Highlights: 0:18 hardening off tomatoes early on shelf above cold frames 0:29 Start hardening off 3 weeks earlier in hoop house 0:49 small plants harden off faster and easier than larger plants 1:38 How we're hardening off tomatoes this year 2:17 Only bring plants inside if temperature in hoop house likely to dip below 50f / 10c 3:09 Will move tomatoes to garden when it's warm enough 3:13 Will try same approach with peppers Oscar the Cat Cameos 0:011:193:40 If you shop on Amazon, you can support OYR simply by clicking this link (bookmark it too) before shopping: www.amazon.com/?tag=oneya-20
I hope your channel gains a wider audience. Your advice based on thoroughly measured and evaluated trials is refreshing and practical. Your assistant, Oscar, is a real draw too.
I love this channel so much. I was watching it back when you were posting regularly, but even now that you don't, it's useful. I'm helping my parents set up a greenhouse in central Europe this spring, and your channel is literally the no. 1 resource I have for it.
YES! This is my first year doing tomatoes from seed, and I started hardening them off several days ago on my patio in the dappled shade of evening. A couple days later, I expected to need shade cloth (which I don't yet have) but I went ahead and put them out in the afternoon before the sun hit them, and I decided to just observe and see how they did. They're a little smaller than yours, but did fine! I left them out for 45 mins that day with some direct sun, and 2 hours the next day with more direct sun and no signs of stress. Yesterday, they were out for most of the day. I was wondering why it was so easy!! Now I know it's because I started them late. 😊
Hi Heather! I'm glad your first year of starting tomatoes from seed is going well. I've been doing it a very long time, but it took me this long to figure out that smaller plants harden off a lot easier. lol Best wishes with your garden!
This is encouraging me to try this idea I had... Since I cant get tomato to start indoors for me, they always drop leaves and die. So I grow more peppers instead. But each summer I have noticed some volunteer tomatoes... They just show up once summer is well underway. They can even outperform tomatoes I had bought from the store... So I keep thinking, what if I just direct sow tomatoes. This year I think I will... Just randomly sprinkle some seeds around the garden. worst thing could happen is I wasted a couple dollars
I love your videos. At one point, we were growing most of our own veggies - also zone 5, but Colorado where temps are very unpredictable and it's dry + altitude. But a broken neck and cancer battle left me unable to do what I used to do. We are now trying to transform our landscape so we can do what you do but taking my disability into account. The challenge is really lifting the entire garden to waist level and figuring out how to sustain healthy soil without having contact with the earth. We planted fruit trees and berry bushes and are now working on elevated beds, one at a time. I'm not certain about our soil mix in these beds. Obviously, being a cancer survivor, I want to avoid all chemicals. I wish I could download your skill and experience into my brain. I am taking master gardener classes, but most focus on conventional growing methods.
Hi Pamela. Feel free to email me at oneyardrevolution@gmail if you have any questions. You can also get in touch through FB: facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/
Good luck with the tomatoes Patrick. I'm always impressed by what you achieve in the cold! Most years we can just plant them in our "late winter", water and they grow.... Thanks for producing great content. Our family really enjoys it and we've had many lovely conversations spurred on from an OYR clip. Hope this story makes you smile as much as I did at the time! Our kids were overheard having a planning meeting at the Lego. They were discussing building a hoop house. This caught my attention. We live in a hot Mediterranean climate. We use shade houses and pergolas. Our lowest ever temp on record is -0.4°C So we don't even get frost!!! They were discussing making their hoop house large enough for the the cat to sit inside when it snows. This idea sounds suspiciously like something they picked up from RUclips don't you think? There's no prize for guessing who is their favourite RUclips garden cat. Thanks for what you do. Xx
I too have found tomatoes harden off and often grow faster when started smaller. I have found this to be the case with many plants. Glad you're spreading the word!
Thank you so much! This is so helpful! My toms will be coming from a hot room in the house with grow lamp to a British springtime (currently very chilly/damp) greenhouse. Your video has inspired me to buy some thermometers so I can properly monitor their environments during the hardening off process. Thank you so much! I absolutely love your videos!
Hi, thanks for making this video, very good info! We just built a 20x60 hoop house. Now we need to plant our 150 tomato starts. It is supposed to be above 50 degrees even at night going forward in our area. Based on this video, I think we will leave them in their pots in the hoop house a few days before we plant them in the ground to make sure they are doing okay. Thanks much!
Yes. This year started smaller plants outside earlier with plastic bottle "clochés" and they did much better. After 2 weeks they've tripled size. And a gorgeous dark green color.
Just discovered this this year as well. Ran out of light room, germination was real good this year. So instead of trashing extra plants i put a few under 1 layer of cover outside and they had no stress at all. I even planted one and placed a milk jug over it and it is going strong.
I found what you were saying interesting and I'll differently try hardening my plants at a younger age. However...I could not take my eyes off the the plants growing on the ground in your greenhouse. Amazing!
Your tomatoes look great. I put my started tomatoes in a big clear storage container with 6 one inch ventilation holes under the lid. I put them outside during the day and bring them in at night. If its warm I remove the lid. (My portable cold frame)
Thank you for all your videos and information that you put in your videos. I just love to look at your garden. It looks so peaceful. I have 6 acres that I garden on so everything is spaced out pretty well. I love the lush greenery of your backyard garden, and your front yard garden video was great too. One day I hope my 6 acres will be as lush and full as yours!
My tomatoes and peppers are about 6-7 inches right now and I have been taking them out for a few hours every day. I have to bring them in at night as we still have frost every night. They must like it, the growth is amazing.
Thank you Mary. I certainly can not grow in the winter without a heated greenhouse and even then it gets tricky as our sun is very low in the sky in the winter. So far my winter sowing is cold weather crops in milk jug containers. It gives me more space for starting other plants indoors. But I'm experimenting with season extension in the spring and fall with a cold house.
Bella's Patio Garden I grew up in zone 3 and we always had at least 3 feet of snow cover that would never melt. I once walked into it more than waist deep and couldn't get out. I have no idea how you could maintain a low tunnel in that.
I've always had to harden off mine when I ran out of space inside and there was no where else to put anything, they end up in the unheated greenhouse. They were always around 8 inches tall when they would go out. I'm in zone 8, which usually is warm enough to put them out there by the end of march (not this year) we've been too cold at night, finally put mine out about a week ago. Pepper plants are still being spoiled under grow lights and warmer conditions, but they're going out next week. Happy gardening Patrick!
