Do WOWs work? Do you get an earlier harvest?

[JosephineRose]

I've mentioned on other threads I'm on the clock this year to bring in my tomato harvest early.

I started plants early, I'm planting out early, and short of waiving a magic wand over mother nature, it's really up to mother nature to bring in the warmer temps being forecast this spring.

I'm eyeing the wall o' water now, and wondering if they really work, and can help my plants stay warmer the first month or so they are in the garden beds.

Do they really work?

I understand they allow you to plant earlier, but does that necessarily mean your plants will start producing earlier with a jumpstart of warmth like that?

Would love to hear other's experiences with WOWs.

[habitat_gardener]

I don't recall your exact time constraints, but my strategy would be to plant a bunch of early dwarf and determinate varieties in low hoops. Or find a tomato buddy.

I have used wow from early March to early May, and gotten a few earlies, but it takes a lot of time for not much return.

[Captain Neon]

I don't know if they work or not, but I fill up 2L soda bottles with water and place them in a ring about the seedling I plant for my oldest son on his birthday, May 1st. His mother chooses the variety that we plant, but when he gets older I will let him pick it out himself. Not to be left out, his younger brother also gets a tomato seedling planted just for him. His just goes into the ground later. He will also get to pick the variety and plant out date when he is older. As they get older they will shoulder more and more responsibility for the garden until all I have to do pick my varieties and eat the produce.

[PaddyMc]

Originally Posted by Captain Neon

I don't know if they work or not, but I fill up 2L soda bottles with water and place them in a ring about the seedling I plant for my oldest son on his birthday, May 1st. His mother chooses the variety that we plant, but when he gets older I will let him pick it out himself. Not to be left out, his younger brother also gets a tomato seedling planted just for him. His just goes into the ground later. He will also get to pick the variety and plant out date when he is older. As they get older they will shoulder more and more responsibility for the garden until all I have to do pick my varieties and eat the produce.

That's just good strategy right there.

[Gardeneer]

There are alternatives to WOW.

== get a cheap 3ring cage.
== wrap it w/ clear plastic OR better yet with bubble wrap.
== Stick it around the plant ( as normally you would.
== fill 2 or 3 TWO litere soda bottle with water and put them inside, next to the plant.
NOTE: Make sure that the plastic seals at the ground level an that no air can get in.
You may even cover the top at night , when it is going to go down to frost range.

What this does:
(a) keeps the plant from cooling fast at night.
(b) It creates a micro greenhouse during the day.
Fore better effect use bigger and taller cage.

Gardeneer

[Dak]

I use WOW every year, while it may look like spring is here, there is always the possibility of a freeze between now and May. As your plant grows, you can open up the top, so the WOW is more vertical, (and less like a tepee) to avoid too much heat during the day.

My plants grow really well in them, as to them producing earlier, hard to say, I feel it gives me a larger healthier plant that hasn't been stressed by our cold nights.

[creister]

Gardener,

What do you cover those cages with? It looks like Saran Wrap.

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by creister

Gardener,

What do you cover those cages with? It looks like Saran Wrap.

Those in the picture were wrapped with bubble wrap.

Gardeneer

[creister]

I should have said cover the top of the cages with. Does enough light get through the bubble wrap?

[brownrexx]

A couple of years ago I planted one Big Beef tomato plant in the garden on April 30 and surrounded its cage with plastic and placed 3, 1 gallon bottles of water inside the cage. Later when the weather was warmer, in mid May I planted another plant of the same variety next to the one in the garden.

Although the second plant was slightly smaller at first, it caught up quickly and both plants produced their first ripe tomato within one day of each other.

Note, I live in PA so it may be different, but rushing to get my plants outdoors sooner is really not worth the effort.

Tomatoes are topical plants and will produce when conditions are right and not before in my opinion.

[Lindalana]

Have been using WOW for some time now and yes, you get earlier everything. Not by much but if you combine smaller early variety you can get quite a difference of about 4 weeks.
They are reusable but do deteriorate at some point.
Best trick is to warm your soil as well with el cheapo landscape fabric underneath. Also watering with warm water during cold weather helps.
My zone standard times for planting Memorial day weekend. My plants go late April and with early cherry I get them by end of June. I also get longer general fruiting of midseason and better deals out of late varieties which are not practical for my zone but oh so tasty.

[timbucktwo]

Bought six to try for some early ones where I live, never tried them before, will post back later in the season.


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[Cole_Robbie]

Tomatoes grow when the soil warms. Raised beds warm up faster, and black plastic mulch helps, too. I've done the saran-wrap cage thing before. The biggest benefit was a wind barrier. My early spring days tend to be very windy.

[JosephineRose]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

A couple of years ago I planted one Big Beef tomato plant in the garden on April 30 and surrounded its cage with plastic and placed 3, 1 gallon bottles of water inside the cage. Later when the weather was warmer, in mid May I planted another plant of the same variety next to the one in the garden.

Although the second plant was slightly smaller at first, it caught up quickly and both plants produced their first ripe tomato within one day of each other.

Note, I live in PA so it may be different, but rushing to get my plants outdoors sooner is really not worth the effort.

Tomatoes are topical plants and will produce when conditions are right and not before in my opinion.

Thank you for that!

[Greatgardens]

I've used WOW, and my cold frame is a better alternative for me. I can let the plants get way too big for a WOW before planting from my cold frame. But that said, here is an alternative to WOW (and similar to that posted by Gardeneer, but ready made from Gardeners Supply). I bought several of these to try this year, using the water jug(s) inside the pop-up. (I like the pop-up feature -- quick, easy, and folds flat for storage.)

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/pop-up-...9.html#start=3

BTW, they have three heights of these plant protectors. A smaller one for squash, and also a taller one just called a pop-up protector. I'll use these for peppers and squash as well as toms.

-GG