My tomatoes are telling me firmly they don't wanna go out.

I started hardening them off this weekend, putting them out only when it was over 50 F, then bringing them back inside. More burn on the leaves than I've ever seen.

You gotta listen to the plants.

centexan254 - have you ever tried WOWs (Wall o'Water)? I'd think they would work great for you in your unstable climate for early plant out. And much easier than cover and uncover and cover, etc.

Dave

I swear it's like dealing with a teenager!

The story changes every time someone calls them on it. They have an answer for everything and tell it with a straight face. And while adults are often wrong, they are NEVER wrong, just misunderstood.

Thankfully most of us grow out of it sooner or later.

Dave
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Pure rhetoric without substance.

There has been no story to be changed but 100% action with results.
"""Ditto Dave (Carolyn). ...

Ditto as I wrote above.. Do your thing. You don't have to interact.
Case closed.

All this confirms to me to wait, wait, and wait! As much as I'd love to push the envelope, I'm not willing to cover, replant, etc. I'm having a heart attack just repotting a few of them because they grew so fast and I still have at least another three weeks to go, if I'm lucky! I'm listening to the experts!

Here is the time line;

On March 24 I started a thread Called "

TIME TO GET TOUGH.

The same they I took about 20 plants outside. As I said in that thread I just gave then an introduction to fresh air, some breeze and some indirect light. I put them under hoop overnight.It was going to get down to 43F that night.

From then til April 3rd I continued the hardening off process SLOWLY but SURELY.
On April 4th and 5th planted them out in the beds, PERMANENTLY, no hoop, no cover no WOW.
That is just about ONE MONTH ago.

Here is a picture (bloody Butcher in bloom, sowed seed on Feb. 27, planted out April 5)

FN:
I have lived in the State of Missouri few years. It is nicknamed "Show MeI " state.
Talk is cheap, show me action and results !.

This post was edited by seysonn on Mon, May 5, 14 at 22:23

Seysonn, the lower stems look a bit unhealthy. I would remove them. Are you sure they aren't too cold?

Sharon, Thanks for the comment.

Those in the lower part are just OLD leaves. I have pinched the tip and left the stem to be there to fall off by itself. The color of the foliage is not as light as seen in the picture. It is actually much darker. I took the picture with my phone.

One more thing: I have planted 2 of them together. Just to experiment. .

And here is a Sungold ;

Pure rhetoric without substance.

There has been no story to be changed but 100% action with results.
"""Ditto Dave (Carolyn). ...

Ditto as I wrote above.. Do your thing. You don't have to interact.
Case closed.

******

Pure rhetoric without substance? Your conclusion only, and response expected,

Neither of us NEED to interact with you but neither of us wants to stand by and see wrong/confusing misinformation posted.

Case closed.

Carolyn, who spends maybe 90 % of her time at another message site and a few other message sites, but will continue to stop by this Tomato Forum to see what's up.

I agree with Dave making a distinction- while I am zone pusher, it is calculated risk. I use what I know and what experience of growing in my conditions have been helpful in the past. My raised beds get covered with black landscape fabric about 3 weeks prior to planting, my WOW are set up few days prior to going in, my plants get organic matter in the beds, including microbial inoculants and occasional foliar drink of liquid pick me up stuff... I rarely loose any plants in WOW and currently my babies are happy and clappy even outside weather has been in 50 daytime and 40 at night. It gives my plants better root growing period and helps them to adjust well. In two weeks I won't be able to close up WOW but then I generally do not need to close it ... I do not have as good results if I plant them after Memorial day.
Am not saying my way is The way. I am all ok for people experimenting and finding out what works for them in their climate and how much work they are willing to put into their babies.

Linda, What distinction did he make? The point is I wanted to push my season's start. And I did not have any greenhouse or high/low tunnel. I have only used cheap hoop( about 3ft high) and a cold frame just during hardening off period (Mar 24 to April 3). This is instead of running back and forth to garage, nothing more. People do it during hardening off time, all the time.

