When it Rains too Much?

AlittleSalt · January 3, 2019

It has rained way too much here. When a container grown plant is grown in a container outdoors and the plant and container isn't too big/heavy - we can move them out of the rain. However, tomato plants grow to be large and unmovable. What is the way you use or your idea of how to divert the rain and still provide enough sunlight for them to grow outside? (Not in a green/hot house - I don't have one.)

The only idea I have is to build a structure like a pole barn with thick clear plastic as the roof and no sides. But that can cost a couple hundred dollars, and I can buy a lot of cherry tomatoes for that price at the grocery store.

It has rained so much here since September that it seriously looks like we should be growing rice and raising crayfish.

January 3, 2019

Can you wrap some plastic around the soil to keep the pots from getting too wet?

SQWIBB · January 3, 2019

oakley · January 3, 2019

That is what I do...like above. Diverters.

bower · January 3, 2019

Re: "pole barn", this is the sort of structure that really works for us here. I've experimented with several 'tomato bus shelter' type structures, and they have really done the best even with a solid roof (not transparent) as long as you have them lined up at the edge to get as much sun as they can. Even a west facing structure that got no morning sun has been fine for them. Roof just a narrow 1.5 or 2 ft strip 6-7 ft above ground with open front back and sides. And that is something you can build from scrap lumber if you have any = free.

It is way easier than trying to make a plastic roof, which is costly not only the plastic itself but also more demanding of structural support to make it tight enough.
My old wood stacker which I've used for tomatoes has a little roof on it made of a few pieces of clapboard. Works fine for a tomato!

GrowingCoastal · January 3, 2019

Last year I slung a tarp over a clothesline to create a roof over tomato plants. Tied to trees and fencing it worked well. Also used a couple of metal bed frame rails to give it weight to keep it from flapping too much in the wind. Cost was only for the tarp. Simple and cheap.
(I'd show a picture but Imgur is being funny again today.)

Rajun Gardener · January 3, 2019

What's a crayfish?

))

You can build a lean-to, clothesline or ropes from trees to hang cheap plastic to get you by but I think you would be better to use shade-cloth since the temps will be so high in summer time and the SC will stop most of the rain while providing a break from the sun.

brownrexx · January 3, 2019

I am hoping for a less rainy growing season next year. This is the 2nd wettest year on record for us and right now I can hardly walk in the yard because the temperatures are warmer than usual and the soil is just squishy!

Covering the soil of the pot with plastic sounds like a good solution to me although the foliage will still possibly get more disease with all of the moisture. Even if you had a tent, there will still be more moisture in the air leading to the possibility of disease.

Rajun Gardener · January 3, 2019

I'm hoping for a dry season too. It seems like it's been raining for a month.

AlittleSalt · January 3, 2019

Thank you everyone. I have thought of the diseases too - that can be caused by it staying so wet. Sqwibb, I like that, but I want to be able to remove it ... and then there would be a cage in the way. I need to give it more thought.

Rajun, Crayfish:

cray·fish
/ˈkrāˌfiSH/
noun
noun: crayfish; plural noun: crayfish; plural noun: crayfishes; noun: freshwater crayfish; plural noun: freshwater crayfish; plural noun: freshwater crayfishes

a nocturnal freshwater crustacean that resembles a small lobster and inhabits streams and rivers.

Mudbug, Crawdad, or as I grew up calling them "Crawdeads." Craw deads

lol, as a child, I fished for them with a line and salt pork. I even used a Zebco 202 on a short fishing pole to fish them out of a railroad bridge. That took skill

upcountrygirl · January 3, 2019

salt, I caught them(we call them crawfish in this part of the south) with my bare hands in the creek growing up.

Cole_Robbie · January 3, 2019

6 mil greenhouse plastic is about 2-3 cents per square foot, at least in larger quantities. If you knew anyone with a greenhouse, they often give away their old plastic.

brownrexx · January 3, 2019

I thought that us Northerners called them crayfish and you Southerners called them crawdads.

In any case I only ever ate them one time and I thought that they were too tiny to bother with. They were for sale in one of our seafood markets.

rhines81 · January 3, 2019

Seems like the tent/tarp idea might be OK. Maybe something retractable like a shower curtain set up with aircraft (dog-run) wire to give you a roof-top during predicted all-day rains, which could be easily moved out of the way otherwise.

Worth1 · January 3, 2019

I dont post lightly for the most part.
In my opinion dont complain about the rain in this part of Texas.
What little difficulty it may put upon us it will surely benefit the ground water for us later on.
For years now we have been in a dry spell I enjoy seeing the ditches full of water.
Water is life in Texas.
What little inconvenience to me means nothing in the big picture.
I/we are of not of any concern to the world around us we live in.
As for the containers use your head and adapt.

