Making slots/vents bigger

Ok, heres a real newbie question, when do I start making the slots/vents on my WS containers bigger?
Over the next week its supposed to range any where from 37F to 44F and then again next Saturday, its supposed to dip down again to just below freezing. I'm not home during the day to check my containers, so should I make the slots bigger to be on the safe side? Or wait?

Steven

I'm newbie this year too but in zone 7. We've had 60's and occasional 70's. I haven't seen any need to make my slits larger yet and would think you have a few more weeks before you would.

At temps of 37 to 44 I would be enlarging holes. At 60s and 70s I'd have the tops off, at least during the day. I'm assuming with that weather you have sprouts.

I'm not an expert; this is only my 2nd year. But more people seem to lose seedlings from heat than from cold.

Karen

Thanks for your replies :)
Depending on how fast the snow melts, maybe I'll make the slots bigger this weekend or early next week for sure. They are about 1/2 covered with snow now.

Steven

Oh, if they're still packed in snow, they're OK. Just watch the weather carefully after the snow melts and, I would say, probably with temps in the 40s, you might want to enlarge the holes then. But last year, when we were in the 60s, I popped the tops open at least in the daytime.

Karen

Ok, probably sometime mid next week then, this is my first year and I can't wait to see my sprouts!

Thank-You!
Steven

This message was edited Mar 8, 2007 8:40 PM

Karen I'm not that far north of you so I'm paying close attention to what you're saying. My work hours are so weird that I'm a little fearful of not being around to pop the tops (or re-close them) when I should. We're moving into a warming trend where it's supposed to get close to 60° during the day. But by the time I get home from work it will probably be back down in the 30's. Right now there's still a little snow around them so they're probably OK, but what do I do tomorrow or the day after? If I leave the tops on when I go to work will I cook them?...and if I don't will they freeze by the time I get them re-covered? I know. The paralysis of analysis, LOL.

I've got my containers where they are in shade during the hottest part of the day, and that has seemed to work well in the past. I don't think I popped the tops on any container before I saw sprouts. The principle is the same as gradually hardening off seedlings started indoors... You wouldn't want to pop the tops on a 70 degree afternoon and then not close them up again if temperatures were dropping to near or below freezing that night, but after they've experienced some less mild temperatures they should be fine if temperatures drop to 35 at night... At first I cover at night, then if we get a couple of mild nights I leave them uncovered, and after that I only cover them again if I think it might freeze.

And at that, I am sure that I baby my WS seedlings way more than is necessary!

Lala: yes, I work too and will have the same problem. I leave around 6:30 a.m. and it's too dark to even see the jugs. Right now it's not a problem since I only have 1 container with sprouts. I enlarged the holes in that one some today after work. I'm not going to worry too much about the rest until they sprout.

I don't think heat is a problem until temps are around the 50s, more problematic the more sun they get. Mine get only morning sun.

When in doubt I will start to make the holes bigger. I prefer to err on the side of having them cold rather than hot. More people lose sprouts to heat/drying than to cold. That's why I couldn't save any jugs from last year to reuse this year- I had gouged them to the point that there wasn't much left of them.

Karen