temp for toms

[hawthorns]

what is the lowest temp in the greenhouse toms can survive in during daylight hours

[shirlthegirl43]

Pretty cold - I don't have a thermometer in my greenhouse but I didn't put the heater on in there a couple of nights ago (not having had a frost warning in our area) and although everything was white outside (ground not hard) the toms were fine in the greenhouse.

[si'sraisedbed]

I read somewhere on here that they don't like it much below 10 degrees C.

[momol]

I read somewhere on here that they don't like it much below 10 degrees C.

Yes, I read about it too and 6 C is said to be critical point (but for the establish tomato plant not seedlings).

[veg4681]

Mine gets hardened off very quickly (in unheated greenhouse) and they've survived certain nights below 5 before although most nights I tend to bring them indoors. But I never chance them with 0 and below. Same thing with all other vegetables except for beans (not peas though) that they really struggle and eventually die off in cooler weather.

[queen of the cobs]

seedlings won't like it that cold - and depends on your greenhouse. Unfortunately mine has a couple of slipped panes and a crack or two so it's not as good as it could be and it fluctuates overnight, which seedlings definately won't like. As a guide our summerhouse is all glass on the front (with no cracks) and seems to be a steady 10 degrees over the past few weeks.

[Cutecumber]

The point is that if you can't achieve the constant minimum of 10 degrees you have pretty much wasted the extra growing time you have given them by sowing early.

A January/ February sowing needs to go in a heated greenhouse, otherwise wait until March/ April. Cold conditions just stress the seedlings and slow the growth right down - they will die if things get too bad for too long. To get a good strong plant that will give its best you need to keep stress to a minimum and conditions optimum throughout its life.

Tomatoes, chillis, aubergines, french beans, runner beans, squashes, sweetcorn etc are fundamentally not happy when its cold - they may not be dying in front of you, but if they could talk they would be screaming at you to turn up the thermostat!

[momol]

If it is a seedlings, just take them indoor during the cold spell or you might loose them. There is always a chance that they survive those cold harsh temperature but if they don't you will end up losing weeks of raising them.
Good luck with what ever you decide .

[JohnVisual]

i planted some tom seeds in small pots and then put a plastic bag over them and put the pots on a radiator. is this ok? or will they be too hot?

[smallblueplanet]

Might be a bit too warm, they'll probably fine on a warm windowsill.

[JohnVisual]

do you think i would of damaged them by doing that?

[smallblueplanet]

Wouldn't think so, leave them for a few days/a week, if the temp is warmish (around 18-20C) and the seed fresh they'll come thru quite quickly. How long have they been sown?

[JohnVisual]

done them today, also used the same method with sweet peppers, should i move them to the still?

[smallblueplanet]

I think I would, it would give them a more even temperature, radiators tend to be very 'up and down' heat-wise. I think if the temperature of the room they're in isn't too cold then they'll do fine. They're in their own mini-propagators too. Maybe move them off the windowsill at night actually, cos they could get very cold - I've just checked our BBC 5-day forecast and they're saying -2C at night! (So just keep them at an evenish temp, it's not difficult, honest - fingers crossed! )

Not 100% sure how long they'll take to come thru as I use a heated prop, which speeds germination up (not always a good thing!). But I'd think the toms will show 1st as peppers tend to take longer to germinate.

[hawthorns]

my toms are in hanging baskets in the greenhouse and they now staying in there. i was bringing them in over night but it wasnt working, so i now have a heater in the greenhouse its set at a steady 10-12 degrees. they look better already after there 1st night. they are about 15cm high and garten perle