I am hardening my tomatoes the same way you did in this video. I have done them that way for the past 2 years. good luck with your garden. It is still cold here in Connecticut zone 6 May is still on the cool side unusual weather for this zone. A lot of rain and very cool weather, can't plant anything in the ground yet the gardens are still cold I take the temperature of the dirt every day. Happy gardening
Great minds think alike. I just moved my larger tomato plants to my greenhouse from my basement. Don't know why I never thought of it before. Like you said they showed signs of drooping but I had attributed it to the 90 degree temps more so that the sun. They are perking up now. I keep my greenhouse above 50 all year so I guess I could grow tomatoes all year.
Thank you SO much for converting the temperatures to Celsius! 👏 So glad that you think about us, celcius-degrees-people 😊 My tomato plants are growing strong! Thank you
I’ve been hardening off two trays of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and ground cherries in a cold frame for about 5 days now in Vermont zone 5a. I agree that smaller is better to deal with stress. I have extra starts so I wasn’t really worried about losing the two flats, but it has gone so well that I sure hope it works.
Great video! I sort of started "hardening off all my plants before they even have their first true leaves. When it's sunny out and temps are higher than 50 in my unheated green house I take all my plants and leave them out there as long as it's warmer than 50 degrees. Haven't had any issue with sunburning at all. I will always take them back in in the evening. My idea is that in the early stages of development the seedlings (as with all living beings) have more adaptability than in their more mature form.
Yes I had to bring them in every night as long as the night time temps were less than 40 (which was most of march). I started this process early March so...its been a while. It is a bit labor intensive, but I've found that the benefit lasted some time. A few days after the first true leaves came out, I had to keep them indoors (because of a cold front) under lights for about 5 days. When I finally brought them back out, no sunburn on any plants. Btw I'm zone 6b (St. Louis)
P.s. next year I try peppers, eggplant and cucumbers . I did put the eggplants out there April 20. There were a few 32 degree nites. I think I heard them shivering but they did just fine.
Hi Patrick! I'm out in McHenry, and I've put my tomatoes out in our unheated greenhouse earlier this week. One tray I did out on the deck for part of the day, then in at night. They did so well that I took them on out to the greenhouse 24/7. The next tray I took directly to the greenhouse and left them... first 2 days on the floor where they did not get direct sun all day. Then I moved them up to a full sun shelf. I missed the forecast for frost, so they were out there through it all. I checked today and they all seem fine. My temp in the greenhouse did dip to 30F in one spot, but another location stayed at 33F. The are mostly about 8-10" tall and a bit spindly... that's why I wanted to get them out. I was hoping cooler temps would slow down top growth and help them firm up.
Amazing I did the same thing this year. (Zone 6). I put my tomatoes in the greenhouse towards the back like you did where there’s a little less sun, but it is my warmest bed. When it got to freezing or below I would put them back under double cover. Everyone survived but I noticed the same thing. The older plants showed signs of stress. The leaves kind of curled under and became distorted. But the younger plants didn’t show any sign of stress at all from the cold nites. I even have a few older plants that I planted really early that already had a few tomatoes on them in the grow room. Everything survived but I think the older plants took a much bigger hit and it might not of been worth it to start them so soon. I pruned off anything on the older plants that looked damaged with brown spots, and they seem to be putting off normal growth now. I don’t think I’ll really know until I see when everyone starts to produce what the verdict is.
Same here. I took them outside couple of days ago for couple of hours and they were totally fine today they were out all day. I'm in your area and get the same weather :)
This year I have been placing newly emerged seedlings outside on our nice days (70F) but only for an hour or so. It hasn't stressed out the plants and not too much extra work as I am hardening off my asparagus at the same time. The last few days we've had high winds so the seedlings have been inside. Need a hoop house or an empty low tunnel.
Great video. The weather is warming enough here I may just be able to get tomatoes out in the next week, with cover at hand in case it is needed. I think it's going to be a nice season. I start all of my plants in a hoophouse similar to yours, except I can't walk in it. It's more the size of a large low tunnel. I use aluminum foil to reflect light so they do not lean. Any day above 70 (not too common until this time of year), I do bring them out and let them get some unfiltered light and some wind. The tunnel always gets vented as well when temperatures get to hot, allowing wind in to harden the plants. In this way, hardening off is fairly unnecessary. It's a do it little, but do it often approach.
Thanks for sharing! I wish our greenhouses survived but our winter destroyed them here in northern WV (over 50 mph winds sometimes). They were even pretty close to the ground at 3 1/2ft. Thank God our living room walls are almost all windows. Now if I could only rotate the house....lol.
With the exception of a couple of days in the 70's last week, temps in Tacoma are trending in the mid to high 50's in the day and in the mid to high 40's at night and I do have a hoop house of sorts, really more of a lightly covered walk in, anyway most of my tomato plants have been transitioned out there and over the last couple of weeks I have been transplanting them to their final positions, so far so good, only my brandywines are sulking and I am leaving a couple of them inside until weather warms further, my peppers I won't set out until it warms considerably.
Ive been leaving my tomato and pepper starts out in the greenhouse under 2 covers up until the dip in temp. To 29F last night and tonight. They are about 3-4 inches tall now.
Hi William! We have some tomatoes we started outside under cover that are doing well too, though they're a bit behind the others. Any idea how cold it gets under your 2 layers when it gets down to 29?
Yes, small plants definitely harden off more easily. I've begun setting out my seedling trays before I even transplant to bigger pots if it's nice outside. Some I can then transplant directly from the seed tray to the outside and they do fine.
i am in Chicago, I still have my tomatoes and peppers indoors. I have been exposing them to day light for the last few weeks. They are not directly next to the window, but get the western sun in my spare bedroom (looked like a jungle)...In Chicago, the weather is going to drop to 45 Monday. After that, night time temps will be about 52 degrees...I am ready to get them into the ground!!!
Hardening off tomatoes is my least favorite thing on the planet. Next year I'm going to try direct sowing under cover - in fact, you've inspired me to try and direct sow almost everything! I have this wonderfully elaborate indoor lighting set up, but when it comes time to transplant, it is a major bummer, lol.
That's great! Yeah, I much prefer to direct sow whenever possible. After such a cold April, our grow room tomatoes are strongly outperforming those that were directly sown. So, we'll continue to start some of our summer crops indoors.
I think you're right, but I hadn't realized it was due to leaf size. I was just hardening my plants off earlier because I still don't have grow lights (shame on me) and thought the all-day light tolerance was due to less daylight in March and April and I had two layers of plastic like you did. I didn't consider plant size at all once the plant was more than a week old (since newly erupted seedlings can take much more light than older babies.). My tomato plants were hardened off two weeks ago. I am in Canada.
