# Should I leave my tomatoes out?



## swee'pea99 (27 Apr 2020)

I put the seedlings out a fortnight ago to harden them off, and they seem at last to be getting back to actually growing, albeit slowly:







But I'm a bit concerned about rumours of upcoming coldness, winds, rain and general unpleasantness. Should I leave them out to take it like a man - or a tomato plant - or put them back in the shed for a few days till it all blows over?

Thanks.


----------



## Drago (27 Apr 2020)

Keep 'em covered. My seedlings stay indoors on a sunny windowsill, and my slightly more mature plants go in the greenhouse. If you can't get them covered then some 2 litre pop bottles with the top cut off protects them from the chill and enhances any sunshine we do manage to get.


----------



## tom73 (27 Apr 2020)

No keep them in if they get checked now they never recover. 
Tip learned years ago from my old Forman when you 1st pot them up go nice and deep up to the 1st set of leaves. 
The whole steam them turns to root much better root system. 
Makes much better plants that way we also did it for ones that got a bit leggy in the nursery.


----------



## tom73 (27 Apr 2020)

If you have to leave them out you can always use some horticultural fleece one layer keeps most things about 5 degrees above ambient. 
Putting stuff up against the wall of a house over night also helps it acts like a over night storage heater.


----------



## Paulus (27 Apr 2020)

All good advice above. Keep them in for a bit longer just to make sure they don't stop growing in the cool spell coming up.


----------



## PK99 (27 Apr 2020)

tom73 said:


> No keep them in if they get checked now they never recover.
> Tip learned years ago from my old Forman when you 1st pot them up go nice and deep up to the 1st set of leaves.
> The whole steam them turns to root much better root system.
> Makes much better plants that way we also did it for ones that got a bit leggy in the nursery.



All very sound advice.

The deep planting is a particularly good idea - been doing that for years, it gives much better plants.


----------



## PK99 (27 Apr 2020)

on the subject of tomato tips...

I can heartily recommend spiral supports like these

one for each plant, just introduce the growth point to the spirals as it grows - no need for tying in


----------



## biggs682 (27 Apr 2020)

We leave our hanging Tom's out and they are doing ok


----------



## swee'pea99 (27 Apr 2020)

Thanks all. I'm going for the scaredycat consensus and stickin' 'em back in the shed for the duration. They can look out the window & feel snug...


----------



## Paulus (27 Apr 2020)

PK99 said:


> on the subject of tomato tips...
> 
> I can heartily recommend spiral supports like these
> 
> ...


Not seen this idea before, a bit late for this year maybe, but I'll give it a go next year.


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

swee'pea99 said:


> Thanks all. I'm going for the scaredycat consensus and stickin' 'em back in the shed for the duration. They can look out the window & feel snug...



Yes it's too cold for them outside at night.
And it's due to get wet this week (I'm hoping in fact)

I don't know where you are but even here in relatively balmy Devon I'm still babying all 500 plants in a heated glasshouse.

They won't go into an unheated polytunnel til the end of next week, and even then I'll be nervous about late frosts.

It can happen, even in early May.

Toms can't bear those kind of temperatures.

Pot them on nice and deep as others have said.

Any stem buried, will make roots instead of shoots, feeding and supporting the plants throughout the season.


----------



## tom73 (27 Apr 2020)

When I work at the nursery we got some of our stock in early from local growers. Every time some one come to the till we'd ask have you got heated greenhouse if they said no we use to tell them to put them back and come back once it warmed up. They always got in a bit of panic over if we'd have any left. We could have sold them 10 times over to the same customers but thats not how we liked to do business.


----------



## Drago (27 Apr 2020)

I'm a sad f*&#%r who records such things, and I recorded a frost as late as June 8th last year.

I'm happy with mine in the greenhouse now, a it's a pretty decent insulated poly job rather than single pane.


----------



## Bazzer (27 Apr 2020)

Mine have been in the middle of an unheated greenhouse for the last three weeks or so, as have my chillis and courgettes. But some of the plants of the variety which can go either outside or inside (Sungold), will not be outside until June, unless the plants start to get too big and I am short of greenhouse space.


----------



## swee'pea99 (27 Apr 2020)

Thanks all. They're in the shed. They seem happy there.


