FDR wrote:
I have heard in the past that one shouldn't plant tomatos in ground until
night time temperatures are 50 and above. I've heard that under 50 temps
stunt the growth of the tomatos the rest of the season. Yet I see nurseries
and places like Home Depot that have their plants outside when temperatures
are still in the 50's or 60's during the day, and well below 50 at night and
they don't seem to have problems. I've always held off until the end of May
here in Syracuse (region 5) to plant my tomatos but as long as it's not near
freezing at night, should it matter?

If you are in Syracuse, you may know where Tupper Lake is (Drive up to
Watertown then turn northeast and go 2 more hours). Up here, our normal
low temperature during the hottest part of the summer (mid July) is 52
degrees. All it takes is a night 3 degrees below average and we are into
the 40s again. I always smile when I read directions that say to hold
off planting out tomatoes until the nights are sure to stay above 50.
When would that be here?
Anyway, I just plant them out the first week in June unless that week is
extremely cold or wet. If our summer is very cool, I don't get a ton of
tomatoes and they come late. If the summer is a little warmer, I do
pretty well.
By the way, there's no law that says you have to plant them all out the
same week. You could plant some out at your usual time and hold a few
for a week or two and see what happens. If you do that for a few years,
you will find out what really works in your location.

Steve