I planted my tomatoes a week ago but they are protected by WOW.

We are having the same cool weather here in the north Georgia mountains. My tomatoes are out and I'm thinking they will not do much growing right now. I don't think keeping them inside any longer would have made much difference, though. I am putting off putting seed in the ground for another couple of weeks because of our low temps in the 40's. I usually have the whole garden in the ground by this time of the year.

OK, I'll bite...is WOW a floating row cover?

I'm about to go out and plant the little buggers. I agree DixieG that it won't help them to go back inside and they are getting blown about outside anyway, so might as well get them in the ground where I can plant them a bit deeperl

I think WOW is wall of water.

Basic answer - yes it will. Cool soil temperatures affect the tomato plant negatively, especially if they persist for more than a week. Air temperatures dipping below 55 degrees Fahrenheit stops overall plant growth. As a result, you see visible stunting to the foliage and root death.

They will just sit there struggling waiting for the soil to warm and dry out some. If it dries out and warms up soon enough they will recover. If it doesn't they won't.

It's the primary reason for why planting tomatoes out until night time temps are consistently in the mid-50's and soil temp is a minimum of 60-65 is not recommended. That is unless artificial means is used to pre-warm the soil.

We tend to forget that tomatoes are a summer crop, not a spring crop. Temperatures of 80-85 degrees F is optimal. So if it is too early, too wet, or too cold to plant seeds then the odds are it is too early for tomato plants too.

Some years we just have to be more patient.

Dave

By mid-next-week most of NC should be back in "normal" spring weather. We've had a lot of high-60s days and low-50s nights that are a bit uncommon lately.

That said, as long as the soil is in the mid-50s they're going to be just fine as far as growth goes. It may be a bit slower until it heats up a little more (and the daily cloud cover goes away), but they should be just fine.

We have a lot of high 70s/low 80s and nights near 60 coming up...and should be here to stay as far as the "cooler-than-normal" coming to an end. You have nothing to worry about even if you're planning on putting the plants in today/tomorrow...though we're expected to get a bit of rain on Monday.

We are in the same boat here, cold, cold, cloudy, just plain lousy weather for the last month. I've been sitting tight but chomping at the bit to get the toms. and peppers in the ground as they are very ready and many weeks delayed getting planted.

We've been at least 10 deg. below avg. for the last month and it shows. The spuds, normally planted 3/31 went in on 4/3 and have yet to come up, that's nuts for here!

I'm planting the toms. and peppers in 2 days when the next warm spell comes w/temps. in the 70s and am going to put up row tunnels over the plants. Gotta pull the trigger some time:)

I ALWAYS notice slow growth when I put my summer crops in the ground in March -- now I just wait until April. At the very worst, i just let them keep hardening off and/or pot up. If it's too cool at night, I bring them in. There's just no sense in being impatient and HOPING.

It's the SOIL temp that's crucial. So, if your patience just can't be controlled, rather than row covers, try black plastic mulching visqueen.

My toms and peppers have been in the ground for a month now and are doing fine. I THINK the soil is warm enough now that we just had a couple 95F days. ;) That'll probably be it for awhile though -- it probably won't start "really" heating up until July.

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Sat, May 4, 13 at 20:42

We're in the clear now in central NC. Aside from a few more nights of low/mid-50s it's all but gone.

We're getting rain on Monday, but by Wednesday/Thursday it's all high 70s/low 80s with lows near/above 60.

This unseasonably cool weather is practically over.

The rain beating down on the plants on Monday, if heavy, is really the only concern at this point in this area.

I haven't put mine in yet, only because of not having the time. But I often put tomato plants out early using WOW too, which yes, are Wall of Waters. I find they do the trick of keeping them from frost damage and I leave them on to increase the heat for as long as I can before they are in the way. I also grow in raised beds, so my soil is warmer, earlier, because of that.

I'm in the same area, NC piedmont, I've had my tomatoes in the ground for almost 3 weeks now. They're growing more slowly than in previous years, but are about 2' tall already and looking nice and healthy. I even have a few small tomatoes forming. This is without any kind of protection. (WOW = Wall of Water, a kind of plant protector for cold weather).

I actually came here today because I've been holding off on transplanting my peppers and eggplants. But I think I'll go ahead and do it today.

Yup, hoping those 55-60 nights predicted are what we get from here on out. Of course that means no more meandering in the woods enjoying spring. Time to get back to work and plant those summer crops!