Is it too early for me toms

[lmwnyc]

Hi,
I would love some advice about my toms. I've potted the larger cherry toms in to bigger pots. Is it too early to plant them out ? I've no room in my conservatory any more so i've put them next to the giant window in the garage. I have also done the same with my chilli plants but i'll move them back in to the conservatory at night. This is my first ever crop (although i do have onions on the go outside) so i'm as green as grass. Any help or advice or telling offs are all appreciated.

Lmwnyc

[Scarlet]

Yes, it's too early unless you live somewhere where the nighttime temps don't drop below 10c and your last frost has gone. I'm in the South West and I wouldn't plant out till late May at the earliest. Some years June.

[Scarlet]

Sorry, forgot my manners! Welcome to the vine Lmwnyc! Why don't you pop over to the introduce yourself thread and tell us a little bit about yourself and what varieties of toms and chillies are you growing?

# personally I think chillies like it even warmer, I keep some on the windowsill in the summer for a guaranteed crop.

[maverick451]

Best bet it to put them out during the day and back in at night for a few weeks.

[rhyswales]

Hi,
I would love some advice about my toms. I've potted the larger cherry toms in to bigger pots. Is it too early to plant them out ? I've no room in my conservatory any more so i've put them next to the giant window in the garage. I have also done the same with my chilli plants but i'll move them back in to the conservatory at night. This is my first ever crop (although i do have onions on the go outside) so i'm as green as grass. Any help or advice or telling offs are all appreciated.

Lmwnyc

Little too early at the moment yes, I'd give it another month depending on where you live, i've been putting my toms in the greenhouse in the morning and bringing them in in the night for the past month. So you maybe could try that? Althought average temps in greenhouse in the day are pushing 25 degrees + so it depends really, but as stated deffinately too early too leave them outside overnight.

[brownfingers]

I had trouble with my seedlings this year. I eventually planted more as a standby, and put the first sowings out in the unheated green house. Theses first attempts have now picked up nicely.

[NatalieCooke]

I've got mine in an unheated greenhouse over night then seems to be going just fine. I cover them up at night with some fleece. Only time will tell if it's done any damage.

[Kristen]

Only time will tell if it's done any damage.

Without some comparison plants, which have not been cold-stressed, it will be difficult to tell. I have heard of people saying that their cold stressed plants are not as sweet as non-stressed plants (quite apart from whether cold-stressed plants might succumb more readily to disease etc., which will of course be much more apparent).

It would be a useful experiment for Mr Don, or those nice folk at Beechgrove, to try one year ...

[Jonnyt]

Well i'm in the South West and mine have been out for two weeks and are going great guns.

You can get away with early to mid April here without any problem whatsoever. The greenhouse hasn't gone below 7C for two months now and likely won't until next December.

[Martin H]

The greenhouse hasn't gone below 7C for two months now and likely won't until next December.

You're lucky! Here in the chilly South East, my greenhouse was below 7C between 1:30 am and 7:30 am on Friday morning, with a low of 4C. I'm expecting similar or lower for the next 2 nights.

[BertieFox]

Even if they don't get frosted, you gain nothing by planting out too early into cold soil and in conditions where they won't thrive. Even if they survive, they will be set back or go yellow. Far better to pot on into larger pots if you can and keep them somewhere warm until the real end of the frost season, usually the end of May unless you are particularly favoured.

Here they talk about the 'Saints Glaces' which are the saints' days, which are the 11th, 12th and 13th of May (in France) when you can always expect the last of the frosts, but there is also another Saint's day at the end of May when you are supposed to leave everything if you want to be entirely sure.

[Bren In Pots]

Last night my GH min temp was 2.5c so I'm glad my toms are still on the bedroom window sill.

[Kristen]

Well i'm in the South West and mine have been out for two weeks and are going great guns.

You can get away with early to mid April here without any problem whatsoever. The greenhouse hasn't gone below 7C for two months now and likely won't until next December.

Dunno how close to you, or exposed, it is but Lyme Regis airport recorded a MIN of -2C last night ... no doubt in town more sheltered etc. Nearest Wunderground station to Lyme Regis I could find was Charmouth which got down to -1C, and I'd be surprised if your greenhouse could maintain 8C higher with no heating.

Looking back through the last five years for the airport only one year had no frost in last half of April, and there were frosts in May on 13-May-2010, 13-May-2012 & 26 May-2013

[marchogaeth]

Yes 0.2C for me - thick white hoar frost in the colder bits this am - but up to 24C by 8.30.

So glad my potatoes aren't up (also don't feel quite so bad about the one I clipped while weeding and buried a bit deeper!)

[Jonnyt]

Lyme Regis Airport LOL. The nearest airport is Exeter approx 25 miles away.

My Greenhouse did dip to 5C for an hour or so but by 9am it was 20C, I've now got all vents and doors open as it was approaching 30C a few minutes ago.

All the plants including Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Courgettes and Potatoes look very healthy. There was certainly no Frost ourside