I have done it also as you described by TAKING CALCULATED RISK. I HAVE USED BLACK PLASTICS TOO BUT no W.O.W. NO overnight protection whatsoever after planting.

And the point is I HAVE DONE IT vs they SAYING : It cannot be done. They have not even tested JUST ONE SINGLE plant to show anything otherwise. So that is why I say TALK IS CHEAP.

They have been saying all along that you should not plant out as long a lows are below 45F. Which is ok if they keep it as a personal preference but not to push it and generalize it . I have seen my plants go down to 38F more than once and twice.
I am talking based on reality and what I have experimented and they are TALKING talk.

ONE MORE PROOF:
Silvery Fir Tree Tomato in pot: It has buds.

To my eyes those tomatoes look a bit stunted. At least in my experience when I see a tomato go out too early they look kind of rubberish after a while and remain like that for the rest of their life. They could snap out of it but this is kinda how much April fools day planting went. Granted weather in early April here is much more severe and the damage my plants sustained was worse but the question is it really worth it unless you can really protect it? I say no. When spring really turns on and everything turns green tomatoes grow. It's also possible in climates where it doesn't get too cold in early April you can get away with a lot more. You've got to know your area and if it works for you that's all that really matters. I'll baby my tomatoes some more because they're relatively small and can grow better in the house than outside. I'll take the time to rot and ph balance my pine bark and the tomatoes will appreciate the wait and effort to give them a better place to live.

seysonn - your talk like everyone whose opinion differs from yours is just making it all up. Like no formal research has been done on this, no controlled experiments, no replicated testing, and no personal experiences? You think no botanist, no horticulturalist has ever studied this? It has, they have, numerous times.

You think the info and guidelines suggested here by others only exists here on this forum? That there are no industry standards? No common practice guidelines? You think none of us have ever tried this? That folks who have been gardening far longer and on a far bigger format than you haven't learned anything in the process about what works and what doesn't work?

Apparently so since you refuse to understand that all this is nothing new. All you have done is something many gardeners have tried many times over the years and found that the risk outweighs any possible gain.

You think you have some sort of great accomplishment here. Something a bunch of photos prove as fact. Something never tried before!

More importantly you think can draw broad general conclusions from this one time experiment - conclusions like air temps below 45 degrees are no threat to the plant - and then pass those conclusions on to others as fact that it will work in their garden too.

But all you have really accomplished so far is to keep your few plants alive in your garden, in your climate, with lots of luck. You can't even know yet whether they will thrive or even survive the long haul. Sure they may bloom, some may even set fruit. But you have no way of knowing if any damage has been done to the root system or plant circulatory system. You have no way of knowing what the incidence of blossom drop or BER will be, what the degree of disease and pest susceptibility will be from the stress you have put them through, what the production ill be compared to normal, etc.

And it is all so unnecessary since there are proven, well tested ways to push early planting times and reduce the risks by half or more but for some reason you chose not to use any of them and now claim they are unnecessary.

Don't get me wrong. I hope it all works out for you. But if it does ALL it proves is that with luck, it worked for you in your garden, this year. It won't be gospel, it won't be doctrine, it won't be proof of all the far out conclusions you want to claim as fact. And it sure as heck won't mean it will work for everyone else too.

Dave

Remember when talking about soil temps there are sites one can check and even they give a 5 day forecast. Dave you must live in very cold pocket Greencast says your soil temps are 70-75f

Here is a link that might be useful: Geencast

And it is all so unnecessary since there are proven, well tested ways to push early planting times and reduce the risks by half or more but for some reason you chose not to use any of them and now claim they are unnecessary. (Dave)
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My test and result is/was done on well planning and thought of methodology and the results I got proves that. There could be other ways and methods . I am not saying there is not. But you kept being negative about what I have have been doing from the day one (March 24) calling it cold turkey. You might be a botanist and expert and what not. I never said you are not. I just challenged and found a way to do it. And it has not been a pure luck or an accident. I can replicate it over and over. Sure, I did take a chance but it was a CALCULATED risk and I had options to protect my plants even if temperatures went down to freezing mark.

