I looked up a 30 year lows weather report on WA and I used to set them out under tunnels April 15 but the temp difference with April 1 was only 2-3 degrees, from around 32 to 29 F, so I have set them out as early as April 1. They have survived even with snow and frosts. I used to only put out cold-tolerant or early varieties but have experimented with long season varieties and it gives them enough of an early start to make it possible to grow them and get more ripe fruit. As for the 55* F, it hardly makes it above that all summer here. Without the tunnels you would have to wait until June, May is possible but is too cold to get much growth. Tunnels are also great for cucumbers and squash, they develope so much faster. The only problems I have had is that the tunnel dries out the soil underneath so I have to water even if it is raining, and I have forgotten to check often enough and keep them watered. This feature is great for our rainy springs as I use the tunnels to dry out the soil in beds so I can plant on a dry day even in rainy weather with storm after storm. So far this season I have 30-40 plants outside. I have to wait for them to reach the lights indoors so the fastest varieties to grow get set out first. And slugs like the plastic so I use snail bait around plants when I set them out. I have cut some tunnels and they still work, but the part between ribs hangs down to close off the end of the tunnel so you lose a little length. My first set that is still in use I worried about plants getting too hot so I cut vertical slits in the sides but my newer ones I just push the sides up on the ribs or remove them if there is a heat wave. I put them away during summer so they get less UV damage and they have lasted really well, way past my expectations. It's also possible to make your own tunnels using arcs of wire or pvc pipe and using clips to hold plastic sheeting on them. I think I've seen supplies in the Johnny's and Territorial catalogs.

Scott, I still have tomatoes producing heavily, and a few slow-pokes (planted late because of weather) that haven't produced a ripe one yet. And, there's no way I am going to list every single variety because I plant too many, but I'll give a brief synopsis of the ones that have produced well. Better Bush--earliest tomatoes...picked ripe ones in late April from plants set out in containers in mid-February. The flavor was very good considering these ripened in cool weather. The one in the ground in the garden produced one of the earliest ripe fruit in the garden too. Early Girl--early, lots of fruit, average flavor Jet Star--earlier than Early Girl, heavy bearers, better than average flavor Supersonic--very heavy yields of very large tomatoes, great flavor Prime Time--very heavy yields of large tomatoes, great flavor Ramapo--heavy yields of medium to large tomatoes, great flavor Moreton--heavy yields of medium to large tomatoes, very good flavor Momotaro--heavy yields of large pink tomatoes, excellent flavor Livingston Gold Ball--Heavy yields of golf-ball sized golden-yellow fruit with great taste. I like these so much they seldom make it indoors because I eat them while working in the garden. Indian Stripe--moderate yields (not as good this year as last year) of tomatoes similar to Cherokee Purple in flavor (excellent flavor) and appearance Chocolate Stripes--moderately heavy yield of red and green stiped tomatoes with average flavor Brandywine--low yields--so far 2 tomatoes from one plant and 5 from the other, but the flavor is great, and they are blooming now so hoping for more fruit set during the cool spell (which hasn't arrive here yet--it was 84 degrees here at 7:30 a.m. and felt like 89) Nebraska Wedding--Moderate yields of orange beefsteaks with outstanding texture and flavor Royal Hillbilly-moderate yield of fruit with amazing flavor--did not produce huge numbers like last year Tess' Land Race Currant--One of these is all you need. The plant currently is 8' tall and about 4' wide and I've had trouble keeping it upright. It currently is staked with 3 8' tall metal fence posts and 3 shorter wooden stakes. This produces tiny, red, round, tasty 1/2" wide tomatoes in great profusion....I'd say I've easily picked a thousand of these so far and it will produce until frost is heavy. A lot of flavor in a tiny tomato. We use these in salads and also I dehydrate tons of them. Sweet Million--heavy producer of red cherries with very good flavor Rose Quart--heavy producer of pink oval cherry types (not really as oval as most grape tomatoes) with very good flavor SunGold--as always, a heavy producer of golden-orange cherries with great flavor. Less cracking than most years. Black Cherry--superb as always and ties with SunGold in terms of great flavor and great productivity Ildi--a very prolific yellow grape tomato with amazing flavor. I've tried other yellow grapes and none of them can touch it in flavor. Some of the others are late to ripen.... Red Defender and Scarlet Red both have very heavy loads of large tomatoes. I am just about to start picking them. I think I picked a couple of Scarlet Red last week, but sent them to work at the fire station with DS, so can't comment on the flavor yet. These plants (and Moreton) have just about more fruit than foliage, and their foliage is heavy. I've never had plants in 7 to 10 gallon containers produce as many tomatoes per plant as these are producing. I can't wait to see how they do in the ground next year. Arkansas Traveler is producing medium-sized pink tomatoes with great flavor as always. Box Car Willie is just now ripening fruit. San Marzano Redorta is slow to ripen this year. Viva Italia has been a heavier producer and earlier and with fine flavor Black Plum was wonderful but both plants---one in a container and one in the ground--died of bacterial wilt. Mountain Princess produced heavy loads of pink, tasty fruit early on but was the first to die....of bacterial wilt. It was in a container too, and in fresh soil. (sigh) Some plants that won't be back: Dr. Carolyn (ivory cherry), Snow White (ivory to yellow large cherry) and Yellow Pear (kids love them). All three struggled with disease and died about the time they're producing heavily. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I didn't grow a lot of my real favorites this year because I was worried about drought and wanted some heavy-producing hybrids. Next year (Jay, do you think I'll stick to this plan?) I am determined to grow only the best-of-the-best of the plants I've tried, and maybe allow myself to try 5 or 10 new varieties. I think I'll do a 50-50 split between heirlooms (better flavor, but usually lower productivity in our climate) and hybrids (flavor can be iffy, but heavy production). Dawn

These are all Early to Early-mid that I have grown in Calif, Sungold Hybrid - takes seeds a little more to get going but then watch out I am growing Big Sungold Select (OP) this year also Early can handle cooler spring weather Matina like Stupice 52 Lime Green Salad - Det 52 Stupice 52 Buckbee's New 50 Day 55 Crazy 55 Early to Mid can handle cooler spring weather Fireworks 60 Green Grape 60 Moskovich - semi det 60 Azoychka 65 Slava 65 Eva Purple Ball 68 Porters Dark Cherry 68 Alicante 70 Anna Russian 70 Black Prince 70 Ceylon 70 Jaune Flamme' 70 Pantano Romanesco 70 Tommy Toe 70 Dennis

It sounds like large temp swings, when juicy tomatoes don't ripen properly ... especially on cold nights followed by warm days. The secret is uniform temp... Celebrity was bred in part to address this problem. It is pretty fim a tomato but not as bad as they say :-) Look for an heirloom with similar characteristics if you want one but keep in mind many hybrids that are heat tolerant have this bred into them so will likely handle the fluctuations better. Costoluto Fiorentino, Pruden's Purple, Stupice maybe. I'm going to try Bradley next year, and it is probably a good bet for you too. Happy Thanksgiving PC