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening Hi, yes, I brought them in nightly as I don't have hoop tunnels and it was minus 10 and minus 15 Celsius at night and I had things like eggplant and tomatoes. There is also heavy wind and no fencing in my backyard, which makes things even colder. The cold weather plants are still either covered at night or brought in as the rabbits here are rather brazen, but they would have no problem with the weather if left uncovered. I bread bagged and then transparent garbage bagged and they were out all day, but garbage bags are too small to retain heat all night and do nothing to warm the soil. As you know, warm soil keeps the plants warm if you want to leave the plants out at night in below zero temperatures. It will be a relief once I get hoop tunnels/ cold frames installed so that I can just leave some plants outside to be warmed by the soil and others I would just direct seed as the in and out routine doesn't take long to get old.
All my summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, corn, okra, squash) are hardened off to 40F. My tomatoes are about 3x times larger than yours with no stress and we are still getting 40F overnight lows. I have noticed that each plant seems to have an optimal amount of growth to better handle cold. For my peas 6in seems optimum to handle a hard frost with little to no stress. But i'm sure there are many factors that influence stress avoidance.
Well they go in and out depending on the sunlight as seedlings, but i probably first started gradually hardening them off 5 weeks ago when they were an inch tall. And they have been completely outside for about 2 weeks now.
Hey my friend ! Tanks for your videos, really like what you're doing I just wanted to share that sun light spectrum is a bit modified by transparent cover such as green houses. Hardening plants inside a green house is less stressful for them that outside because some really powerful electromagnetic waves, like UV-B, are stop. :)
Good point. I mentioned it, but I should have been more clear that we often harden off the larger plants under cover in May as well, and they show signs of stress under cover too. (0:57 through 1:23).
Our tomatoes have been out for two weeks. ( in the green house). And are doing wanderful. We heat our green house tho. We have too my husband has about 80 pepper plants to many for our home. Lol. We are in nky
Yes, the smaller stockier plants harden off better and faster. They also seem to have better root quality. I think the old way of moving plants continuously is an additional stresser of sorts. And moving trays of plants every night gets old very quickly :-/
i started my tomatoes outside with two layers of cover and after they sprouted we had freezing temperatures at night so i had them in the house for these nights, now they are back outside 24/7 and seem to do well. however they are much smaller than yours. i'm a little bit nervous but i still have hopes that they will grow. peppers were also started outside, just got the first set of true leaves. i am curious to see the size of your tomato started in the green house, would you pls post a picture. tks! great video as always!
Thanks! Yeah, they'll get off to a slower start when started early outdoors The tomatoes we started outside are doing well, but they're much smaller. I'll do my first update on them soon. Thanks for your interest!
Thanks Patrick, I’m afraid I’ve been even harsher with my little tomatoes, they’re outside in the hoop house day and night. They seem to be coping here in Northern UK. Although they’re still much smaller than yours.
I think maybe I'm being a little too harsh with mine, I might bring them back in for a bit until they get going. I only have a couple of sunny windowsills to make use of indoors so it's a bit of a tight squeeze.
With no inside grow setup my tomatoes just have to harden up from seedlings in an unheated (and currently poorly sealed) greenhouse. I germinate inside and will ferry them in if a hard frost is forecast but other than that they just have to put up with nights down in the single digits C. It definitely means they grow slowly but I imagine they'll catch up as the temps rise.
Interesting. Do you think a cold frame could work the same way? I don't have a hoop house but I do have a couple cold frames. My tomatoes are looking wonderful inside but if I could move them outside and free up some shelf space that would be wonderful.
I am moving to Chicagoland this summer. Where can I get free community wood chips like you get? Also, what level of success have you had getting wood waste from chip drop in your area? Thanks for your videos. You've had such a good influence on my gardening practices.
Welcome to Chicagoland! I've never used chip drop because our suburb offers free wood chips. The Chicago Forestry Department also offers free wood chips: www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/streets/provdrs/forestry/svcs/wood_chips.html Other suburbs may as well.
Just wanted to ask whether you have read 'the land ethic' by aldo leopold, and, if so, what your thoughts on it are. If you haven't, I can't recommend it strongly enough. (Its only about 15 pages)
I start mine early and they are quite tall now and need repotting but it's getting to be too much work. Next year I'm only going to start them 8 weeks ahead in 1/2 gallon containers and not repot. I used to make a big deal about tomatoes, and they are good, but not that good.
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening thanks! They should... they do not have enough sunlight but I put them in the shade since signs of frost are gone. They should harden off in a few weeks and I'll have very large plants!
We really like this soup recipe: facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/photos/a.739567286082340.1073741859.543322169040187/964155710290162/?type=3&theater They're also excellent roasted and raw on salads.
I have a green thumb. But when it comes to harden off plants I know how to kill them. I just hardened off 2 pepper plants in my Cold Frame, they did very well, they just happen to be very small as well maybe that had something to do with it. I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where I can plant tomatoes directly outside and get more than I can eat.
Funny I was overlooking something as obvious as temperature at night... Its too bad my greenhouse wont be ready till late this year. But I might put it in a different location where it wont get hit with the strong winds. So far, I would put the plants back under the light in the grow room. but bringing them in only on cold nights sounds much better. Less risk of bringing pests into the grow room anyway... I will have to grow some extra plants and do experiments, see if they survive in the shed or porch on the coldest nights... Peppers anyways... So far the only tomatoes that do good for me are volunteers. which surprised me this far north. eggplants, too. I cant keep the seedlings alive. but usually 1 or 2 just pop up randomly every year
Yeah, it's the night temperatures that will get them. I recommend keeping the plants inside until temperatures are mostly above 50. A little dip below is okay, but avoid anything colder.
a few degrees temperature could make a big difference. Even if the wind shouldn't get in the greenhouse it would probably cool it down a lot faster... but I can sacrifice some sun light and have it tucked away from wind. That will also trade more sun in the evening for less in the morning, which might also be better to hold heat through the night.
Hi Jan! The plastic has 91% transmission, so I expect an easy transition to outside. I'll find out today. It's going to be warm and I'm about to go put them outside for the day.
I planted the tomatoes outside a few days before the temperature reached 87 here in Idaho and I noticed white leaves. Do you know what happened to them?
Hi Nabil! Too quick of a transition from indoors to outdoors can stress tomatoes and turn the leaves white, especially when it's hot and sunny. . Were they hardened off before planting?
Just for a few days. I was too eager to get them outside. Now I shade them in if it's over 75 in the afternoon to prevent further damage. Thank you for the video!