Risk? You live in a relative balmy climate compared with a lot of us. Your climate is forgiving. Have you every experienced snow in April? We got about 3 foot several years back on April fool's Day.

I think what some others might be worried about is you encourage others to plant too early and perhaps lose their seedlings they can't replace.

What works in WA state might not work elsewhere. I know it won't work where I am in SE MA. We have to be careful.

We all want desperately to see signs of life again...so we plant early. However for some that would be devastating. There would be plenty of science to suggest those in certain climes can get away with murder but for so many others this is not possible.

Climate is a personal thing, it's relevant to where one dwells. There are countless factors. Many climes are so moderate the night time lows are hardly distinguishable from the day time highs. So many people experience nothing like this so caution should always be observed.

Forecast low 35 at 5am tomorrow, "feels like" temp of 31. We just covered the lettuce, no way would I have my tomatoes out yet without protection. Haven't quite hit the avg LFD. Haven't even bothered to take the soil temp yet, but next week will to see if warm enough to plant beans (should be warming up by Mother's Day).

Risk? You live in a relative balmy climate compared with a lot of us. Your climate is forgiving. Have you every experienced snow in April? We got about 3 foot several years back on April fool's Day.
%%%%%%%%%%

There is a statistical thing called "Last Frost Date" , say a 95/5% probability factor. What it means is that the same can happens after that date in Washington or Michigan or anywhere else. The difference is that LFD in my location is April 5th, and in your location might be May 25. Again, it means that there will be a 5% CHANCE OF FROST AFTER THAT DATE BOTH IN WASHINGTON AND MICHIGAN. It has nothing to do how harsh or mild it has been prior to that or in the winter.

So, your yard stick is your LFD. Same is mine. It can happen in both location with the same 5% probability.

Actually, your temperatures climb much faster in zone 6 Michigan/ Mass after your LFD than here at the PNW. Still our lows after one month passed our LFD is around 43F. And day high average is like 59F. So the bench mark is LFD not April or May or June.
I hope you get the picture.

The picture is you're not taking as much of a risk. We sometimes get frosts into early May.

One must not apply your climate to another though.

We will experience warmer temps than you and it will happen rapidly but because we are extreme and other locals the same one must place a disclaimer.

Your risk on April 5th would be mine in March. 2 years ago yes but that was once in a lifetime.

Don't just say anyone can plant tomatoes in early April without explaining your climate.

Dave you must live in very cold pocket Greencast says your soil temps are 70-75f

Yep, lake shore in a valley for the main garden. But the gardens up the hill at 300' up the hill are easily 70 - especially after that past 3 days of close to 100 degrees. I have my own collection of micro-climates. :)

NOAA, like most sites, gives frost dates probability in 90, 50, and 10 % readings. My LFD is April 15 but I still have a 50% chance of hard freeze up until Apr. 30th and 10% until May 5th. I've planted out as early as Apr. 1st under cover in pre-warmed soil. Couple of years I lucked out with no problems. Other years I've lost a third to half the plants.

Last year we had snow and ice on May 2nd. This year it was 50 degrees high with a low of 35 on Apr. 29th and 96 high and low of 64 degrees on May 2nd. Next year, who knows? Only proves there are no absolutes when it comes to plant out day.

I could easily plant out now except the next 3 days call for severe thunderstorms with large hail, high winds and a tonado watch. Could wipe out 100 plants in less than an hour. Common sense asks why risk it?

So williammorgan - excellent points you made. Well said.

Dave

Your risk on April 5th would be mine in March. 2 years ago yes but that was once in a lifetime.
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Whatever , whenever your last frost date is . I was not talking in terms of a FIXED DATE.
As I have tried to say before, LFD is a benchmark. Lets take 90/10 version. It means that there remains a 10% chance of frost after that date. They have even 95/5 probability. So lets say mine is April 5, Yours is May 15. In both places there is EQUAL CHANCE OF FROST after the given LFD and the risk is the same in both places. This is a STATISTICAL GAME like throwing a dice. The 90/10 probability means that one in 10 years you will have a frost , 9 out of 10 you won't. As we pass that LFD, the probability diminshes geometrically and with the aide of today's technology you can almost reduce it 1 percent and thus your risk becaomes much smaller. THIS IS CALCULATED RISK.

