That's cool! Good idea!

Some of my tomato plants that sat in their bed for the winter bloomed in Feb too, so the spot is fine. I'm trying to decide if I just wait till Feb again next spring to put out my tomatoes or put out some in August. Hmmm.

I have to admit, life is good. My biggest problem right now is whether to have fall tomato plants.

What a dilemma, you poor woman!! I have found that if I don't transplant by mid-Feb, I don't get any toms as the air temp kills the pollen before the fruit can form. Let me see if I have a pic of the front tomato 'forest' two winters ago.....brb....nope, can't find it but I used the same Christmas tree lights. To keep the frost cloth off the tomatoes I used pvc pipe stuck in the ground and arced over to the other side. Here's the garden beds, just replace the mosquito netting with frost cloth. Again, the lights add enough warmth on our cold nights to keep everything alive. To maximize the warmth, the pvc should be closer to the ground than this pic. This way the plant roots are already established by mid-Feb and the plants can start producing blossoms then fruit before the air temps kill everything off. Plus, if we have a mild winter, you can get tomatoes all winter too. HTH.

MaryMcP - or anyone _ What length PVC pipe do you get to bend like that?

I think that is a 10' length and the width of the bed is 4'

Good to know...I might rig up something like that to keep the birds out when they return in the spring. They're my biggest pest by a mile and I still haven't found a way to thwart them.

Yep, the mosquito netting works. Get it at the army surplus store. They have netting designed to fit over a sleeping cot. Fits perfect. My problem for many seasons was grasshoppers. The buggers. Since tomatoes self pollinate, we're good with the netting.