Hi Melissa! It really depends on how stressed they are. Feel free to post a picture on my FB page and I'll let you know what I think. facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/
I think smaller plants in general transplant and garden off much easier, less shock, but they are more susceptible to predators like slugs and caterpillars etc. but I’m talking MUCH smaller plants for that. Like just germinated or just after first true leaves
Hi Kathleen! The only hybrid we grow is Sweet Million. It's an indeterminate cherry that produces more than any other tomato we grow. We also like Black Cherry and Honey Drop cherry. What is a sirloin?
The greenhouse makes a huge difference, but it doesn't account for the different results we're seeing with small plants versus large. We used the same plastic to cover the large plants too.
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening yes, I’ve sometimes had larger plants burn when left in the greenhouse too long. Transitioning them when young is a good idea.
Last year I thought I would get a great jump on my tomatoes and started them inside extra early. I wanted to harden them off into the greenhouse and pot them up into large 1-2 gallon sized pots to then plant large sturdy plants come the right time (end of May) to plant in the garden. Well...I had great seedlings and potted them up into quart sized pots and was hardening them off in the day and carrying them inside at night for several weeks, then to the greenhouse to pot up to the next size. Then a cold snap hit the end of April into mid May. They were now too big to carry back to the house (the greenhouse is far away from the house) and so stayed with lovely warm days in the greenhouse but chilly nights (not quite freezing) under a double layer of agribon at night. That was enough to stunt their growth and they were slow to grow come planting time and a couple of varieties really never recovered. This year I'm doing it very different. I started my tomatoes later and instead of putting them under lights as soon as they germinated I put them on my sunny porch under the heavy plastic covers for the 10x20 planting trays. They are small, but very sturdy and I won't have to harden them off at all, I'm about to pot them up and they will be at the traditional 6-7 week old mark when they get planted in the garden with a few in containers in the greenhouse. Plans are so often spoiled by the weather...but if this way is successful I will continue doing it. Tami
Neat. We tried winter sowing in milk jugs inside a covered breezeway. They get strong afternoon sun. Can't believe the difference in height. They are spindling, because we planted a lot of them so we will see what happens.
I AM YOU WERE ABLE TO HARDEN OFF YOUR TOMATOE PLANTS EASIER THIS YEAR I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT YET I HAVE A GREENHOUSE BUT ITS NOT THE KIND THAT YOU CAN LEAVE PLANTS OUT IN WHEN ITS COLD OUTSIDE SO I BRING MINE IN AT NIGHT BUT I AM HOPEING I WELL BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE FUTURE WELL GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TOMATOE HARVEST THIS YEAR
Highlights:
0:18 hardening off tomatoes early on shelf above cold frames
0:29 Start hardening off 3 weeks earlier in hoop house
0:49 small plants harden off faster and easier than larger plants
1:38 How we're hardening off tomatoes this year
2:17 Only bring plants inside if temperature in hoop house likely to dip below 50f / 10c
3:09 Will move tomatoes to garden when it's warm enough
3:13 Will try same approach with peppers
Oscar the Cat Cameos
0:01 1:19 3:40
If you shop on Amazon, you can support OYR simply by clicking this link (bookmark it too) before shopping: www.amazon.com/?tag=oneya-20
I hope your channel gains a wider audience. Your advice based on thoroughly measured and evaluated trials is refreshing and practical. Your assistant, Oscar, is a real draw too.
I love this channel so much. I was watching it back when you were posting regularly, but even now that you don't, it's useful. I'm helping my parents set up a greenhouse in central Europe this spring, and your channel is literally the no. 1 resource I have for it.
The hoop house is starting to look like a terrarium. Nice healthy growth.
Thanks!
YES! This is my first year doing tomatoes from seed, and I started hardening them off several days ago on my patio in the dappled shade of evening. A couple days later, I expected to need shade cloth (which I don't yet have) but I went ahead and put them out in the afternoon before the sun hit them, and I decided to just observe and see how they did. They're a little smaller than yours, but did fine! I left them out for 45 mins that day with some direct sun, and 2 hours the next day with more direct sun and no signs of stress. Yesterday, they were out for most of the day. I was wondering why it was so easy!! Now I know it's because I started them late. 😊
Hi Heather! I'm glad your first year of starting tomatoes from seed is going well. I've been doing it a very long time, but it took me this long to figure out that smaller plants harden off a lot easier. lol Best wishes with your garden!
This is encouraging me to try this idea I had... Since I cant get tomato to start indoors for me, they always drop leaves and die. So I grow more peppers instead.
But each summer I have noticed some volunteer tomatoes... They just show up once summer is well underway. They can even outperform tomatoes I had bought from the store... So I keep thinking, what if I just direct sow tomatoes. This year I think I will... Just randomly sprinkle some seeds around the garden. worst thing could happen is I wasted a couple dollars
We direct sow tomatoes under double cover and it works very well. Our growing season is a bit short to start them outside without cover.
I love your videos. At one point, we were growing most of our own veggies - also zone 5, but Colorado where temps are very unpredictable and it's dry + altitude. But a broken neck and cancer battle left me unable to do what I used to do. We are now trying to transform our landscape so we can do what you do but taking my disability into account. The challenge is really lifting the entire garden to waist level and figuring out how to sustain healthy soil without having contact with the earth. We planted fruit trees and berry bushes and are now working on elevated beds, one at a time. I'm not certain about our soil mix in these beds. Obviously, being a cancer survivor, I want to avoid all chemicals. I wish I could download your skill and experience into my brain. I am taking master gardener classes, but most focus on conventional growing methods.
Hi Pamela. Feel free to email me at oneyardrevolution@gmail if you have any questions. You can also get in touch through FB: facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/
You're an inspiration, Pamela!
Good luck with the tomatoes Patrick. I'm always impressed by what you achieve in the cold! Most years we can just plant them in our "late winter", water and they grow....
Thanks for producing great content. Our family really enjoys it and we've had many lovely conversations spurred on from an OYR clip. Hope this story makes you smile as much as I did at the time!
Our kids were overheard having a planning meeting at the Lego. They were discussing building a hoop house. This caught my attention. We live in a hot Mediterranean climate. We use shade houses and pergolas. Our lowest ever temp on record is -0.4°C So we don't even get frost!!! They were discussing making their hoop house large enough for the the cat to sit inside when it snows.
This idea sounds suspiciously like something they picked up from RUclips don't you think? There's no prize for guessing who is their favourite RUclips garden cat. Thanks for what you do. Xx
Thanks so much for sharing that story, Steph! How sweet. Oscar and I are smiling and happy.