And as I said, before we are in a disadvantage in PNW when it comes to warming up after LFD. Look at this, I am in zone 7b/8a. Most of You guys in zone 6a/b are going beat me by early June. Past your LFD you have an advantage to the tame PNW weather.

The last frost date is not set in stone!

Our LFD is around May 21, and last year I was all set to plant out (as usual), but I talked to some market gardeners who told me that they never planted out until June 1 or later. I waited, and we had a frost!!!!!

This year, with all the weird weather there has been everywhere, I'm certainly not going to risk planting early just to risk having my irreplaceable seedlings wiped out by a late frost.

Linda

Well, it didn't get as cold here as predicted (I didn't get up til 6, though I was awake much earlier, it was 40 then). And the 10-day forecast from Weather Channel, and monthly from Accuweather (if you trust such things) are showing above-normal temperatures for the rest of the month, except for 1 60-degree day followed by 81! So typical May weather, all over the place. Lettuce is sure to bolt, could possibly put out the tomatoes but I haven't hardened them off yet, and I started them later this year so most of them aren't really big enough yet. I don't even have all of them in 3.5 - 4" pots yet, still potting up from 606s and I do like them to have a bit more of a root system.

Some years you time everything perfectly, others you have to wait for the weather, still others the weather turns nice earlier than expected and you're not ready. Hard to tell in Feb and March what it's going to be like in May. But I'd rather be a little later than too early. Last year the beginning of June was "too early" here - more wet than cold but had to replace half the plants, and nothing really did terrific anyway.

Unless you've got a GH, you just can't control the conditions for hardening off, planting out, or all season long. WOWs and tunnels help, but can only do so much. And if you don't have that stuff, you're at the mercy of Mother Nature.

I wonder if the OP has planted out by now, or soon?

At my current location in Southern California, the weather is such that it is hard to kill a tomato no matter how I grow it.

When I put tomato in the ground or in an outdoor container early when it is still relatively cold, the worst thing that happens is that the plants just don't grow very fast until it warms up. They don't really die or show much ill effects as far as I can tell but that's just my climate.

The tomatoes transplanted later at warmer times tend to catch up to the earlier planted tomatoes pretty quickly and there isn't much of a delay, if any, in terms of blossoming, fruit setting, etc.

My question about the big debate in this thread is this: Is 4 inches of extra growth in about a month really all that significant and worth the associated risks, whatever they may be in your climate?

4 inches may seem a lot when the plants are small, but when the weather warms up it seems that a young tomato can get that much growth in a few days.

Also, couldn't the same by accomplish by other means like up-potting while keeping the plants indoors or having the plants grow in a somewhat protected environment, like a cold frame or hoop tunnel, during this time instead of just having them exposed?

Remember when talking about soil temps there are sites one can check and even they give a 5 day forecast. Dave you must live in very cold pocket Greencast says your soil temps are 70-75f

Here is a link that might be useful: Geencast

Is 4 inches of extra growth in about a month really all that significant and worth the associated risks, whatever they may be in your climate?

No, not IME in my gardens here. As I said above, experience - if only by trial and error rather than actual research based - shows that the risks can outweigh any possible gains. Using season extending tools like black plastic soil warming and WOWs or similar can cut those risks by half or more but they have their own side-effects.

Over the 5-6 years I used them to set some plants out 2-3 weeks early the normally planted plants of the same variety would catch up to them in size within days and the most I ever gained in actual early fruit set was 5-7 days. But they do save all the work of covering and uncovering the plants.

Dave

The last frost date is not set in stone!

Our LFD is around May 21, and last year I was all set to plant out (as usual), but I talked to some market gardeners who told me that they never planted out until June 1 or later. I waited, and we had a frost!!!!!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Yes Linda, LFD is not set on stone. It is just a statistical number based on past weather data. That is why it is based on probability (commonly 90/10). Which means frost still can happen with 10% probability for some time in the NEAR future.

