tomato weather question

 I know you are supposed to wait until night temps are in the 50s F before
planting tomatoes. My question is this: what happens if you don't? I mean,
if night time temps are in the 40s when you plant, does that mean you're
doomed, or does it just take longer to mature, or what?


--
    hillary israeli vmd  http://www.hillary.net   info@hillary.net
                "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
                 not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

  hillary@hillary.net (Hillary Israeli) wrote:


Personally, I never worry about night temps unless there is a
possibility of a freeze. ;-)

It's been unusually cold here in Texas this spring, but I've got plenty
of sets already and my plants are anywhere from 12" to 24" tall.

K.

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 hillary@hillary.net (Hillary Israeli) wrote in message

they will slow down, and produce later than if you had followed proper
procedure. it also depends on the tomatoes. cherry are more cold
tolerant than others. now, if you were to set out eggplant, okra or
basil at those temperatures the first two would stall for months, and
the basil would die.

 
*hillary@hillary.net (Hillary Israeli) wrote in message
*> I know you are supposed to wait until night temps are in the 50s F before
*> planting tomatoes. My question is this: what happens if you don't? I mean,
*> if night time temps are in the 40s when you plant, does that mean you're
*> doomed, or does it just take longer to mature, or what?
*
*they will slow down, and produce later than if you had followed proper
*procedure. it also depends on the tomatoes. cherry are more cold
*tolerant than others. now, if you were to set out eggplant, okra or
*basil at those temperatures the first two would stall for months, and
*the basil would die.

The basil would NOT die. I do this every year with basil. I always plant
it early, I am a sucker. Yes, if it FREEZES, the basil dies for sure. But
40 F? Well, it's been 40ish plenty of times since I planted the basil and
it is alive, and it has lived in past years when I did the same thing.

So, back to the tomatoes - I still don't quite get it.

Say I have some tomato plants and I divide them into two groups. These are
all the same type of plant and all sprouted at the same time. One group I
put outside after the last frost, but when evening temps are still dipping
into the low 40s or even high 30s. Another group I keep inside for another
month or six weeks, until the evening temps are always in the 50s. Are you
saying that the group one tomatoes will produce their crop later than the
group two tomatoes? Or when you say they "slow down," do you mean that
they will just not do much until it is warmer outside?

 --
    hillary israeli vmd  http://www.hillary.net   info@hillary.net
                "uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
                 not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large :)

 Hillary Israeli wrote:

Hi there,

I have a very similar scenario as you have described.

I grew my tomatoes from seed indoors and then put them outdoors onc
they had germinated. ( only two leafs though)

Temperatures outside were still cold so I bought only half of the
indoors again due to space not being available.

Indoor temperature in my room has been a constant 18 - 22 degrees mos
of the time. The tomatoes indoors are now two inches high.

However the tomatoes outdoors, where the temperature has been varyin
from lows of  8 degrees to highs of 21 degress odd (mostly staying lo
though) are still the about the same height as they were when I pu
them out a few weeks back.

They are not however dead, they have just slowed down I think.
recently put a plastic box  over them and they have now started to gro
again. The true leaves are begining to emerge now as the glass mus
have raised the temperatures
-
domm
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