Steph Krunic better than your kids planning to go out smoking or drinking.
I too have found tomatoes harden off and often grow faster when started smaller. I have found this to be the case with many plants. Glad you're spreading the word!
Thanks Patrick!
Thank you so much! This is so helpful! My toms will be coming from a hot room in the house with grow lamp to a British springtime (currently very chilly/damp) greenhouse. Your video has inspired me to buy some thermometers so I can properly monitor their environments during the hardening off process. Thank you so much! I absolutely love your videos!
Thanks! Yes, it really helps to have remote thermometers so you can check the greenhouse temperature when you're in the house.
Oh my god, I LOVE Oscar!
Hi, thanks for making this video, very good info!
We just built a 20x60 hoop house.
Now we need to plant our 150 tomato starts.
It is supposed to be above 50 degrees even at night going forward in our area.
Based on this video, I think we will leave them in their pots in the hoop house a few days before we plant them in the ground to make sure they are doing okay.
Thanks much!
Yes. This year started smaller plants outside earlier with plastic bottle "clochés" and they did much better. After 2 weeks they've tripled size. And a gorgeous dark green color.
That's great to hear, Edie. Thanks!
Just discovered this this year as well. Ran out of light room, germination was real good this year. So instead of trashing extra plants i put a few under 1 layer of cover outside and they had no stress at all. I even planted one and placed a milk jug over it and it is going strong.
That's great to hear, Cody!
I found what you were saying interesting and I'll differently try hardening my plants at a younger age. However...I could not take my eyes off the the plants growing on the ground in your greenhouse. Amazing!
Thanks! Yeah, the winter crops are really taking off now.
Your tomatoes look great. I put my started tomatoes in a big clear storage container with 6 one inch ventilation holes under the lid. I put them outside during the day and bring them in at night. If its warm I remove the lid. (My portable cold frame)
Hi Everett. I do this CLEAR TOTE MINI GREENHOUSE also. It works great for me. I have been doing this with all my seed starts for the last 4 years.
Hi Everett! Totes are excellent portable cold frames. Easy to store too.
Thank you for all your videos and information that you put in your videos. I just love to look at your garden. It looks so peaceful. I have 6 acres that I garden on so everything is spaced out pretty well. I love the lush greenery of your backyard garden, and your front yard garden video was great too. One day I hope my 6 acres will be as lush and full as yours!
Thanks Pamela! Wow, it's great that you have 6 acres. Best wishes with your garden.
My tomatoes and peppers are about 6-7 inches right now and I have been taking them out for a few hours every day. I have to bring them in at night as we still have frost every night. They must like it, the growth is amazing.
I'm glad your tomatoes and peppers are doing well, Mark!
I'm in zone 3 but find inspiration to gardening in the cold from your channel. I love your greenhouse setup.
Thanks Bella!
Winter gardening in zone 3 might involve either planting in a pit or putting the bed over some composting horse manure (composting generates heat).
Thank you Mary. I certainly can not grow in the winter without a heated greenhouse and even then it gets tricky as our sun is very low in the sky in the winter. So far my winter sowing is cold weather crops in milk jug containers. It gives me more space for starting other plants indoors. But I'm experimenting with season extension in the spring and fall with a cold house.
Bella's Patio Garden I grew up in zone 3 and we always had at least 3 feet of snow cover that would never melt. I once walked into it more than waist deep and couldn't get out. I have no idea how you could maintain a low tunnel in that.
I've always had to harden off mine when I ran out of space inside and there was no where else to put anything, they end up in the unheated greenhouse. They were always around 8 inches tall when they would go out. I'm in zone 8, which usually is warm enough to put them out there by the end of march (not this year) we've been too cold at night, finally put mine out about a week ago. Pepper plants are still being spoiled under grow lights and warmer conditions, but they're going out next week. Happy gardening Patrick!
I know the feeling. We had a very cold April this year and more snow than usual. Best wishes with your tomatoes and peppers!
I am hardening my tomatoes the same way you did in this video. I have done them that way for the past 2 years. good luck with your garden. It is still cold here in Connecticut zone 6 May is still on the cool side unusual weather for this zone. A lot of rain and very cool weather, can't plant anything in the ground yet the gardens are still cold I take the temperature of the dirt every day. Happy gardening
I'm glad this approach worked well for you too, Eleanor! Do you have any cool weather crops planted yet? They don't mind a little cool weather.
yes, I have lettuce, peas,swiss chard, kale and onion sets, will put in my potatoes today. Happy gardening to everyone
Great minds think alike. I just moved my larger tomato plants to my greenhouse from my basement. Don't know why I never thought of it before. Like you said they showed signs of drooping but I had attributed it to the 90 degree temps more so that the sun. They are perking up now. I keep my greenhouse above 50 all year so I guess I could grow tomatoes all year.
Hi Jeff! Yeah, with a greenhouse that warm, you could start tomatoes out there for sure.
Great looking plants! This is just my first year growing plants by seed, but the peppers appeared to harden off much easier than any other plant.
Thanks Chari! You're right. Pepper plants aren't quite as sensitive as tomatoes.
Thank you SO much for converting the temperatures to Celsius! 👏 So glad that you think about us, celcius-degrees-people 😊 My tomato plants are growing strong! Thank you
My pleasure, Nina.
I started transplanting my tomatoes and peppers already, in zone 7B. Thank you for sharing!
That's great! It'll be another few weeks for us.
I’ve been hardening off two trays of tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and ground cherries in a cold frame for about 5 days now in Vermont zone 5a. I agree that smaller is better to deal with stress. I have extra starts so I wasn’t really worried about losing the two flats, but it has gone so well that I sure hope it works.
Hi Robert! I'm glad it's going well. I'm going to put the peppers out tomorrow before they get much bigger.
I didn't know it as that much warmer in the green house compaired to outside, that great.
Yeah, there's a huge difference, especially on sunny days.
Great video! I sort of started "hardening off all my plants before they even have their first true leaves. When it's sunny out and temps are higher than 50 in my unheated green house I take all my plants and leave them out there as long as it's warmer than 50 degrees. Haven't had any issue with sunburning at all. I will always take them back in in the evening. My idea is that in the early stages of development the seedlings (as with all living beings) have more adaptability than in their more mature form.
Thanks! That's an excellent approach. Do you have to bring them back inside often? I'm trying to keep that to a minimum if possible.
