Topic: Windowsill at bursting point - can I Polytunnel toms now?

[Plot No.69]

Hi all.  My tomatoes have decided they're waiting no longer and have started their race for life!  Seedlings 3 weeks ago now 20 cm and in desperate need if potting on I should think.!  Can I move them to an unheated Polytunnel given the chilly temps we're having?  Windowsills creaking under the strain.  Thanks 

[BarriedaleNick]

I wouldn't.  Temps at night will be below 0 C for the next few nights and toms will not tolerate any frost at all.  Unless you can garantee that temps in the ploy are always above 1 C then leave them be.  I did this last year (it was hot now - about 18 C in London) so they all went out - then I lost the lot in one night.

[Plot No.69]

Hi all.  My tomatoes have decided they're waiting no longer and have started the race for life!  Seedlings 3 weeks ago, now 20 cm plus and in desperate need of potting!  Can I move them to an unheated Polytunnel given the chilly temps we're having?  Windowsills creaking under the strain and will do even more once potted on.  Also, anything else that will survive in the Polytunnel now?  I'm a newbie allotmenteer and i guess like all forum members, I'm getting impatient with the gloom and chill.  Thanks for any suggestions! 

[galina]

How warm is your poly?  The don't like getting lower than 5C at night and ideally not less than 10, but that is near impossible. 

Can you rig up a second shelf for the top half of your window?  I have used a double row of bricks (bottom bricks wrapped in newspaper to save the windowsill wood) 5 or 6 courses high and placed an extra 'shelf' (scrap piece of wood)  on top of that for plants getting the light from the top half of the window above the bottom plants.

 

[chriscross1966]

If you can get your hands on a load of fresh manure then you could build an old-fashioned hot-bed for them.....cow would be best but horse would do at a pinch... layer about 2 foot deep , and it'll want to be about 8x4 with a big cloche over  or frame over it...

[Jayb]

Welcome to A4A  I've merged your two threads Plot No.69, can get a bit confusing having two threads the same!

What about putting your seedlings out in your poly by day and bringing them back inside overnight while temperatures are so low?

 

[Plot No.69]

Thanks all for the advice.  Patience and more shelving (thanks gail a) seems to be the most sensible approach.  Failing that, a move to the Bahamas!!!

[Hi_Hoe]

Short answer is no!!!  Much to chilly right now.....Previous years Ive used the ol'  "greenhouse within a greenhouse" - that is to say my plants lived inside cloches and those four tier jobbies inside the tunnel during early winter - but not this year I darent! much too cold at night

Best thing to do is make use of all availble light and hold out for spring to come - and that shelf idea suggested earlier sounds good too!

Welcome to the lions den by the way!!

[Plot69]

can get a bit confusing having two threads the same!

Also get's confusing with two people who have Plot 69. Now I know who's digging up my veg when I'm not there.

[Nomspatch]

Things are so 'hit and miss' here these days. cold at night ..baking by day. I have given up on the 'old ways' and am putting half my inside seedlings out in the poly....there is supposed to be a drought for MAY, so hot days cold nights.. what can you do..RISK IT... if it comes good fine, if not you can always buy a few in!

[Vinlander]

The simple solution is to pot them into taller pots - it's possible to buy (or make) double height pots in most sizes -  twice the volume of growing medium on the same shelf - and the plants will stay happy until they are 50%  taller (actually if they grew the same in all directions they could only get to 26% taller - but they usually don't!).

Cheers.

[Ellen K]

I've got a max/min thermometer in my 6m x 3m poly.  It's been down to about 5 C at night the last few days.  So a frosty night could see it close to 0 C.  But the dwarf beans in tubs ad potatoes have survived so far.  Though you can see a tiny bit of frost damage on them.  But I too am going to risk it with more plants.  Though I will also be watching the skies with fleece on hand.

[manicscousers]

Our toms are starting to flower now. They are inthe poly border and the mesh door only isclosed at night. They've been fine and we have most things in there including melons 

[green lily]

My poly said 3.2c last night....The toms are still in the house although potatoes are ok as I throw a bit of bubblewrap over at night. The outdoor spuds are earthed up and have to make do with broad beans and enviromesh.. All a bit purple but have survived and temps on the up. The wind is what's holding my stuff indoors although I open the windows so they get well rumbled. And I wish it would rain.
Good luck to the toms in the poly. I think mine will have to soon go in with a bit of fleece as a cuddle blanket at night but really I want most of them to go outdoors. May is a hard month..

[Plot No.69]

OK toms have been in poly 1 week, and so far so good.  Loads of new growth and clearly appreciating the warm daytime temps.  Night time temps hovering between 3.5 and 5 degrees but they (and peppers, chillies, and aubergines) seem to be enjoying it.  Cucumbers - completely different story.  after justa a day and a night their response was "forget it mate". From 18 inches or so of what looked like robust windowsill grown plant, they collapsed and died in one day/eve (despite string supports)  So more planted and will wait a bit - how bad can it be?  :-)

[Plot69]

I sowed my cues, pumpkins, sweetcorn and everything else in the poly. They all germinated in the poly unassisted by any artificial heat so they're all naturally hardened to it. They're all thriving even though night time temps have been low.

[ancellsfarmer]

The simple solution is to pot them into taller pots - it's possible to buy (or make) double height pots in most sizes -  twice the volume of growing medium on the same shelf - and the plants will stay happy until they are 50%  taller (actually if they grew the same in all directions they could only get to 26% taller - but they usually don't!).

Cheers.

Morrisons have tall (13"?) black flower bucket/pots in packs of 8 for 99p. These are great for toms and hold 6or 7 litres of compost. They need drilling for drainage though, 4   7mm holes in each base.

[Ellen K]

Frosty here this morning in North Leicestershire - will be interesting to see how my polytunnelled plants have done overnight.

 

[Ellen K]

2.8 C overnight in the Poly but all plants survived - though sweetcorn still with propagator top on.

All well with emerging early potatoes too.

 

[galina]

Have started planting the greenhouse up and hardening off plants there too.  Fingers crossed that we will now get nothing worse than a slight frost and that they will be fine in the greenhouse.