Secondly: As being a benchmark, it does not mean that the following day you rush out and start planting your tomatoes, peppers etc. You have to consider the COLD TOLERANCE?SENSITIVITY of a given plant not just the actual frost.

ON EXTENDING THE SEASON:
Extending the season might not be that advantageous in locations/zones/climates that weather warms up quickly, shortly after LFD and there you have a long hot summer. BUT here in the PNW it is a different situation. The weather warming pattern is turtle like. Our lows in average will stay in 40s til June. and the highs will be under 68F till the end of June. That is why the late planted plant is not going to have gang buster growth to catch up with those planted 4 weeks before.

Your last frost is almost in June and you're planting this soon? I'd have protection on stand by.

I'll plant my tomatoes around memorial day when the lillies of the valley bloom. If I was cheating with protection I'd plant sooner but not in the open air with soil not quite baked yet.

In mid June the tomatoes here will explode with growth. Not quite Long Island/NJ but I expect some nice San Marzano Redortas. How I treat them now will determine how nice they are later.

our last frost is almost in June and you're planting this soon? I'd have protection on stand by.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Did I say that ?
FIRST: my LFD was like April 1st.
Again, it does not mean that I could necessarily go ahead and plant out on April 2nd. You have to check your soil temp and extended forecast. I planted out (I think on April 4th). There has been time that I have even planted a few days BEFORE my LFD, when the extended forecast looked favorable. But if the extended forecast indicated that 3 days down the road there will be a frost or lows under 40F, I would've not planted any tomatoes. .

There is ALWAYS an element of Risk and Reward. It is a trade off. If you DO NOT WANT any risk, wait a couple of weeks or even longer. .

ANOTHER POINT:
It is not just all about growing tomatoes either . As humans we dare to challenge the elements of nature. Why would one live in places that there are Floods, Hurricane, Earthquake , harsh winters and summers ? !!!
We dare to fight and challenge. That is part of human life and destiny. JMPO

Good Lord. This is about tomatoes??????? This is not brain surgery. This is TOMATOES. Big deal, people ! Yeah, they're tasty and fun and a lot of work but tomatoes are not going to save the world. BIG FRIGGIN' DEAL !!!

DHLCAL, yep, 4è of extra growth is a big deal here. One, our May and June temps are not always optimal and we have sluggish time going... two, I really like having tomatoes fairly early, not just 2 weeks in August.
3. There is whole load of great tomatoes in 85-90 days range that I will never see because Sept here already starts having cool nights, so often you end up with loads of beautiful green tomatoes by the time first frost hits...

How about LATE PLANTING ?
Actually, per local tradition should've waited til after Mothers Day weekend.

I planted bulk of my tomatoes on April 4 and 5 (about 15 of them ) Then I add more gradually. But they have all been outside all this time, anyway.

Yesterday I planted the LAST BATCH consisting of 5 plants. Now I have roughly 30 plants and have 3 extras laying around with no home to go. This is after giving away 6 plants to relatives. When you start from seed, you will always have extras. I have composted some in the past.Not a good feeling, I can tell.

Now the maintenance work begins : tying up, pruning, talking to the plants , checking the flowers ten time a day :D

so often you end up with loads of beautiful green tomatoes by the time first frost hits...

Perhaps a good time to mention the health benefits of green tomatoes! Using a screening method that previously identified a compound in apple peel as a muscle-boosting agent, a team of University of Iowa scientists has now discovered that tomatidine, a compound from green tomatoes, is even more potent for building muscle and protecting against muscle atrophy

Pay me now or pay me lata! (SNL reference)

Here is a link that might be useful: Green is Good

@seysonn

One thing you might try as an experiment is to plant some tomatoes later around Memorial day and see how they fair against your original planting.