Yes I had to bring them in every night as long as the night time temps were less than 40 (which was most of march). I started this process early March so...its been a while. It is a bit labor intensive, but I've found that the benefit lasted some time. A few days after the first true leaves came out, I had to keep them indoors (because of a cold front) under lights for about 5 days. When I finally brought them back out, no sunburn on any plants. Btw I'm zone 6b (St. Louis)
P.s. next year I try peppers, eggplant and cucumbers . I did put the eggplants out there April 20. There were a few 32 degree nites. I think I heard them shivering but they did just fine.
Love the research you always do within the garden, even if it's on a small scale!
Thanks Crystal!
Hi Patrick! I'm out in McHenry, and I've put my tomatoes out in our unheated greenhouse earlier this week. One tray I did out on the deck for part of the day, then in at night. They did so well that I took them on out to the greenhouse 24/7. The next tray I took directly to the greenhouse and left them... first 2 days on the floor where they did not get direct sun all day. Then I moved them up to a full sun shelf. I missed the forecast for frost, so they were out there through it all. I checked today and they all seem fine. My temp in the greenhouse did dip to 30F in one spot, but another location stayed at 33F. The are mostly about 8-10" tall and a bit spindly... that's why I wanted to get them out. I was hoping cooler temps would slow down top growth and help them firm up.
Hi Suzi! I'm glad your tomatoes are doing well after the chilly night.
Amazing I did the same thing this year. (Zone 6). I put my tomatoes in the greenhouse towards the back like you did where there’s a little less sun, but it is my warmest bed. When it got to freezing or below I would put them back under double cover. Everyone survived but I noticed the same thing. The older plants showed signs of stress. The leaves kind of curled under and became distorted. But the younger plants didn’t show any sign of stress at all from the cold nites. I even have a few older plants that I planted really early that already had a few tomatoes on them in the grow room. Everything survived but I think the older plants took a much bigger hit and it might not of been worth it to start them so soon. I pruned off anything on the older plants that looked damaged with brown spots, and they seem to be putting off normal growth now. I don’t think I’ll really know until I see when everyone starts to produce what the verdict is.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Gina! That's definitely consistent with what I've seen.
Same here. I took them outside couple of days ago for couple of hours and they were totally fine today they were out all day. I'm in your area and get the same weather :)
That's great to hear, Przemyslaw!
This year I have been placing newly emerged seedlings outside on our nice days (70F) but only for an hour or so. It hasn't stressed out the plants and not too much extra work as I am hardening off my asparagus at the same time. The last few days we've had high winds so the seedlings have been inside. Need a hoop house or an empty low tunnel.
Hi Valerie! I'm glad the hardening off process is going well.
Great video. The weather is warming enough here I may just be able to get tomatoes out in the next week, with cover at hand in case it is needed. I think it's going to be a nice season.
I start all of my plants in a hoophouse similar to yours, except I can't walk in it. It's more the size of a large low tunnel. I use aluminum foil to reflect light so they do not lean. Any day above 70 (not too common until this time of year), I do bring them out and let them get some unfiltered light and some wind. The tunnel always gets vented as well when temperatures get to hot, allowing wind in to harden the plants. In this way, hardening off is fairly unnecessary. It's a do it little, but do it often approach.
Thanks Jacob! It sounds like you have a good plan in place.
Thanks for sharing! I wish our greenhouses survived but our winter destroyed them here in northern WV (over 50 mph winds sometimes). They were even pretty close to the ground at 3 1/2ft. Thank God our living room walls are almost all windows. Now if I could only rotate the house....lol.
I'm sorry to hear about your greenhouse, Jennifer. I'm glad you have plenty of window space.
thank you for this beautiful, clean video
You're welcome!
Patrick, thank you for sharing this. I have never thought to give this a try, but it is worth considering. Have a great today! Catherine
You're welcome, Catherine! It feels good to not have to make so many trips in and out of the house with dozens of tomatoes.
With the exception of a couple of days in the 70's last week, temps in Tacoma are trending in the mid to high 50's in the day and in the mid to high 40's at night and I do have a hoop house of sorts, really more of a lightly covered walk in, anyway most of my tomato plants have been transitioned out there and over the last couple of weeks I have been transplanting them to their final positions, so far so good, only my brandywines are sulking and I am leaving a couple of them inside until weather warms further, my peppers I won't set out until it warms considerably.
That's similar to what we've had, but it's colder at night here. Yeah, those are good temps for transitioning plants outside with cover.
Ive been leaving my tomato and pepper starts out in the greenhouse under 2 covers up until the dip in temp. To 29F last night and tonight. They are about 3-4 inches tall now.
Hi William! We have some tomatoes we started outside under cover that are doing well too, though they're a bit behind the others. Any idea how cold it gets under your 2 layers when it gets down to 29?
Yes, small plants definitely harden off more easily. I've begun setting out my seedling trays before I even transplant to bigger pots if it's nice outside. Some I can then transplant directly from the seed tray to the outside and they do fine.
Thanks Tracy!
i am in Chicago, I still have my tomatoes and peppers indoors. I have been exposing them to day light for the last few weeks. They are not directly next to the window, but get the western sun in my spare bedroom (looked like a jungle)...In Chicago, the weather is going to drop to 45 Monday. After that, night time temps will be about 52 degrees...I am ready to get them into the ground!!!
Hi neighbor! I'm glad you're ready to go when it gets a little warmer!
Golly! I learn tons of valuable tips from every single one of your videos.
Mad respect!👍🏼🥗🥦🍠🍅🍅🍅🍅
Hardening off tomatoes is my least favorite thing on the planet. Next year I'm going to try direct sowing under cover - in fact, you've inspired me to try and direct sow almost everything! I have this wonderfully elaborate indoor lighting set up, but when it comes time to transplant, it is a major bummer, lol.
That's great! Yeah, I much prefer to direct sow whenever possible. After such a cold April, our grow room tomatoes are strongly outperforming those that were directly sown. So, we'll continue to start some of our summer crops indoors.
I think you're right, but I hadn't realized it was due to leaf size. I was just hardening my plants off earlier because I still don't have grow lights (shame on me) and thought the all-day light tolerance was due to less daylight in March and April and I had two layers of plastic like you did. I didn't consider plant size at all once the plant was more than a week old (since newly erupted seedlings can take much more light than older babies.). My tomato plants were hardened off two weeks ago. I am in Canada.
Hi Mary! I'm glad your tomatoes are doing well. Did you have to bring them inside frequently?
