R.I.C.P. - Overnight Freeze Kills 13 News at 11

[HakaiRah]

It reached 27F in the garden last night, and while pretty much everything else made it through ok the early tomatoes are all but dead. I managed to construct one little fort to protect six of them overnight, but didn't have the resources or time before sunset to do more than that. Even there one of the protected ones snapped off mid-stem. Probably from a combination of the cold and the enclosure pushing up against it with the wind. May they Rest In Compost Pile.

Combine that with the bunny that ate all my Broccoli and the early garden has not had such a good run. I'm doing a 100k bike ride for MS on Martha's Vineyard this weekend, so I really won't be able to do much about either problem until next week. Though I didn't want to I'm planning on fencing in the garden to prevent further nibbling.

Still all is not lost. The backup tomatoes are looking great and growing strong. At least I know now that they will all have a place in the garden.

[Dukerdawg]

Sorry to hear that, but gosh, isn't it rather early to have tomatoes in the ground in MA? Even if the frost didn't get them until soil temps reach 65 degrees overall they don't do anything but sit there anyway.

Was it an early experiment to try to get a real early harvest? I can't say I blame you for trying, but I'm afraid that most times you are going to run into the same situation you have just dealt with.

I'm in Michigan and have at least 3 weeks before I can plant, and even that will be dependant on the 10 day forecast. I would rather they grow safely in the GH than chance an early death in the garden.

Duane

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by HakaiRah

I'm doing a 100k bike ride for MS on Martha's Vineyard this weekend, so I really won't be able to do much about either problem until next week. Though I didn't want to I'm planning on fencing in the garden to prevent further nibbling.

Bummer about the garden troubles. Fencing will help things out. I guess putting things out so early doesn't always pay off.

*pat on the back* with regards to the MS ride. I did the MS bike ride from Houston to Austin in early April this year, my 5th year doing it. Not only a great ride, but for a good cause.

[HakaiRah]

They actually put out about 6 inches of new growth in the last two weeks, since we've had unseasonably warm weather. I put them out as an experiment, and because I had started them back in February and they were just too big. I could have kept potting them up but that was starting to get expensive since I don't have a lot of large pots being a first year gardener.

I have a second batch of tomatoes that I started at the end of March that'll be ready to replace these. They are all going to be about perfect transplant size when I plunk them in May 10th. All the seedlings from the seeds you sent me are in this second batch so they're safe

[Hilde]

Maybe you could build simple frames around your tomato plants, like Feldon (Morgan) have done, and put plastic over during freezing spells. You might even be able to put a little heater inside and get a green house effect.

I have a lot of sympathy for wanting to put tomato plants out early. The long wait for those first ripe tomatoes is not something I enjoy either! It looks like dcarch has found a way to get an early harvest with his removable green house.

All fingers crossed for your 2nd batch of tomatoes!

Hilde

[HakaiRah]

I went with the Florida Weave as support for my tomatoes, and while I like it so far it does make it much more difficult to create shelters for the tomatoes. All told I'll have around seventy tomato plants in so I need some sort of mass support solution.

Long term I have some ideas for how to convert the support structure into a temporary green house for early spring, but that is probably at least two years out at this point. In the end though I like playing in the dirt and making things grow, so even if the bunnies and deer eat everything that the weather doesn't finish off I'd still call it a successful year.

[Stoloniferous]

HakaiRah's wife has also put restrictions on how ugly the garden can look, making his new gardening lifestyle even more difficult.

*sends more hugs to her hubby for the munched and melted-looking plants*

Yeah. . . we're totally new to gardening, and the arrival of a few days of warm weather has tempted us into doing things in the garden a bit early.

[Raymondo]

Originally Posted by HakaiRah

In the end though I like playing in the dirt and making things grow, so even if the bunnies and deer eat everything that the weather doesn't finish off I'd still call it a successful year.

Goodonyamate, as we say downunder!

Well done on the bike rides HakaiRah and Feldon. Oh to be young and fit again! Actually, just make that oh to be fit again!

[Ruth_10]

Sorry to hear you lost some plants, but that's the way it goes. There's nothing wrong with planting "at risk" as long as you know in your bones that you could lose them and as long as you have backups ready and waiting. Some years planting out early works, some years it doesn't. That's gardening for ya.

[feldon30]

There are a huge number of people who do the MS150 who are in their 40's, 50's, 60's, and even 70's. A 92 year old man rode this year.