I am going to go ahead and pull the trigger and plant out today. It's only 2 days before average last frost date, but the ground is probably a bit cooler than normal even though we have had several days in a row of almost 90. Good chances for rain and clouds the next week should help in hardening off. 10 day has a few lows between 45-50, but the plants have been outside in almost that environment for several days. With all of the rain it might be 2 weeks before I get another window.

0 day has a few lows between 45-50, but the plants have been outside in almost that environment for several days
%%%%%%%%%%%%%

That is perfect weather. Even after over a month of plant out, this week we will have lows down to 43F.

On planting experimentally on/after Memorial Day , I have no space to add anymore. But I am sure my early April plants will have some fruits by then. I know in climates that weather warms up FAST, early planting make little difference. But here in PNW, weather warms up like turtle. So every day of early planting counts. This is a COOL country here. I can grow lettuce all summer long.

Thanks for green tomato info!
I might go ahead and plant another batch that will go directly into ground with no WOW over this weekend. Weather reported to be stable however we ALWAYS have that bad storm around this time... generally they predict it early enough...

I've had it with Chicago weather! Chi-beria!!

For me, where I am southwest of Chicago, the time to plant is usually always around Mother's Day - this weekend. Why? I don't know. Tradition.

As usual the mercury is up and down and will be for weeks. And this year is particularly awful. But I started my seeds around my usual dates - typically a little too early and they are ready to go. The plants are actually on the tall side and really should go in the ground. But, surprise!! Next week is going to be in the 40's overnight. Not deadly perhaps, but the seedlings look great and I don't want to set them back.

So I decided to try a mini-hoop house this year with black landscape fabric over the soil. My neighbors will have plenty more to talk about.

I've got landscape fabric on the garden already to help warm the soil a little. A soaker hose will go underneath prior to planting. The plants have been out during the day for a week and overnight the last two nights. They go in Saturday morning while the family sleeps in. Afterwards, I'm going to cover the tomatoes and a few cucumbers with the mini-hoop covering.

Cost-wise the product I bought is middle-of-the-pack. It's a semi-transparent white plastic over wire hoops. It ought to stand about 18-24" above the soil.

I will plant on Mother's Day!! (queue Viking laugh). Chi-beria be darned.

(Please work, please work...)

Some of you people just need to either build some greenhouses or move to more sensible locations like the rest of us and leave your current tomato hell holes to people who don't grow stuff.

DHLCAL, you're just mad because you can't produce green tomatoes like the rest of us!

(He said from the coastal fog bank.)

Well, we do get green tomatoes here. But gotta be careful or they suddenly turn ripe on me.

First tomato picked of the season just now: one single Sun Sugar.

For some reason I tortured myself and read all the 60 or so posts on this thread.

To summarize my conclusion: YMMV, and not all same numbered zones are created equal, and do not rely solely on LFD.

We finally have some nice weather but the lows could always dip. I am extremely tempted to plant today. However I would not just leave my plants without help.

They have a raised bed which is about 16-20 inches and even more if I plant them in hills. Another advantage of a raised bed is the soil heats up faster than the native ground.

I have a big pile of weed guard/block cloth. I can cover them with a nice lightweight warm blanket with that stuff.

Traditionally it's Memorial day here. The phonology is plant when the lily of the valley is blooming. They have buds but no bloom but then again they're not in my raised bed.

Rest of my group is going to be planted today in open raised beds with black fabric covering. Forecast is not the best but still stable enough.

Very good Linda. That is a Happy Mothers Day.

Black fabric or plastic can help with the soil temperature. Obviously the heat absorbed by the black materials can only heat a thin layer of soil underneath. But that is fine. Even if it just prevents fast cooling at night and due to air flow (winds , breeze). The main source of soil heat is the ground itself and the heat that rises up from the core of the planet Earth constantly. All you need to get started is a soil temp around 48F to get it going. It should get up to over 60F in a short time with black plastic/fabric. Tomato plants' top foliage ( and most plants) don't need a lot of heat. They need moderate amount of direct and indirect light.

