Moving seedlings outside

[elight]

I am starting about 20 tomato seedlings, and just potted most of them up into Solo cups from the seed tray. The problem is my shop lights are driving me crazy - they make it difficult to inspect the seedlings and water them.

I'm living in central Florida (zone 9b). Although we sometimes get a brief cold spell, it's been very mild this winter. Generally, in January, highs are in the low 70s, and lows are in the low 50s. So the question is... can I just put the seedlings outside in the sunlight now? What is the temperature range that will be safe for them?

I have to think at some point that the benefits of being sheltered in my garage will be outweighed by the benefits of being in sunlight.

[luigiwu]

I bottom water. I am not sure why the lights would be an issue?
Anyways you'll have to harden your plants off SLOOOOOWLY if you want to take them outside in the sunlight to grow.

[elight]

I bottom water too, but still it can be difficult to get a pitcher of water in there with the lights so close. And I like to take a look to see how they're doing. Regardless, I'm just wondering if I need to be bothering with grow lights at all or if I could just be doing this all outside given the weather.

[Cole_Robbie]

You need to ease them into the sunlight gradually, or else the sun will burn off most of the leaves they have now.

[JamesL]

Elight! What's happening? Are you missing the cold northeast?
Assuming proper hardening off, nothing wrong with 50 to 55 other than slower growth, in fact it dovetails nicely for "cold treatment".
You are safe down to 40 for extended period, safe down to 35 short term.

[elight]

Hey James! Not at all, not at all. Nothing like having tomatoes in the ground for 10 months out of the year (maybe longer - my fall plants are still kicking!) Hope all is well on Long Island.

Your response is what I was hoping to hear. Honestly, even if growth is a little slower outside, I'd rather get them out sooner rather than later and not have to try to keep adjusting these lights (and paying to keep them on).

I'm thinking I'll put them inside of a clear plastic storage bin, so that I can just pop the lid on when temps get a little cool or when rain is in the forecast (pretty rare this time of year). That also makes it easy to move them all inside if need be.

[JamesL]

All is well here. 60 deg for Christmas, and finally got cold here today. Snow tomorrow.
Still 2 months away from starting seed......
What do the other Floridians do?
I am guessing some moderate weather protection and an eye open for cold snaps?

[luigiwu]

My solo cups are on trays. SO when I need to water, I take the whole tray to the sink.



When I take my baby plants out in May, around the 50s is the temp of when I start hardening them off...

[elight]

Would love to hear from other Floridians that start from seed. So far I haven't been able to find any real discussion about this. But if folks in the north can start in a cold frame for greenhouse, why can't I? It looks like we're in for a little cold snap the next couple of days, so I'm going to try to start hardening them off at the end of the week and then get them outside full-time.

Great setup, Luigi!

[Salsacharley]

Here's some great info from Dar on temperatures. The info is in post #11 of this thread.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=34569

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Here's some great info from Dar on temperatures. The info is in post #11 of this thread.

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=34569

He also has a great write up I found once (and saved) on the SSE forum that tells what happens to tomato plants/seedlings at different temp ranges. I can't remember if posting links to other forums is allowed, so google "Safe Temperatures for Tomato plants DarJones" and the SSE forum topic should be among the results. I tried searching to see if he repeated it on T'ville, but I wasn't able to find it.

[elight]

Thanks, I saw Dar's post here last night, but the SSE post is also very useful. I don't see why linking elsewhere would be prohibited (that would sort of be antithetical to the purpose of having the Internet and a forum like this, no?), so here it is: http://forums.seedsavers.org/forum/g...2640#post42640

Basically it sounds like I need to do whatever I can to keep the plant above 50 degrees. Perhaps keeping the [clear] lid on the container all the time might be the way to go, unless temps get to like 80. Might also need to invest in a thermometer to go in there.

[a sunny day]

Hi Elight, this is how I managed my tomato seedlings when I was starting them here back in July/August. As soon as they had developed their first true leaves I potted them up from their punnets and took them away from the light because there was no longer room for them all. I had some plastic trays I had picked up from hard rubbish and found some clear plastic containers that fitted perfectly, but with a good gap along both sides length wise allowing good air flow from underneath so they never built up any mist which may have encouraged damping off.

Every morning I took them outside, in full sun, right from the start, without any hardening off, and every evening I brought them in to our warm house because at that time we could get temperatures down to minus 1 or 2 (I think that's about 30 or less fahrenheit). They grew like mushrooms. When it came to taking them out of their little mini hothouses I had to be careful and take some time to harden them off. Then they went into a little cold frame and I only brought them in if the temperature was expected to be below 7, (from memory). That's about 45 fahrenheit.

Once they really started growing I intentionally left them outside in the cold, under the veranda, day and night (unless it was forecast to be a frost), to slow them down a bit as it was still way to early to plant them in the ground and I didn't want to have to pot them up again. I think they are sturdier and more resistant to disease if you can get them out in the open and toughen them up, earlier than later.

Here are some pictures, including one showing the 25 litre drums I used with the bottoms cut off to protect them once they were planted out, especially if a frost was forecast, or if it was really hot during the day or too windy.

[b54red]

If you have already potted them up into Solo cups then you should definitely be getting them outside as much as possible unless temps in the 30's are in the forecast. Getting them used to the sun will depend on the weather. I like to set mine out in partial shade for a day or two and gradually move them into full sun. I will even set my seedlings outside before they develop true leaves and before potting up if the weather cooperates. The benefits of getting them outside are many like decreasing legginess, thickening stalks, strengthening the plant overall and greatly increasing root growth due to the faster drying out that happens outdoors.

I wouldn't put lids on the clear boxes unless you want to cook your plants. You could put the lid on at night if it gets too cold or during a heavy rain instead of bringing them inside but it doesn't take much heat to really get the inside of one of those containers too hot if the sun is shining brightly.

A couple of things to watch out for are very high winds which can damage the leaves and even break the stems of young plants, heavy rains or hail, or a sudden temperature drop bringing and unexpected frost. You will also have to be more diligent with your watering as a hot windy day can really dry them out faster than you expect.

I just started my tomato seeds in my tiny greenhouse a few days ago since we were getting such nice warm weather and now it is dropping down to 17 tonight and is expected to be below freezing for several more nights this week so with no heat my seedlings probably won't start popping up til next week if it warms up and is sunny enough to heat it up inside the greenhouse. I started my peppers a couple of days after Christmas and the weather has been really warm and they are starting to pop up now. I just hope the inside of the greenhouse doesn't get below freezing during the night with this huge temperature drop.

Bill

[elight]

Thanks, everyone. Based on everyone's advice, I started hardening them off two days ago. Of course this morning it is 36 degrees so I might skip today (it will be back in the 60s tomorrow). I think the plan will ultimately be to put them in a clear plastic box, and just put the lid on at night when it looks like it will be below 55 or so, or when there's rain in the forecast. I'm trying to decide if I should put the box upright with the lid on top (easy bottom-watering, transport and protection from pests) or upside down with the plants on the lid and putting the box on top when needed (more exposure to wind to make them strong).