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening Hi, yes, I brought them in nightly as I don't have hoop tunnels and it was minus 10 and minus 15 Celsius at night and I had things like eggplant and tomatoes. There is also heavy wind and no fencing in my backyard, which makes things even colder. The cold weather plants are still either covered at night or brought in as the rabbits here are rather brazen, but they would have no problem with the weather if left uncovered. I bread bagged and then transparent garbage bagged and they were out all day, but garbage bags are too small to retain heat all night and do nothing to warm the soil. As you know, warm soil keeps the plants warm if you want to leave the plants out at night in below zero temperatures. It will be a relief once I get hoop tunnels/ cold frames installed so that I can just leave some plants outside to be warmed by the soil and others I would just direct seed as the in and out routine doesn't take long to get old.
wow Patrick I wish my tomatoes looked like that before taking them out, mine are leggy every year
Ours are usually very leggy too. I started a week later this year.
All my summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, corn, okra, squash) are hardened off to 40F. My tomatoes are about 3x times larger than yours with no stress and we are still getting 40F overnight lows. I have noticed that each plant seems to have an optimal amount of growth to better handle cold. For my peas 6in seems optimum to handle a hard frost with little to no stress. But i'm sure there are many factors that influence stress avoidance.
That's great, Askiro! How long have your summer crops been outside?
Well they go in and out depending on the sunlight as seedlings, but i probably first started gradually hardening them off 5 weeks ago when they were an inch tall. And they have been completely outside for about 2 weeks now.
Hey my friend ! Tanks for your videos, really like what you're doing
I just wanted to share that sun light spectrum is a bit modified by transparent cover such as green houses. Hardening plants inside a green house is less stressful for them that outside because some really powerful electromagnetic waves, like UV-B, are stop. :)
Good point. I mentioned it, but I should have been more clear that we often harden off the larger plants under cover in May as well, and they show signs of stress under cover too. (0:57 through 1:23).
Our tomatoes have been out for two weeks. ( in the green house). And are doing wanderful. We heat our green house tho. We have too my husband has about 80 pepper plants to many for our home. Lol. We are in nky
Hi Tracy! I'm glad your tomatoes and peppers are thriving.
I'm very guilty of stressing tomatoes on the regular.
lol....I treat mine like they're my babies.
Yes, the smaller stockier plants harden off better and faster. They also seem to have better root quality. I think the old way of moving plants continuously is an additional stresser of sorts. And moving trays of plants every night gets old very quickly :-/
I couldn't agree more, Carrie!
Never tried. Always stuck to the 8 weeks. Maybe next season! Thanks!
Hi Eugene! We're still sticking with our normal planting calendar, but are hardening off earlier now we have space in the hoop house.
i started my tomatoes outside with two layers of cover and after they sprouted we had freezing temperatures at night so i had them in the house for these nights, now they are back outside 24/7 and seem to do well. however they are much smaller than yours. i'm a little bit nervous but i still have hopes that they will grow. peppers were also started outside, just got the first set of true leaves. i am curious to see the size of your tomato started in the green house, would you pls post a picture. tks! great video as always!
Thanks! Yeah, they'll get off to a slower start when started early outdoors The tomatoes we started outside are doing well, but they're much smaller. I'll do my first update on them soon. Thanks for your interest!
What part of the country are you planting we love your channel
Thanks Abel! We're in the Chicago area.
Thanks Patrick, I’m afraid I’ve been even harsher with my little tomatoes, they’re outside in the hoop house day and night. They seem to be coping here in Northern UK. Although they’re still much smaller than yours.
I'm glad they're holding up. I tend to pamper tomatoes more than other crops.
I think maybe I'm being a little too harsh with mine, I might bring them back in for a bit until they get going. I only have a couple of sunny windowsills to make use of indoors so it's a bit of a tight squeeze.
Very interested in greenhouses for my Michigan climate
They help a lot. We harvest crops all winter in ours (zone 5b).
Always great info 🌱
Thanks for sharing 👨🌾
Thanks!
With no inside grow setup my tomatoes just have to harden up from seedlings in an unheated (and currently poorly sealed) greenhouse. I germinate inside and will ferry them in if a hard frost is forecast but other than that they just have to put up with nights down in the single digits C. It definitely means they grow slowly but I imagine they'll catch up as the temps rise.
We started some tomatoes outside under cover this year too. Like yours, they're growing more slowly but doing well.
Interesting. Do you think a cold frame could work the same way? I don't have a hoop house but I do have a couple cold frames. My tomatoes are looking wonderful inside but if I could move them outside and free up some shelf space that would be wonderful.
Yes, you could use a cold frame as well.
I am moving to Chicagoland this summer. Where can I get free community wood chips like you get? Also, what level of success have you had getting wood waste from chip drop in your area? Thanks for your videos. You've had such a good influence on my gardening practices.
Welcome to Chicagoland! I've never used chip drop because our suburb offers free wood chips. The Chicago Forestry Department also offers free wood chips: www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/streets/provdrs/forestry/svcs/wood_chips.html Other suburbs may as well.
Great tip, thanks for sharing.
Thanks Daniel!
Good information Patrick, thanks. :-)
Thanks Kevin!
I noticed that smaller plants are not throw around by the wind as much too!
Very true, Lindsey!
Just wanted to ask whether you have read 'the land ethic' by aldo leopold, and, if so, what your thoughts on it are. If you haven't, I can't recommend it strongly enough. (Its only about 15 pages)
I haven't read it yet. Thanks for the recommendation!
Morning sun and afternoon shade seem to be working well for hardening off, so far anyway.
I'm glad to hear it's going well, Adam!
I start mine early and they are quite tall now and need repotting but it's getting to be too much work. Next year I'm only going to start them 8 weeks ahead in 1/2 gallon containers and not repot. I used to make a big deal about tomatoes, and they are good, but not that good.
I couldn't agree more about starting in pots that are big enough that you don't have to pot up. We do the same and it saves a lot of time and effort.
Mine look pretty sad currently... But I'll have them super healthy soon!
I hope they recover soon!
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening thanks! They should... they do not have enough sunlight but I put them in the shade since signs of frost are gone. They should harden off in a few weeks and I'll have very large plants!
Do you have any easy tasty recipes for sunchokes? I just ordered some and plan on growing them since they seem bullet proof.
We really like this soup recipe: facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/photos/a.739567286082340.1073741859.543322169040187/964155710290162/?type=3&theater They're also excellent roasted and raw on salads.
Awesome! I'll definitely try that with my leftover tubers!
I have a green thumb. But when it comes to harden off plants I know how to kill them. I just hardened off 2 pepper plants in my Cold Frame, they did very well, they just happen to be very small as well maybe that had something to do with it. I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where I can plant tomatoes directly outside and get more than I can eat.