Worth

January 3, 2019	#1
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	When it Rains too Much? It has rained way too much here. When a container grown plant is grown in a container outdoors and the plant and container isn't too big/heavy - we can move them out of the rain. However, tomato plants grow to be large and unmovable. What is the way you use or your idea of how to divert the rain and still provide enough sunlight for them to grow outside? (Not in a green/hot house - I don't have one.) The only idea I have is to build a structure like a pole barn with thick clear plastic as the roof and no sides. But that can cost a couple hundred dollars, and I can buy a lot of cherry tomatoes for that price at the grocery store. It has rained so much here since September that it seriously looks like we should be growing rice and raising crayfish.

January 3, 2019	#7
Rajun Gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Tomato Cornhole Posts: 2,550	What's a crayfish?)) You can build a lean-to, clothesline or ropes from trees to hang cheap plastic to get you by but I think you would be better to use shade-cloth since the temps will be so high in summer time and the SC will stop most of the rain while providing a break from the sun. __________________ Rob

January 3, 2019	#10
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Thank you everyone. I have thought of the diseases too - that can be caused by it staying so wet. Sqwibb, I like that, but I want to be able to remove it ... and then there would be a cage in the way. I need to give it more thought. Rajun, Crayfish: cray·fish /ˈkrāˌfiSH/ noun noun: crayfish; plural noun: crayfish; plural noun: crayfishes; noun: freshwater crayfish; plural noun: freshwater crayfish; plural noun: freshwater crayfishes a nocturnal freshwater crustacean that resembles a small lobster and inhabits streams and rivers. Mudbug, Crawdad, or as I grew up calling them "Crawdeads." Craw deads lol, as a child, I fished for them with a line and salt pork. I even used a Zebco 202 on a short fishing pole to fish them out of a railroad bridge. That took skill

January 3, 2019	#2
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	Can you wrap some plastic around the soil to keep the pots from getting too wet?

January 3, 2019	#3
SQWIBB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Philly 7A Posts: 739

January 3, 2019	#4
oakley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: NewYork 5a Posts: 2,303	That is what I do...like above. Diverters.

January 3, 2019	#5
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	Re: "pole barn", this is the sort of structure that really works for us here. I've experimented with several 'tomato bus shelter' type structures, and they have really done the best even with a solid roof (not transparent) as long as you have them lined up at the edge to get as much sun as they can. Even a west facing structure that got no morning sun has been fine for them. Roof just a narrow 1.5 or 2 ft strip 6-7 ft above ground with open front back and sides. And that is something you can build from scrap lumber if you have any = free. It is way easier than trying to make a plastic roof, which is costly not only the plastic itself but also more demanding of structural support to make it tight enough. My old wood stacker which I've used for tomatoes has a little roof on it made of a few pieces of clapboard. Works fine for a tomato!

January 3, 2019	#6
GrowingCoastal Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Vancouver Island Canada BC Posts: 1,253	Last year I slung a tarp over a clothesline to create a roof over tomato plants. Tied to trees and fencing it worked well. Also used a couple of metal bed frame rails to give it weight to keep it from flapping too much in the wind. Cost was only for the tarp. Simple and cheap. (I'd show a picture but Imgur is being funny again today.)

January 3, 2019	#8
brownrexx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 1,420	I am hoping for a less rainy growing season next year. This is the 2nd wettest year on record for us and right now I can hardly walk in the yard because the temperatures are warmer than usual and the soil is just squishy! Covering the soil of the pot with plastic sounds like a good solution to me although the foliage will still possibly get more disease with all of the moisture. Even if you had a tent, there will still be more moisture in the air leading to the possibility of disease.

January 3, 2019	#11
upcountrygirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: south carolina Posts: 562	salt, I caught them(we call them crawfish in this part of the south) with my bare hands in the creek growing up.

January 3, 2019	#12
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	6 mil greenhouse plastic is about 2-3 cents per square foot, at least in larger quantities. If you knew anyone with a greenhouse, they often give away their old plastic.

January 3, 2019	#14
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	Seems like the tent/tarp idea might be OK. Maybe something retractable like a shower curtain set up with aircraft (dog-run) wire to give you a roof-top during predicted all-day rains, which could be easily moved out of the way otherwise.

January 3, 2019	#15
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I dont post lightly for the most part. In my opinion dont complain about the rain in this part of Texas. What little difficulty it may put upon us it will surely benefit the ground water for us later on. For years now we have been in a dry spell I enjoy seeing the ditches full of water. Water is life in Texas. What little inconvenience to me means nothing in the big picture. I/we are of not of any concern to the world around us we live in. As for the containers use your head and adapt. Worth