Tires will accumulate water from rains inside ( unless you drill some openings so the water can drain out) The water will start to smell and not so good for plants.I have removed mine completely and would consider if they could drain out.You need to keep in mind that the soil is cold inside from the rains so warming plants up will work to some degree.You can try to put straw around them , but not covering the plants.Make sure that the straw has no seedsDry pieces of wood (drift wood would work) I keep some small untreated pieces handy for that purpose.Built it around the plants a bit.Even though the plants look sad now , they may pick up when it warms up.I am wondering if you allowed enough time to properly harden your plants off before transplanting them ouside? My peppers , eggplants and cukes are in the process of hardening off right now.I have been doing it for 10 days already and tonight is the first night that they will be outside still in pots.If you have neglected to do that part properly well then you have a different problem.I have lost many plants in the past due to not properly hardening them off, so now I take time with it.,I hope it will work out for you..

I've used milk jugs filled with water around plants in the past, same concept as the wall o water and it is free! I've also thrown a sheet over the whole bed at night (as long as their are stakes or cages to keep it from weighing on the plants).
I gardened in Maine for 3 years and had to do stuff like this on both ends of the season!

Good luck!
Cathie

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure the plants were hardened off. We put them outside for about 12 days before the transplant, and after drying up a bit they rebounded at adjusted to being outside. We have a little bit of stay around the plants, but I guess we need to try something else. Maybe I am just panicking too soon- like you said, when the warmer weather hits they ought to do better.

So with the milkjug thing, you just stand them around the plant, correct? I think I will give that a try, though I am not sure we have enough jugs/bottles to go around right now.

Cool nights don't lower soil temperatures at this time of year - it's more a case of them, and our pretty chilly early summer days, just not heating up the soil temps rapidly enough. Get some red plastic mulch. This is a relatively new innovation in vegetable growing and field tests have demonstrated noticeable results for hot season crops like tomatoes, melons, peppers, etc. It is reported to increase soil temperatures by 4-6 degrees but its biggest advantage is the amount of reflected heat and the specific length of light waves it throws back to the plants. It is this feature that has been attributed to more robust growth and to earlier and higher yeilds in the areas where it has been used.

You should be able to find at selected retail nurseries but you may need to call around first. Depending on your location, I could point you to at least one source.

I use a combination of techniques- use a couple of stiff wires or pvc pipes and some clear plastic sheeting to build a small tunnel/hoop house over your peppers and eggplants, and put water filled milk jugs near the plants to add nighttime heat. In our climate, hoop houses, cloches, and heat sinks like wall o waters or milk jugs can mean the difference between success and failure for heat loving plants like these. And the red, black and green mulches are also very beneficial. My melons have green plastic mulch, water jugs, and a small hoop house. And are worth the effort!

Hmm, I guess I will consider the sheet plastic cloche, etc. Together with some heat sinks of some kind (maybe just big water bottles). As for mulch, I bought a role of cheap black plastic mulch today. I realize that red and or green are more popular, but do you think this ought to work well enough?

And the flea beetles have been at work on the eggplants too... I pruned off some of the bottom leaves that had been eaten almost completely. At least a couple of plants do seem to be doing better, though. I might have to "thin the herd" a little if the others don't get into shape soon.

Thanks for the good ideas!