm gonna do a "hoop within a hoop" for added protection.
I made ldsprepper's 18" A-frames that can sit in the bed over the seedlings with the perforated plastic on. Then, the regular 1/2 moon hoop will span the entire box, covered with the 6 mil,
non-perfed, greenhouse plastic. That should get me through mid-April, only having to remove the main cover to water (if I don't just lay a drip hose along the tomato line..). If I do, just uncover once a week to feed the plants.
P.S. I put my seedlings in a clear plastic rubbermaid bin and kept the lid on at night. Placed it askew during the day for some airflow. Those seedlings look great inside that bin!
Linda
Snow in Fort Worth today! We picked up about 3". Good thing I'm behind on planting my onions and potatoes.
oohhh I might have a tomatoes cemetery ...
I will uncover tomorrow. Wish me luck !
gave mine a sprinkling of slow release fertilizer on thursday, with earthworm castings mixed in too--the poor tomatoes were starting to cry out for more nutrients (purple on the underside of leaves, etc). I confess that i was a bit forgetful (and perhaps a little lazy) in the feeding department, lol. Hopefully that all is remedied with what i applied to them. Also the eggplant is getting in gear with its true leaves.
Also the basil, and calendula are doing great too, despite not being able to fit under the light anymore, they dont seem to mind only getting sunlight from 11AM to 3:30PM, still havent figured out what the mystery seedlings are (the one that is behind the experimental flax plants.)
Drthor, we might also have wintry mix on Wednesday evening.
Just a few days ago, I potted "up" my tomatoes and peppers. I can't believe how much they've grown already!
Tuesday is the only warm day forecast for this week....there is the possibility of snow later this week. Wed into Thursday, like Stephanie said.
Glad to hear everybody's seedlings are doing well. It always amazes me how fast they grow....once they kick in.
I'm actually starting to kind of wish they would slow down a little bit, lol, im running out of ideas on how to stack the plant light higher up! But i am happy with the great progress they have made. i usually end up with little wimpy seedlings the times that i used to just use an old desk lamp with a florescent bulb in it
They look great!!
We're expecting more freezing rain, sleet, and snow. Ugh!
School was canceled for tomorrow. Yeah!
Tomatoes outdoor and tomatoes indoors ... :)
woah, now those are some tall 'mater plants, lol! And already in bloom too, no wonder you out do us all every year ;)
I'll bet on the indoor ones.
Outdoors, not so much.