No plastic! When the sun comes out, the plastic bag builds up heat very quickly (especially the black ones), and cooks the plants.

Use something like a sheet or better yet a blanket, some kind of cloth material. I use old ratty bedspreads and comforters.

Also, water the plants well before the cold comes. That will help protect them.

Unless it's getting way below freezing, this should work well. To be on the safe side, I always take off a couple of suckers (the little branches that grow in the joints where the leaves join the plant) and put them into water. These root pretty easily, so if the worst happens, you can have more 'maters.

Large cardboard boxes with covers over them work well too .
I use old tablecloths , sheets , blankets , comforters - even pillow cases .
Painter's buckets work well too .
I even have the lid of my Webber grill over a sensitive plant .
I put a 50 lb. feed bag over one of my tomato plants .
What ever it takes .
The worst is yet to come !

Karen, did your tomatoes make it?

Hi Karen---I live in Lake Helen so my temps will be similar to yours unless you are in a cold spot. Usually when we have a hard freeze, it will be difficult to protect the tomatoes with just coverings. At that point it is easier just to let them go. That's the reason why I grow some winter varieties in paint buckets so I can take them in during the very cold nights. Usually they start ripening in mid-Jan. but this year the plants are growing extra slowly due to the premature start to the cold weather. Later this weekend I will post pictures and instructions on how to save plants that are really important, such as avocados and mango, etc.

Christine

Hi Karen

I second Christine on her advice on the tomatoes.

Hi Christine

I am looking forward your tutorial on protecting the avocados, mango and others. It will be very helpful to me.

Willy

Thanks for the advice, guys! I got busy for a few days and have been forgetting to log back in: I wound up using a motley assortment of hastily grabbed bedspreads, tablecloths, cardboard boxes, etc...
The plants survived, but not unscathed - I pruned off the worst of the dead leaves and branches the next afternoon, and I'm still picking off dead leaves and stem sections day by day if there's enough light to see when I get off work.
The majority of each plant is still hanging in there, though, and all of them have lots of green tomatoes on them, so if we can just have one little "Indian summer" week to get them percolating again, maybe those darn maters will finally turn pink! :)