Decisions, Decisions

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

So, traveling on Friday and will be gone for a week. Asking advice from my Tomatoville experts... My last frost date was May 6 but we all know mother nature can always throw a curve ball. My tomato starts did far better under my new LED lights than expected and are further along than previous years growing under lights. They have all been potted up twice, are now in 3.5 x 5 inch pots, are 12-14" tall with thick, sturdy stems, many are flowering. My temps per multiple weather sources...

Sat 82/49 82/49 78/61 78/58
Sun 70/46 70/46 71/51 68/47
Mon 73/52 73/52 72/49 72/47
Tue 73/48 73/47 79/53 70/52
Wed 65/43 65/42 68/46 65/46
Thu 70/51 70/51 67/38 64/41

My son will be here but not sure I can rely on - however, pulling them out of the garage, pushing them in when you arrive home shouldn't be all that hard if I decide not to put in the ground. My worry would be if he left them out - imo - that would be far more damaging to the plants.

I have plastic tunnels which I could put out but I would not feel comfortable asking him to take on/off as I would if here because I have garlic planted in front and would not want him piecing a growing bulb. I am thinking temps are too high for those tunnels to stay on for the week - but maybe someone more experienced would know. The ends can be left open to expel heat.

I do have this insect barrier which I could drape over but not sure it would protect from nighttime temps or not - I have doubts as to its effectiveness for protection since that's not what it is for. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

I guess a fourth option could be to wrap plastic around cages up a bit so excess heat could be expelled.

Any suggestions? WWYD?

[PaulF]

Put them outside in a place that is mostly shaded and protected from wind. Direct sunlight is not needed as long as they are in a place with light. The temperatures you list should not be too detrimental. A week without water would be the biggest problem. If your son could remember to water the plants at least once or twice they should all survive until you get back.

Good luck.

[rxkeith]

lows in the 40s aren't too bad for plants. 40s plus wind plus rain on the other hand
would not be very good. i would agree with paul. biggest concern would be
proper watering. sunny days, plants might need watering twice. be very specific
with instructions to your son on watering requirements, and what to do if the weather
takes a turn for the worse. don't leave him guessing, if his plant skills are not up to
par. real basic instructions, not too wordy.






keith

[ddsack]

I would tend to want to put them in the ground, just because of the low maintenance. I'll bet they are growing fast and may need to soon be watered every day if they are in the sun and getting root bound. Your temperatures are similar to what I often expect when I plant at the end of May. The coldest night shown is 38, the others say warmer. The danger would be if the forecast suddenly changes for an actual frost, since you probably can't trust your son to cover them properly. Like Keith, I often have lows in the 40's early in the season, so that wouldn't concern me. I suppose you could hedge your bets by planting some of them, so he has fewer to deal with?

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

Thanks for your advice. I planted them in the ground this morning after waiting to see the latest forecast this morning. I will keep an eye on the forecast while I am gone and he can cover if needed. He's watching my dogs, cats, chickens so trying to stay on his good side so he will repeat!

[CrazyAboutOrchids]

My plants did go in the ground the day I left for travel - all 20 of them. I had looked at the long range forecast and it all looked good. Well, just my luck, while I am sitting in another country, Mother Nature threw a curve ball and those overnight temps on Wednesday night night started to drop. In a panic, I began texting my son. He did well. He covered all with garbage bags and then beach towels using the garlic - which is amazingly large at this point this year - to support the towels so the weight did not crush the plants.

I got home last evening and after an elongated bark fest greeting with my dogs and then making time for my cats - I am rarely away from home so they were all excited to see me! - off to the garden I went.....

Happy to say it appears my plants survived and appear un-phased by their 30 degree - yes 30! overnight temp. I think a few things were in my favor... 1) He watered the garden well on Tuesday. I have drip irrigation and he left it on a slow drip while he was at work. The soil was watered but not on the same day where it might have frozen or gotten too cold for their feet. 2) I have a good solid 3-4 inches of Mulch Master straw where the tomatoes are and it's been on that plot for months so well packed; the soil was insulated. 3) The garlic that I grow in front of the tomatoes is doing really, really well this year and I believe gave a wall of protection as well as provided something to support the covers so the plants were not crushed.

I was a tad stressed for a few hours and thought I had lost all. I gave the 20 back-up plants away before I left after reviewing the temps - I tried to make things easy for my son since I have additional travel this summer and wanted to take advantage of his house and pet sitting. He had 2 dogs, 2 cats, the house and 9 chickens so was trying to not throw more daily activities his way. It all worked out well. I think I would push him to care for my plants next time instead of planting. I will def never give away my back-ups again! Most of all, think in the future I would try to plan earlier or later travel if possible so I am not in the same spot again if at all possible.

[ddsack]

I am so glad it worked out for you! You have raised a responsible boy there. I hope you can think of a special reward for his excellent covering work! Disheartening, how that dang weather can change despite favorable forecasts.
I had this problem every first week of June, when we used to book a northern Ontario fishing trip on my husband's birthday week. Scramble to get the garden planted, and then worry about it freezing while we were gone. Sometimes threats of frost the night before we had to leave! Kept a line up of big buckets and pots at the ready next to the plants. I don't think I ever lost anything, but maybe some cucumber damage happened. It's hard growing in a shorter season area where you need to get stuff in the ground, every lost week matters.

[PaulF]

Excellent news that all or most survived. Way to go son. I am glad I have not given away my back-ups; just got in from looking at the tomato garden after a 40 degree night and one of our favorites is looking a little peaked and may need to be replaced. That is why I refuse to give up the spares no matter how much folks plead to take mine home with them.