So the planting in WOW pays off. My plants doubled up in size for these 2 weeks, robust, dark green leaves, thick stems, setting up flower and looking great. Most people have not planted theirs, although this is first year I am seeing increase in simple cold frames and row covers at our community gardens so there are few people that planted some. Couple of people planted uncovered tomatoes about a week ago, bought in store as large size pots- those look trashy, lots of environmental damage.
I have planted all my tomatoes and created plastic wall wind protection around the bed, this area calls Windy city for a reason. So far so good. We will drop for 3 nights into low 40 but soil in beds holding very nice temps so am not worried. Did plant some peppers and eggplants so we will see, those ones usually like to stay about 50...

Good luck , Linda.

Low 40s, being 42F+ is fine, as long as the soil (where the roots are stay warm (50F ++, at 4"+ depth).

Other things about night lows:
If you look at HOURLY temperatures, you will see that the low last an hour or so. Lets say the low is forecast @ 44F ( 5:am). This will be a typical hourly temperatures pattern:

3: am >>46F
4: am >> 45 F
5: am >> 44 F
6:am >> 45 F
7 am >> 47 F
.............

The other thing is windchill effect when Relative Humidity is low. That can cool off the plant and remove moisture from it faster than if the winds were calm. So by having a wind barrier , or WOW, or cage wrapped with something can provide a good cushion.
FN:
-------------------------------
starting as of yesterday, we are going to have a nice 10 day weather, mostly sunny, temps in 65 to 80F range(for highs). I look forward to seeing my matoes to get a real boost for the first time since I planted most of them on Apr 4-5.

BUMP

Learning From Experience.

The above happened in 2014. I have done the same thing again this year (2016). I started hardening off on/about March 28th and planted out my first bed on 4/5/16 ( sowed seeds 2/21/16) . Some of those plants are about 14" tall now and few of them have tiny buds already.

I want to share with you something about warming the soil up further on plant out day. first the picture:

I have dug 4 holes (one per plant). Then take the soil out of the hole and spread it under the sun. Though the soil before doing this was close to 54F but by doing this trick I get it up to 70F around mid afternoon. Then fill half of the soil back in the bottom, put the plant in the hole and fill the rest of it around the plant.(day's high was about 75F..)

Next , my watering can (full of water) was also sitting under the sun and got to almost 65F. So I water the plants with that warm water after planting (no need to go to the kitchen). Works !

So far I have planted about 30, in raised beds and pots. Luckily this year (2016) has been much warmer than 2014 but our night lows stay about 43F most of the time.

Happy Plant out !

Sey

Some of early planted beds.

With the proper apparatus, you can plant 4-6 weeks early. Even w/ no heat. Build a mini hoop house with row cover. Use the black plastic mulch. Fill several milk jugs and line them inside the structure. Every gallon of water looses/creates 8 btu's for every degree of drop durning the night. if its going to be a cold night, double or triple layer it. I've had plants out early may and BINGO May 19th 22 degrees that night! Plats were fine, I think I had 5 or 6 layers of row cover on them.

Amen, Timmy.

As the saying goes , there is more than one way to skin a dead cat.

We, the humans have learned how to cope with the inclement elements. We certainly can extend that to plants, in some small ways. Greenhouse growing is the ultimate success.

Sey

Timmy, where have you been hiding?

I thought you retired after not hearing from you. Don't tell me that you are still filling milk hugs with water to help get plants through an early planting. That can get exhausting for a few hundred plants.

The plasticulture people have a saying: "You gain one weather zone for each layer of plastic cover". But what they don't tell you is that bigger high tunnels have a much better weather buffering effect. My future high tunnels will all be at least 28 ft. wide.

Sounds like Timmy uses every known approach to plant early, excellent! We have a high hoop house we use each winter to extend the season of summer planted cool weather crops, a la Eliott Coleman, using a single layer of thin spun poly row cover near the ground. The temp inside the hoop house is about the same as outside at night, but the row cover is the real secret - the hoop house just kills the wind, and the row cover allows ground heat to keep the plants warmer. We are now using the house to allow us to plant tomatoes a month early, row cover on during the night and off during the day. After LFD we take down the plastic on the house.