Hardening off Tomatos
 

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?

Hardening off Tomatos
 

The problem is soil temperature. Many folks put thier plants in the
ground too early and wonder why they just sit there and sulk, while
those of us who wait till the soil warms up catch and pass them. Lots
of tomato plants are lost at retailers, but they don't have to worry,
they are not growing them out. In all fairness tho, none of them keep
thier tomato and like plants outside at night in this area. Air temps
down to 32 don't bother them but cold feet does.

Hardening off Tomatos
 

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

Hardening off Tomatos
 

I'm in zone 5 in Southern Ontario. The past 3 years, I've put out a
third to a half of my tomato plants earlier than our projected last
frost when the air and soil temps have been nice and warm for several
days. Then I save the rest to put out about a week after the last frost
date. The early plants do seem to grow up quicker than the later ones,
but I've not noticed any significant difference in fruit production
bewteen the two groups. I put in about 2 dozen plants total, each year.

Andrew

Steve wrote:
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

Hardening off Tomatos
 

Andrew Ward wrote:
I'm in zone 5 in Southern Ontario. The past 3 years, I've put out a
third to a half of my tomato plants earlier than our projected last
frost when the air and soil temps have been nice and warm for several
days. Then I save the rest to put out about a week after the last frost
date. The early plants do seem to grow up quicker than the later ones,
but I've not noticed any significant difference in fruit production
bewteen the two groups. I put in about 2 dozen plants total, each year.

Andrew

Steve wrote:

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

Nice name!

Hardening off Tomatos
 

"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?"

Tomats, along with other nightshades, won/t do their best until the
soil warms. Wait until the season-normal minimum temperature is at
least 55°F (13°C). If you set them out earlier, they/ll just stand
there; arms spread wide welcoming harmful bugs and disease.

As for Home Despot; they/re in the business of selling you stuff. They
couldn/t care less if the time/s not right for setting out the plants
you bought from them. You might be better off buying your bedding
plants from the local feed 'n seed or a family-run garden center.

Remember - All sales are final. User assumes all risk.

Hardening off Tomatos
 

Andrew Ward wrote:
Andrew Ward wrote:

I'm in zone 5 in Southern Ontario. The past 3 years, I've put out a
third to a half of my tomato plants earlier than our projected last
frost when the air and soil temps have been nice and warm for several
days. Then I save the rest to put out about a week after the last
frost date. The early plants do seem to grow up quicker than the
later ones, but I've not noticed any significant difference in fruit
production bewteen the two groups. I put in about 2 dozen plants
total, each year.

Andrew

Steve wrote:

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


Nice name!

I thought you were talking to yourself there for a minute.