Too early for toms?

[completely plotty]

My tom plants are all doing very nicely on the kids bedroom windowsill and I will be re-potting them this weekend. Does anyone think it will be ok to put them outside into my unheated greenhouse or is it still a bit too cold?? (I could do with the space for other seeds!)

[Thelma Sanders]

Even inside a blowaway in the greenhouse I'm still getting readings of only 1 or 2C over-night, so I'd say it's still much too cold.

I've only just sown mine cos I don't usually leave mine out (in the greenhouse) overnight until end of April beginning of May - depending on what the weather is doing.
I do do a bit of the 'out for the day in for the night' routine before that though

[completely plotty]

Thanks Thelma, I think I will hang on a bit then

[Bill HH]

I am risking some in my green house but I am in Devon and the temperature hasnt gone below 3 deg C all winter. If they are happy on your windowsill leave em a while.

[alldigging]

Someone in Cheshire said they start theirs in an unheated greenhouse now.

I can't believe they don't have any frosts from now onwards ...

[Alison]

I'm Cheshire and I might risk the odd spare plant but the rest will be inside for a while yet.


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[RaptorUK]

I have my first seedling up now, San Marzano II, it's in the greenhouse in an uncovered electric propagator, the cover goes back on overnight.

[batman]

My plot neighbour has some of his plants in his greenhouse already - but he always has too many seedlings so he's not too worried if any don't make it.

Mine are still cosy on the windowsill in the unheated spare room.


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[LillyRoseGarden]

I planted mine into an unheated greenhouse when it was +18 few weeks ago. Since then, I guess, winter came back. Tomatoes (mainly cherry and Minibell varieties) are still alive and I hope not gonna die on me. Unfortunately, my Kiwi plant died.

[Kristen]

Risking some is fine of course (there was a low-temperature Tomato growing thread on here last year? year before?) but my view is that below 10C they will stall, and it can take some time for them to get going again, so best avoiding low temperatures.

The light in greenhouse will be way WAY! better in greenhouse than windowsill, so if it is an option I would greenhouse-during-day and in-during-night - they don't need light at night, of course , so utility room floor, or maybe even garage if that will keep 10C minimum, will do. On nights where forecast is not too cold then leave them in the greenhouse.

Every year I have a number of plants that go-out and come-in every day. I always drop some during that period

Max/Min thermometer or a remote weather monitoring gadget that will tell you the temperature where the Tomatoes are, to save you having to go out to check, might be useful?

[Tomatoking]

I have had my tomatoes planted out in the poly-tunnel for a few weeks now,although I am in Brittany. In saying that we did have a little light frost this week and I covered that plants with fleece, which seemed to have worked.

My advice would be to keep them is until there is no chance of frost. The only problem you could incur is 'Leggy' plants because of lack of light, but being in the window will help of course.

As for low temperatures causing a problem with plants, when growing commercially we never let the temperature drop below 15 degrees at night, as apparently the fruit would not set on the lower bunches very well if below this. However since I have been growing in my poly-tunnel the early night temperatures are quite low at the start and to be really honest I still get fruit setting on the bottom trusses. The worse thing I feel is leggy plants, which can cause you to loose fruit on the early trusses.

[bramble]

My plants are all now out in the unheated greenhouse for the past week. I put several layers of fleece over them every evening and so far they are doing fine. I don't normally put them out so early but I as having visitors and some people coming to stay so they had to go out.

[Knight of Albion]

You have started them a bit early... They'll probably go all straggly indoors and be no good. What you could do is put them in the greenhouse, still in their pots, up on a shelf and bring them in overnight if the forecast predicts a chilly night.

[Bigmallly]

Mine are in the greenhouse with fleece at hand if a cold snap is forecast.

[Penellype]

The two plants I have sown so far are on the sitting room windowsill with 2 trusses of flowers and about 3 ft high. I've already stopped them off as they are staying where they are, and the cuttings are under the grow lights in the spare room. Its far too cold to think of putting tomatoes in an unheated greenhouse here - its less than a week since we last had a night below freezing outside, and the last frost usually happens sometime in May (last year it was June).