coldest weather you have grown tomatos in?

username5 · December 6, 2006

I have been reading up on wintersowing and see that many people in the colder zones (I am zone 5, border of zone 4) have reported success with wintersowing tomatos.

Wondering what the coldest temps y'all have successfully gotten tomatos started and growing in has been?

I am thinking of wintersowing one mid season variety to test with. I figure if the seeds germinate before the normal plant out date I will just build them mini green houses made from a cheap, flimsy tomato cage with a clear garbage bag over it.

Not sure what the results will be, but I look forward to y'alls cold weather experiments and experiences with tomatos.

gardengalrn · December 10, 2006

Others can chime in their experience and if you post this on Garden Web, Trudy will certainly have lots of good advice for you. There is a winter sowing forum there but she used to post frequently on the tomato forum as well. My zone is 6b so your mileage may vary. I've noticed that we here in this part of KY have too many warm spells followed by weeks of frigid weather for me to keep up with my tomatoes sown that way. Plus, I have a ritual that I look forward to in regards to sowing my tomatoes so I just stick to indoor sowing for them.
It may be quite different for you in zone 5 and Trudy does swear by the health and vigor of winter-sown seeds and has demonstrated some pretty tomato plants and fruits. I think she may be a similar zone. I've used the method for other veggies and flowers and they have done well but since here I do have a good length of a growing season, I stick to doing it my way.

Gimme3 · December 13, 2006

User...ill say this much.

I got a 3 year-old compost area, it aint been used , since the Ground was scraped. Mainly because i moved my compostin areas to a new place.

I had volunteer tomato plants this fall...in that place, that grew into Fruition...Cherries ...0f one sort or another.

28 degree Nights....didnt kill em.

Deer, and a few nights at below 25 degrees ...finally did em in.

i hope this info helps Ya.

TomatoDon · December 30, 2006

markferon grew a tomato plant under a snowbank last winter and showed pictures of it here. However, most thought it looked more like a fuzzy picture of Bigfoot taken through a chain link fence, and subsequent attempts to verify said snowbank tomato were unsuccessful.

Don

Lilypon · December 30, 2006

Username5 I haven't deliberately set out to winter sow tomatoes but I have had ones that have self-seeded pop up after a winter that included temperatures down to -50 degrees Celcius (that would be -58 Fahrenheit).

Fusion_power · January 13, 2007

Tomato seed can survive extreme temperatures. I would not hesitate to plant seed that had been down to -100F.

Most tomato plants are damaged by temps below 45F but that is physiological damage which causes the plant to stop growing. At a temp of 30F, almost all tomatoes will have leaf damage. A very few varieties can survive temps below freezing. I have a kimberly plant on my front porch in a container that has survived 18 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the only plant out of 300 or more that made it. If it survives the rest of the winter, I want to save seed from it!

Fusion

Woodenzoo · January 13, 2007

I'm in SWOhio and I wintersowed some tomatoes last year. I think I sowed about 4-5 seeds of each variety and when I wasn't getting many of them germinating, I went ahead and sowed 2 seeds of each inside under lights. I had almost 100% germination inside.
Of the WS seedlings, I only kept one variety as the cutworms or slugs got to the others (of that variety) when planted out. That one variety was mortgage lifter and it didn't take long to catch up with the indoor sown plants. The ws seedlings I had given away were smaller, but no one had any problems with growing them out.
So I guess for me, it was too much of a hit and miss with wintersowing tomatoes and I won't be doing it again. It was my first year at wintersowing and at starting most any seeds (flower/tomatoes/veggies), but had much better luck with the flowers and cool season veggies than with tomatoes and peppers.
Cathy

December 6, 2006	#1
username5 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Zone 5 Wisconsin Posts: 117	coldest weather you have grown tomatos in? I have been reading up on wintersowing and see that many people in the colder zones (I am zone 5, border of zone 4) have reported success with wintersowing tomatos. Wondering what the coldest temps y'all have successfully gotten tomatos started and growing in has been? I am thinking of wintersowing one mid season variety to test with. I figure if the seeds germinate before the normal plant out date I will just build them mini green houses made from a cheap, flimsy tomato cage with a clear garbage bag over it. Not sure what the results will be, but I look forward to y'alls cold weather experiments and experiences with tomatos. __________________ We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.

December 10, 2006	#2
gardengalrn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kansas, zone 5 Posts: 524	Others can chime in their experience and if you post this on Garden Web, Trudy will certainly have lots of good advice for you. There is a winter sowing forum there but she used to post frequently on the tomato forum as well. My zone is 6b so your mileage may vary. I've noticed that we here in this part of KY have too many warm spells followed by weeks of frigid weather for me to keep up with my tomatoes sown that way. Plus, I have a ritual that I look forward to in regards to sowing my tomatoes so I just stick to indoor sowing for them. It may be quite different for you in zone 5 and Trudy does swear by the health and vigor of winter-sown seeds and has demonstrated some pretty tomato plants and fruits. I think she may be a similar zone. I've used the method for other veggies and flowers and they have done well but since here I do have a good length of a growing season, I stick to doing it my way. __________________ ~Lori "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln

December 13, 2006	#3
Gimme3 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Northeast Georgia, USA Posts: 348	User...ill say this much. I got a 3 year-old compost area, it aint been used , since the Ground was scraped. Mainly because i moved my compostin areas to a new place. I had volunteer tomato plants this fall...in that place, that grew into Fruition...Cherries ...0f one sort or another. 28 degree Nights....didnt kill em. Deer, and a few nights at below 25 degrees ...finally did em in. i hope this info helps Ya. __________________ ....Can you tell a green Field.....from a cold steel rail ? Roger Waters, David Gilmour

December 30, 2006	#4
TomatoDon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MS Posts: 1,523	markferon grew a tomato plant under a snowbank last winter and showed pictures of it here. However, most thought it looked more like a fuzzy picture of Bigfoot taken through a chain link fence, and subsequent attempts to verify said snowbank tomato were unsuccessful. Don __________________ Zone 7B, N. MS

December 30, 2006	#5
Lilypon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 303	Username5 I haven't deliberately set out to winter sow tomatoes but I have had ones that have self-seeded pop up after a winter that included temperatures down to -50 degrees Celcius (that would be -58 Fahrenheit).

January 13, 2007	#6
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,251	Tomato seed can survive extreme temperatures. I would not hesitate to plant seed that had been down to -100F. Most tomato plants are damaged by temps below 45F but that is physiological damage which causes the plant to stop growing. At a temp of 30F, almost all tomatoes will have leaf damage. A very few varieties can survive temps below freezing. I have a kimberly plant on my front porch in a container that has survived 18 degrees Fahrenheit. It was the only plant out of 300 or more that made it. If it survives the rest of the winter, I want to save seed from it! Fusion

January 13, 2007	#7
Woodenzoo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ohio z6 Posts: 141	I'm in SWOhio and I wintersowed some tomatoes last year. I think I sowed about 4-5 seeds of each variety and when I wasn't getting many of them germinating, I went ahead and sowed 2 seeds of each inside under lights. I had almost 100% germination inside. Of the WS seedlings, I only kept one variety as the cutworms or slugs got to the others (of that variety) when planted out. That one variety was mortgage lifter and it didn't take long to catch up with the indoor sown plants. The ws seedlings I had given away were smaller, but no one had any problems with growing them out. So I guess for me, it was too much of a hit and miss with wintersowing tomatoes and I won't be doing it again. It was my first year at wintersowing and at starting most any seeds (flower/tomatoes/veggies), but had much better luck with the flowers and cool season veggies than with tomatoes and peppers. Cathy