Frost

vince g · April 28, 2013

Hi all, I am growing tomatoes in my polytunnel in the south-east of the UK. I planted them out last weekend, but this weekend we had a frost a couple sustained some damage. Some of the leaves have brown patches and some have curled up. Not all plants are affected. I am sure it is frost damage as my sweetcorn has some damage which I saw before when I planted them outside too early.

I have erected a screen of horticultural fleece around the plants to protect against future frosts which are forecast this week, but will my plants recover?

Redbaron · April 28, 2013

Tomatoes can recover from frost, but it does weaken them such that something else could come along and kill them before they recover. Generally it is from several days at low temps instead of a single short cold snap that does the worst harm.

April 28, 2013

My frost damaged plants usually recover fully if the damage wasn't severe. They are usually growth retarded a few days from the cold weather. Cumulative frosts resulting in cumulative damage will usually kill a plant.

Ted

April 28, 2013	#1
vince g Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Ipswich, UK Posts: 1	Frost Hi all, I am growing tomatoes in my polytunnel in the south-east of the UK. I planted them out last weekend, but this weekend we had a frost a couple sustained some damage. Some of the leaves have brown patches and some have curled up. Not all plants are affected. I am sure it is frost damage as my sweetcorn has some damage which I saw before when I planted them outside too early. I have erected a screen of horticultural fleece around the plants to protect against future frosts which are forecast this week, but will my plants recover?

April 28, 2013	#2
Redbaron Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 4,488	Tomatoes can recover from frost, but it does weaken them such that something else could come along and kill them before they recover. Generally it is from several days at low temps instead of a single short cold snap that does the worst harm. __________________ Scott AKA The Redbaron "Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; & of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." Bill Mollison co-founder of permaculture

April 28, 2013	#3
tedln Guest Posts: n/a	My frost damaged plants usually recover fully if the damage wasn't severe. They are usually growth retarded a few days from the cold weather. Cumulative frosts resulting in cumulative damage will usually kill a plant. Ted