Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/produ...19&itemType=PR
ODUCT&iProductID=719

I think it would cause the plants to over heat, by magnifying the sun rays.
Yes, I know this is just to be used during cooler temps, but in early spring
you get those peak warm days. Will I have to remove this during those days?

Cheers,
Jim

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 07:06:09 +0000, Play4aBuck wrote:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/produ...19&itemType=PR
ODUCT&iProductID=719

I think it would cause the plants to over heat, by magnifying the sun rays.
Yes, I know this is just to be used during cooler temps, but in early spring
you get those peak warm days. Will I have to remove this during those days?

Cheers,
Jim

It would not heat the plants as much as warm the water. The theory is
that the system insulates the plant.

I use gallon plastic milk jugs. I can put my plants out a month before
last frost date with no problem. The jugs are also at the right price:
free.

It works best to cut off the bottom and to bury the bottom edge about an
inch or so into the soil so the wind won't blow the jug away.

This method works for peppers and any other plants you wish to start early.

I have found, however, that speeding up plants does not necessarily make
them fruit quicker. One season I had plants under milk jugs, some not and
some from seed planted directly in the garden. All fruited about the same
time. We are in zone 4/5. Warmer areas may experience a difference.

Light quality affects tomatoes, or so it seems.

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 06:13:07 -0600, Nate wrote:

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 07:06:09 +0000, Play4aBuck wrote:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/produ...19&itemType=PR
ODUCT&iProductID=719

I think it would cause the plants to over heat, by magnifying the sun rays.
Yes, I know this is just to be used during cooler temps, but in early spring
you get those peak warm days. Will I have to remove this during those days?

Cheers,
Jim

It would not heat the plants as much as warm the water. The theory is
that the system insulates the plant.

I use gallon plastic milk jugs. I can put my plants out a month before
last frost date with no problem. The jugs are also at the right price:
free.

It works best to cut off the bottom and to bury the bottom edge about an
inch or so into the soil so the wind won't blow the jug away.

This method works for peppers and any other plants you wish to start early.

I have found, however, that speeding up plants does not necessarily make
them fruit quicker. One season I had plants under milk jugs, some not and
some from seed planted directly in the garden. All fruited about the same
time. We are in zone 4/5. Warmer areas may experience a difference.

Light quality affects tomatoes, or so it seems.

I have tried the w-o-w several times with no success. However, a
friend of mine swears by them and uses them every year. So, I guess I
am not doing it right.

I got a greenhouse in the bag last year and love it. Not only gets an
early start (tomatoes 3 or 4 days earlier than without) it extends the
season a bit in the fall also.

See what works for you.

John

"Play4aBuck" wrote in
:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/produ...jsp?itemID=719
&itemTy
pe=PR ODUCT&iProductID=719

I think it would cause the plants to over heat, by magnifying the sun
rays. Yes, I know this is just to be used during cooler temps, but in
early spring you get those peak warm days. Will I have to remove this
during those days?

Cheers,
Jim



My sister has used them for setting out tomatoes early in the season.
They are not sealed at the top, allowing excess heat to leak out. The
problem she has had with them is that they stay very humid inside and
she has had stems rot if the weather is moist.

Richard

"Richard" wrote in message
...
"Play4aBuck" wrote in
:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?

http://www.burpee.com/shopping/produ...jsp?itemID=719
&itemTy
pe=PR ODUCT&iProductID=719

I think it would cause the plants to over heat, by magnifying the sun
rays. Yes, I know this is just to be used during cooler temps, but in
early spring you get those peak warm days. Will I have to remove this
during those days?

Cheers,
Jim



My sister has used them for setting out tomatoes early in the season.
They are not sealed at the top, allowing excess heat to leak out. The
problem she has had with them is that they stay very humid inside and
she has had stems rot if the weather is moist.

Richard

My experience with the WOW"s is that they're a hassle to set up and to take
off, and they maybe get a ripe tomato a week earlier than my other
transplants. I've decided that the trouble & mess isn't worth that week of
earliness.

Regards,
Bill

Play4aBuck wrote:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?...




I tried some about 20 years ago. They work to the extent that they
protect small plants against fairly low temperatures. How low they can
go depends on the length of time below freezing and how much below
freezing it gets. The basic principle is the "heat of solidification" of
water as it freezes. This is the "heat" given off by the liquid water in
the process of freezing that keeps the overall temperature at 32F. Once
the water is all frozen, there is no more protection. (32F willl not
harm most plants, since the water in the plants has dissolved solids
which lower the freezing point.)

In practice, the wall-o-waters are cumbersome to set up and have a
finite useful lifetime. At a couple bucks each, they are useful to have
if you have planted some stuff and some cold weather is forecast. They
are not really usefull to count on for early production. You don't get
production to start that much earlier with them compared to without. If
you leave them in place, they frequently develop algae growth inside the
tubes which decreases the light available to the plant. The heat-sealed
tubes sometimes delaminate, causing the tubes to become non-uniform in
size and decreasing the structural stability of the tent, which can
collapse on the plant. They had a useful lifetime of perhaps two years
back when I used them.

On the whole, I prefer wire hoops and covers (e.g. reemay, clear
plastic) for transient protection to the wall-o-waters, but then all my
stuff is in rows which are amenable to such covers. The hoops and covers
are much quicker to set up.

"Dwight Sipler" wrote in message
...
Play4aBuck wrote:

Has anyone tried this or anything else like it?...

snip

On the whole, I prefer wire hoops and covers (e.g. reemay, clear
plastic) for transient protection to the wall-o-waters, but then all my
stuff is in rows which are amenable to such covers. The hoops and covers
are much quicker to set up.

I use concrete reinforcing wire cages around my tomatoes with clear 3 mil
duct taped plastic covering the cages with enough extra on the top to fold
over during a cold snap. The tomato plants are planted in the center of this
structure with two metal posts inside the cage to keep the wind from blowing
it over. It works as if the tomato was growing inside a miniature
greenhouse. This gives me a two week jump on the growing season, makes the
plants grow faster, and keeps the plant growth inside the cage. Ordinarily I
leave the plastic around the cages for a month to six weeks.

BTW, this is a trick I learned from watching Jim Crockett on the original
Victory Garden, and it works just as well in zone 6 in northern AR as it did
in zone 3 in northern MN.

John