Thanks for sharing your experience!
i harden plants off in my garage on a table,open door during the day close at night
Excellent approach, Robert! You avoid having to run them inside and and outside.
I have found peppers harden off and can take temperature swings a lot easier then tomatoes
You're absolutely right, Benjamin! The peppers are going out in the morning.
I have three different start dates for the tomatoes under the lights right now; I'll let you know if the small ones show less stress!
Thanks Adam!
Funny I was overlooking something as obvious as temperature at night... Its too bad my greenhouse wont be ready till late this year. But I might put it in a different location where it wont get hit with the strong winds.
So far, I would put the plants back under the light in the grow room. but bringing them in only on cold nights sounds much better. Less risk of bringing pests into the grow room anyway... I will have to grow some extra plants and do experiments, see if they survive in the shed or porch on the coldest nights... Peppers anyways... So far the only tomatoes that do good for me are volunteers. which surprised me this far north. eggplants, too. I cant keep the seedlings alive. but usually 1 or 2 just pop up randomly every year
Yeah, it's the night temperatures that will get them. I recommend keeping the plants inside until temperatures are mostly above 50. A little dip below is okay, but avoid anything colder.
a few degrees temperature could make a big difference. Even if the wind shouldn't get in the greenhouse it would probably cool it down a lot faster... but I can sacrifice some sun light and have it tucked away from wind. That will also trade more sun in the evening for less in the morning, which might also be better to hold heat through the night.
Are you sure that plastic cover of polytunel is not filtering some UV rays and therefore they will need a bit of hardening again when moved outside?
Hi Jan! The plastic has 91% transmission, so I expect an easy transition to outside. I'll find out today. It's going to be warm and I'm about to go put them outside for the day.
so how it went?
I wish I knew how big the plant should be before hardening off!
Larger plants will harden off well too. You may have to introduce them more gradually to outside conditions, though.
I planted the tomatoes outside a few days before the temperature reached 87 here in Idaho and I noticed white leaves. Do you know what happened to them?
Hi Nabil! Too quick of a transition from indoors to outdoors can stress tomatoes and turn the leaves white, especially when it's hot and sunny. . Were they hardened off before planting?
Just for a few days. I was too eager to get them outside. Now I shade them in if it's over 75 in the afternoon to prevent further damage. Thank you for the video!
great video
Thanks!
When you head out to the "hoophouse"
Do you say you're going out to the hoophouse or have you nicknamed or abbreviated it?😐
I say hoop house. lol
More reason to get a hoop house..FAST!
It really does help a lot.
Is that greenhouse poly, and how long is it lasting for you. tia
Yes, it's 6 mil poly. It's guaranteed for 4 years, but we'll use it quite a bit longer than that. This is its 3rd year.
Will stressed tomatoes die or is there still hope?
Hi Melissa! It really depends on how stressed they are. Feel free to post a picture on my FB page and I'll let you know what I think. facebook.com/oneyardrevolution/
I think smaller plants in general transplant and garden off much easier, less shock, but they are more susceptible to predators like slugs and caterpillars etc. but I’m talking MUCH smaller plants for that. Like just germinated or just after first true leaves
Very true! One good thing about the shelf is that the slugs haven't made their way up there yet.
No idea the temp under covers. I need to get a min max thermometer
Yeah, a remote thermometer helps a lot.
I would like your input. Can you recommend an sirloin, a cherry and a hybrid? I live in a sw suburb of Chicago
Hi Kathleen! The only hybrid we grow is Sweet Million. It's an indeterminate cherry that produces more than any other tomato we grow. We also like Black Cherry and Honey Drop cherry. What is a sirloin?
The greenhouse sure makes it easier to harden off plants. The harmful sun rays are repelled or scattered.
The greenhouse makes a huge difference, but it doesn't account for the different results we're seeing with small plants versus large. We used the same plastic to cover the large plants too.
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening yes, I’ve sometimes had larger plants burn when left in the greenhouse too long. Transitioning them when young is a good idea.
Last year I thought I would get a great jump on my tomatoes and started them inside extra early. I wanted to harden them off into the greenhouse and pot them up into large 1-2 gallon sized pots to then plant large sturdy plants come the right time (end of May) to plant in the garden. Well...I had great seedlings and potted them up into quart sized pots and was hardening them off in the day and carrying them inside at night for several weeks, then to the greenhouse to pot up to the next size. Then a cold snap hit the end of April into mid May. They were now too big to carry back to the house (the greenhouse is far away from the house) and so stayed with lovely warm days in the greenhouse but chilly nights (not quite freezing) under a double layer of agribon at night. That was enough to stunt their growth and they were slow to grow come planting time and a couple of varieties really never recovered.
This year I'm doing it very different. I started my tomatoes later and instead of putting them under lights as soon as they germinated I put them on my sunny porch under the heavy plastic covers for the 10x20 planting trays. They are small, but very sturdy and I won't have to harden them off at all, I'm about to pot them up and they will be at the traditional 6-7 week old mark when they get planted in the garden with a few in containers in the greenhouse. Plans are so often spoiled by the weather...but if this way is successful I will continue doing it.
Tami
Hi Tami! It sounds like you're on track to having a nice tomato crop this year.
Neat. We tried winter sowing in milk jugs inside a covered breezeway. They get strong afternoon sun. Can't believe the difference in height. They are spindling, because we planted a lot of them so we will see what happens.
I meant heirloom
You can't go wrong with Cherokee Purple.
How do you keep Oscar from shitting in your garden?
In my experience, cats stay out of beds that are intensively planted and/or heavily mulched.
Thank you. It has been a problem for me, but I'll see if I can get the same results.
I AM YOU WERE ABLE TO HARDEN OFF YOUR TOMATOE PLANTS EASIER THIS YEAR I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT YET I HAVE A GREENHOUSE BUT ITS NOT THE KIND THAT YOU CAN LEAVE PLANTS OUT IN WHEN ITS COLD OUTSIDE SO I BRING MINE IN AT NIGHT BUT I AM HOPEING I WELL BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN THE FUTURE WELL GOOD LUCK ON YOUR TOMATOE HARVEST THIS YEAR
How cold does it get in the greenhouse at night?
SOMETIMES IN THE FOURTYS IT KIND OF DEPENDS ON WHAT THE TEMPS ARE LIKE OUTSIDE IN THE DAY TIME
Same here last week - a few nights in the 40's, but most in the lower 50's. Our forecast looks very promising.
youu can dooo iiiit
Yeah... _EVERYONE_ has a greenhouse like this, and can take advantage of your technique. *GET REAL.*