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

Drago said:


> I'm a sad f*&#%r who records such things, and I recorded a frost as late as June 8th last year.
> 
> I'm happy with mine in the greenhouse now, a it's a pretty decent insulated poly job rather than single pane.



Yes it can happen.
And even very cold temps, not necessarily frost, can shock them.

Later sown things usually catch up, and will even overtake things started too early.

Earlier sown plants may never recover from initial shocks.

Just because it says you 'can' sow something in February doesn't mean you _should. 

To everything it's season _
and so forth..

But hey something to look forward too..


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

swee'pea99 said:


> Thanks all. They're in the shed. They seem happy there.



But are they getting enough light??


----------



## swee'pea99 (27 Apr 2020)

mudsticks said:


> But are they getting enough light??


Hope so. They're right by the window. <fingers crossed>


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

Keep turning them.. I'm sure you know that.. Can you put something white behind them to reflect the light back at them?? 

Anyhow, they'll get leggy either way, so just plant them deep when last risk of frost is gone.. 

If it's a 'grow bag situation you can even lay the stem down for a little way before gently angling them upwards, so you get better rooting .. 

Blimey, I'm giving it away. 

Pppl pay good money to come on market veg growing courses with me. 

All called off for this spring now though.


----------



## Drago (27 Apr 2020)

I grow loads of veg, but eat hardly any of the bleedin' stuff!


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

Drago said:


> I grow loads of veg, but eat hardly any of the bleedin' stuff!



How queer


----------



## tom73 (27 Apr 2020)

Grow bags that’s a whole new topic they are not all equal.


----------



## Drago (27 Apr 2020)

mudsticks said:


> How queer


Not only am I a meatatarian, I'm flipping well tomato intolerant - within a few minutes of eating them I'm doing the technicolor yawn. Mrs and Mini D love them, and it's my pleasure to grow them.

Fortunately, I'm very tolerant indeed of my home grown tatties.


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

tom73 said:


> Grow bags that’s a whole new topic they are not all equal.



Hmn.. Grow bags.. 

Pretty tortuous conditions to expect an innocent tomato plant to thrive in. 

But I know, needs must in some situations. 
Better than no tom's at all..


----------



## mudsticks (27 Apr 2020)

Drago said:


> Not only am I a meatatarian, I'm flipping well tomato intolerant - within a few minutes of eating them I'm doing the technicolor yawn. Mrs and Mini D love them, and it's my pleasure to grow them.
> 
> Fortunately, I'm very tolerant indeed of my home grown tatties.




Yikes - no pizza then ??

No proper lasagne, no bolognese, no tomato and mozzerella salad - how dreadful 

A few of my customers are totally solanaceae, intolerant. 

No spuds neither.. What a miserable so-called existance


----------



## tom73 (27 Apr 2020)

mudsticks said:


> Hmn.. Grow bags..
> 
> Pretty tortuous conditions to expect an innocent tomato plant to thrive in.
> 
> ...



Very true never been a fan most are total crap. Ours Use to cost 3x the price but customers soon came back for more. Wish I had a quid for every one I had to lump into the glasshouse then lump them into customers cars.


----------



## Drago (27 Apr 2020)

I can manage small amounts to of pizza and the like, and those nice chaps and at Dominoes are happy to do one with barbecue sauce instead. Tomato ketchup no problem at all, which shows how much tomato it actually contains.


----------



## contadino (27 Apr 2020)

Drago said:


> I'm a sad f*&#%r who records such things, and I recorded a frost as late as June 8th last year.



Another sad fletcher here...

My calendar from last year says we had a blizzard on 4th May.

So my tomatoes are staying on the window ledge until after that, although this year's big experiment for me is to try growing tomatoes and cucumbers outside. There'll be others in the greenhouse as a safety net, but I haven't chanced growing delicates outside since moving to england. If all goes well 2020 will go down as the year of gazpacho and pimms. 😁


----------



## swee'pea99 (3 May 2020)

What a difference a week makes! From those spindly, yellowed waifs of a week ago...






To happy, greenleafy, sturdier-every-day plants now:






CC triumphs again! 

(With particular thanks to @mudsticks)


----------



## mudsticks (3 May 2020)

swee'pea99 said:


> What a difference a week makes! From those spindly, yellowed waifs of a week ago...
> 
> View attachment 519715
> 
> ...



Coolio 

dm me your address - for the consultancy fee


----------

