Too cold still?

[Likac66]

Hmmm... my greenhouse is getting rather full and I have an empty coldframe and mostly empty polytunnel down at the allotment. The polytunnel currently has sweetcorn in modules that seems happy enough.

I want some tomatoes in the polytunnel. I have 3 marmande and 1 san marzano that have been successful although I hope to pick up some more from my mum next week and I have 8 very successful black cherry tomato plants - about 10" high.

Is it too cold to put them in the polytunnel yet? Do they get colder than greenhouses? Currently my greenhouse has been going down to about 6 deg at night and if I think it might get colder than that I cover the plants with fleece. But if they are down the lottie I won't be able to just pop down late at night, likewise I can't take the fleece off first thing.

I also have a large courgette plant that I was thinking of planting directly into the ground in the cold frame down there. Again though, same possible issues.

I guess I can just take the chance and just take one tomato plant down there this week and one courgette. If I lose just one it's not a complete disaster.

Have other people got things in polytunnels? Does the fact that the sweetcorn is growing ok in there suggest it is keeping warm enough?

Oh, this gardening business can be tricky, can't it?!

[Newton]

Lika. I have a few sacrificial courgettes out on the plot. My toms are doing week in the GH. Just hoping for no frosts in the next 2 weeks or so.

Debating whether to plant out a few sweetcorn which are in root trainers bout 4ins high.....

Probably will..........under some polythene cloche.......

[marchogaeth]

Well you have to bite the bullet at some point! Like swimming you will have to get wet to actually do it.

You can leave plants under fleece when it's cold, the light reduction is not so important if they aren't growing.
You could plant some things in big pots (like cougettes) move them into the tunnel for a bit and then out into the plot if you are woried. They can last like this quite a long time if watered and fed. Maybe even sink the buckets in the bed if you are concerned about them getting water between your visits.

It's worth looking on the threads here:-
Poly tunnels x2 (The last one includes greenhouses, too.)

General gardening

See what people are doing and then look at where they are to see if the weather might correspond. I know VVG is in Derbyshire but there are probably lots of others
(Their wetaher doesn't apply to me so I haven't registered.)

PS Like Newton says - warm the plants up with cloches/plastic. You can even warm the soil up first with these.

[VirginVegGrower]

Hi Likac66/March, I have tomatoes planted out into my polytunnel, only three so far, as I am willing the alliums to get bigger. But it's reaching in the 20's/30's in there at the moment, which is warmer than the greenhouse. It s worth investing in a min/max thermometer Likac, which you could leave in there and check on each day. That way you would know what it's dropping to at night. Mine has never been lower than 7 degrees, so I considered it safe. It's only in the last week or two that I have planted. Prior to that they were in the house. My peppers are in Morrisons black buckets, also in the polytunnel. I have potatoes in the beds in there too - planted a few months ago, ut only now coming through strongly.
Get that thermometer - around £7/8 and check your temps first. You will be more sheltered, where your site is. My poly is at home, atop a windy hill.

As for your courgette into a coldframe - I put fresh muck under mine and then compost on top for planting into. The manure heats and they are greedy, which the compost feeds. I would say that with a coldframe, you could either drop the lid down at night, whilst the plant is small or tack some fleece over the top on cold nights.
You really do have to get into a habit of watching long and short range weather forecasts - it gets addictive

[roitelet]

Have a look on XC Weather which is what I use as a guide to the temperature. You can get a fairly localized forecast on that site.

Just had a look and your temperatures are lower than ours so if you can wait a bit it would be wise.

[esbo]

I have some tomatoes cucumber and courgette in my poly-tunnel.
They seem to be OK apart from the courgette, I have also some tomatoes out in the elements.
But I might bring some back in.
The biggest one has been out in the cold fro at least a week and seems to be OK but
I might put it on a sunny window sill as it might to better there but not
sure, one the one hand it gets more light but on the other it's not as warm.
I keep an eye on the weather in case I think it will be too cold.
It goes down to 3C tomorrow, then 4C and 4C so I may being some back inside.
But it's up 6c + after that which will be OK I think.

[Normans Mum]

I don't have a poly tunnel (envy!) and have faced a similiar decision. Yesterday, went down the lotty and put everything that was reasonably big(ish) out in the coldframe. Hopefully going to plant out this weekend, unless it's raining or hailing... like it was yesterday.....

[Yorkshire.Dave]

All my tomatoes are outside on the patio all day then I just stick them in the garage overnight, They are all fine and look very healthy.....The polytunnel is full of chillies that are growing well :-)

[BarleySugar]

Snow forecast across the Brecon Beacons and the Pennines. Thankfully not near us, but son no2 just put the heating back on. I've been collecting the 2l drinks bottles for cloches, so might risk putting some plants out at the weekend if the weather is dry. The wind is my main worry as it comes straight across the allotment site and decimates beans, squash and courgettes even if the temperatures aren't that low.

[esbo]

Taken my cloche off my tomatoes today to let them get some rain ans a bit of wind to make them more sturdy.

I do have more room on my sunny window sill and I am wondering if some would grow more there.
There is a temperature growth rate graph and I think the increase in temperature may out weight the lack of sunlight on a window sill but I am not sure if they is correct.


This is the curve



So I am wondering if it is only about 12C outside woudl they be better off inside.
Actually looking at the curve, even at 12C it looks to be getting over 80% of the
maximum growth and I expect indoors I get less then 80% of the available light so
should be better out.

[chris]

Hmm. I'm taking a chance this year, but all my beans are now out, toms, corn, few beans that have recently been sown, beets, well.. everything is out or in the GH now.

I've grown this year's seed really hard - they were put out as soon as they germinated - and so far, I haven't lost anything. They are behind where they'd normally be though, but obviously that's due to the weather (with a hint of putting them out too early too ). For me though, this year I've been very busy and am quite behind so don't have a choice. Better to have tried and failed, than not tried at all - for me personally at least this year anyway.

[Likac66]

OMG! Just looked on xcweather and it is suggesting -3 at 7am on Thurs morning. -3!!!

[binley100]

B'gger.........just taken the bubblewrap off gh ......be putting it back on tomorrow .......

[binley100]

for once every forecast agrees.......we will have frost Weds night .........

[Vince G]

for once every forecast agrees.......we will have frost Weds night .........

Oh goody!

Polytunnel toms are only now coming back to life after their last frosting!! Might be starting anew with cuke and gherkin at the weekend then.

Good thing about a poly is it warms up quickly if it's bright early in the morning, so the frost doesn't get much of a chance at this time of year now as it's only dark for 8 hours or so.