I think you should be OK. Greenhouse conditions are actually more challenging for plants, because of lower light levels, less airflow and more disease pressure, less space, no access to pollinators or wind pollination, etc. So greenhouse plants need to be more compact, more diseases resistant, etc. As long as your temps and watering are in order, I don't think growing them outside is a problem.

@JoJo (Nevada 9A) - Thanks for the help. I can't control the temperatures here but I have learned how to water my tomato plants properly now. I will be putting them in my raised bed. I am very happy to hear this because they were expensive seeds. I am going to start them in the house soon or wintersow them in a container. That worked ok for me last year with my peppers and tomatoes. They were slow and small but they caught up when the weather warmed up. I am trying that red sheet mulch this year to see if that might help when planting out.

I used the red sheet mulch for 2 or 3 seasons before it disintegrated. Mine was very thin and weeds grew underneath it, so I put two layers of newspaper under the mulch which blocked the light so that weeds wouldn't grow. If it's windy, the newspaper needs to be wet so that it doesn't blow away. It does work to keep the moisture in.

Linda

@Labradors Does it help the the soil to warm or only help keep in moisture in the soil? l start out with small plants. I do not have any grow lights for them if I start indoors so the last few years I sowed them in 1/2 gallon milk bottles outside in spring and they grew but they started small. I have a short season so I want to try to help them have the best start. I bought the red mulch to strengthen the plants if possible. I was only going to try to use the red mulch for start of the growing season and remove it for a different mulch when it really warms here. Does that sound ok to do?

I know the black mulch helps to warm the soil. Not sure about the red, but you could always throw a dark coloured tarp over the soil to warm it up.

I think it's really best to wait until the weather is nice and warm before planting tomatoes though. One year I put three of mine out too early because they were so advanced. The weather turned cold, and my plants never recovered.

I'm in Zone 5b (Canada) and I don't remove the red (or black) mulch until the fall cleanup.

Linda

We seem to always get a very cold and rainy week at the end of May and the poor things do suffer if I have them planted out too. I will keep them in the 1/2 gallon milk jugs as long as they are growing well. I will watch them diligently once I get the seeds planted. I will leave the red mulch out this year if you like it. I was going to use it under my sweet peppers too. I hope it helps.

Where did you get the cloches, @JoJo (Nevada 9A)?