time to put stuff in the greenhouse ?

[marchogaeth]

Also, when you pot on you can bury them up to the first true leaves. The bit you bury will make roots so if they are a little bit leggy (although yours look fine) it's not too much of a problem.

[Gillykat]

Thanks for the advice This is my first ever foray into growing anything other than flowers so everything is all competely new to me I'll keep my tommies on the living room window for a few more weeks yet - they are there during the day and moved to a table in the evening when we close the curtains....hubby says I fuss over these plants more than I do him!

Funnily enough I only just read about adding more compost up to the first set of leaves the other day and that was going to be my next question...which you've already answered

[Kristen]

I think your greenhouse is on the allotment, rather than the garden? That apart, the Tomatoes could go into the greenhouse provided they came in for the night if it will be below 10C in the greenhouse (which might be, perhaps, 2C warmer than outside). I use my conservatory this time of the year which, being attached to the house albeit unheated, stays above 10C from mid March (I have a heater on a thermostat in case of a cold snap, but most years it is not cold enough to be needed after mid-March)

Funnily enough I only just read about adding more compost up to the first set of leaves the other day and that was going to be my next question...which you've already answered

All seedlings can be pricked out up to seed leaves, which can help if they are a bit leggy. Some, but not many, plants don't mind being planted deeper (Tomatoes are happy and will make roots from the stem). However, planting deep means that the rootball is nearer the bottom of the pot, so the plant has to make new root s"upwards" to make use of the new compost in the new pot, which is not their normal direction, so takes longer than if all the new compost was "below". With seedlings you can get around this by planting them on their side, the growing top will turn upwards and if the seedling is still small that works OK, not quite so easy when potting on to a larger pot - unless you use a tall "Long Tom" or "Clematis" pot.

If final planting position will be in greenhouse borders, rather than containers, it is worth planting Tomatoes deep at that time to take advantage of "feeding" roots that grow from the stem. If planting in containers there are "collars" you can buy (never seen any that are very cheap though!!!) that allow extra compost to be added above the container, inside the collar. You can then feed into the collar, where the feeding roots are, and water into the container below

But the things will just grow and produce even if just chucked in, so this is all finesse rather than essential ... I'd hate for Tomato plants to be further pampered such that Hubby starts to feel even more neglected! Although if he likes Tomatoes he will appreciate the flavour of fresh-from-the-plant

[polc1410]

Beware. This week looks nice. This often happens early April but certain as far north as Northumberland you can be getting frost into May...

SGH /Poly unheated adds ~2C to your air temp. That means on 1st May you could get a 1C frosty night, which means your GH is 3C. Anything below 4.5C is bad for those plants we traditionally think of as greenhouse plants... Toms, cucs etc.... Water in the plant expands when cold damaging the stems... You will notice those are very watery plants in general...

[Shadylane]

Some of our toms have been in the greenhouse at home for a few weeks now. I put another tray out today. I wouldn't risk it on the allotment yet though. I've not found it hurts them in the long run, if anything it seems to make them tougher. Come the autumn they point and laugh at the frosts that try to finish them off. I have no scientific basis for this mind, just what I've noticed.

[Alison]

Some of our toms have been in the greenhouse at home for a few weeks now. I put another tray out today. I wouldn't risk it on the allotment yet though. I've not found it hurts them in the long run, if anything it seems to make them tougher. Come the autumn they point and laugh at the frosts that try to finish them off. I have no scientific basis for this mind, just what I've noticed.

The risk with low temps us that it stall growth. This doesn't matter in the autumn when they're not growing but can be critical when you want them to grow

[unclefudgly]

Put all my Tomato, cucumber and chilli plants in the allotment polytunnel today, but have my paraffin heater on standby just in case we get a cold night or two.

[Shadylane]

The risk with low temps us that it stall growth. This doesn't matter in the autumn when they're not growing but can be critical when you want them to grow

Yeah I know it slows them down, but I've found in the long run it makes little difference. They always seem to catch up. I've done the coddling method for years. All that faffing about and I found it didn't make a difference. I've even coddled half and treated the other half mean. In the end they all caught up, provided us with more toms than we could handle and come autumn they kept on going longer. Not saying it's a proven method just that for me it's not worth all the faff that I used have.

[Bacchus]

All my chilli's had a day out in the poly tunnel - but they'll be back indoors tonight

[Jungle Jane]

I put 2 of my tomato plants outside today,they're waist height & just started to flower. Just to harden up a bit,they're coming indoors later. I'l have probably a month of bringing in & out till it's warm enough overnight. I always check the overnight forecasts on this BBC website,you can put your home town into the search box.
BBC Weather

[Thelma Sanders]

The BBC isn't accurate enough here, sadly.
4/5C was the forecast for last night but the thermometer in the greenhouse registered minus 1.5 OMG

[Jungle Jane]

Minus 1.5 degrees seems very cold,like winter?

[Lamboluke]

So from reading this I've started to put my toms, chilli's and cucumbers etc into the greenhouse during the day and bringing them in of an evening. A massive pain but I'd.hate to loose them all from a frost.
Regarding the low but not frost causing temps, what are the opinions of keeping the above type out in the greenhouse other than if frost temps are predicted.
I've read some are not bothered and keep them out and don't notice any issues and others who do bring them in not necessarily because it would be low enough for a frost but instead because the plant is happier inside in the warmth at night.

[Thelma Sanders]

Minus 1.5 degrees seems very cold,like winter?

There was a hard frost ........... so it was cold.

There can be frosts until mid May here.

[Kristen]

Minus 1.5 degrees seems very cold,like winter?

On a cold night, this time of year, the temperature falls until dawn (whereas in Winter it may well fall to a, cold, minimum by midnight - and then stay at that temperature!).

Thus tends to be that, at this time of year, the minimum temperature is just before dawn, and it hasn't been that cold for all that long, so something like fleece can be enough to keep the cold off the plants for the short time the air is below 0C until the sun rises and temperature starts to climb again