Hi I am in a z5 but treat it as a z3 due to weather conditions I live in Maine and if it was me the only way to plant now is if the plants are established in pots, dig a hole put the plant pots in it and cover up the plant pots up to the edge of the pots leave over winter as thay should due well. Dont try to plant bare root out side now as the plants will not have time to establish a good root system before a freezing frost or snow.

Hi Sue, Your falling behind there kiddo! LOL Just kidding. My target for picking my first ripe fruit is sometime in the first two weeks of May this year. Trying for a full two weeks earlier than last year. I started my extra early varieties on Jan 20th and started all the rest of them Feb 28th and finished up seeding today 3/2/11. Some from todays seeding should be ripening in the second week in June and beyond for the mid-season types. Most of these are sales plants. I'm not going to sell something that anyone can purchase at walmart you know. Whats the point. I want them to experience some early picking and come running back year after year. Don't forget about the little micro-climate around the south side of your house or a fence or wall. All perfect places for a coldfame or portable low-tunnel. With the use of a low-tunnel next to the house then later on moving the low-tunnel down the hill to the inside of the high-tunnel I'll be ready to plant in the ground by mid to late April. So with this unheated system I'll have to again prove to myself it can be done with no ill effects to overall production and all the negative comments of the nay sayers just roll out one ear to the other. The proof is in the pudding I always say. Without my current system Memorial Day weekend was the traditional planting date which meant for ripe fruit towards the end of July into August (if memory serves me correctly) and that was using Early Girls. Some years were down right terrible. Bob, Your a full zone warmer than me and have a hoop house for gosh sake. There is no reason for all sweating! Make yourself a low tunnel on wheels made of 2x4's and cheapo plastic and wheel the sucker in and out of the garage!

I remember starting from seeds later than this a couple years ago. I planted directly in my garden, and I didn't get nearly as many tomatoes as my neighbor, but I still think it was worth doing. And if you plant now, you'll probably be earlier than I was. But buying some seedlings sounds like a better way to go. That way you could be right on schedule. And you can always clone them to get more than one plant from each seedling, if cost is an issue. I may start a few more myself if I don't have enough of a particular variety, since I have a couple weeks until my planting date. And it'll take me a couple more weeks to get them all in the ground. But I'd rather do some cuttings since I'd probably only lose a couple weeks that way.

bmoser, Are you talking about why I started these so late? It was as much of an experiment than anything. So far I have found that they need to be planted by July 1. I do plant early, in fact, I keep moving back my early planted tomatoes, I am now planting them 2 weeks earlier than I was just 3 years ago. I have learned new ways to maintain the low temps without adding additional heat. While my tomatoes do keep producing, I would prefer to tear them out and get my late fall/winter crops in my big high tunnels. These crops will bring in more dollars than the last of the tomatoes will. I usually try to have the tomatoes out by Labor Day. I planned to have these tomatoes picked by the time I tore out the other tomatoes. Now my big tunnel with tomatoes now looks like this. It has carrots, kale, lettuce, green onions, bok choy, napa cabbage, spinach and Swiss Chard and some hanging baskets of tomatoes. Here is another tunnel loaded full of winter crops of broccoli, cauliflower, napa cabbage, bok choy, Red Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Swiss Chard Now with having the late tomatoes in one of my movable buildings, I can have them for a while then move the building, when they are froze and protect the winter carrots, leeks, green onions, and radishes. Here is another building with spinach, radishes and turnips planted. The last building will be finished planting this week(we hope!) Jay