starting tomatoes entirely under low hoop tunnel

15 years ago

Hello all...

My wife insists that when she was little, she always saw her grandfather start tomato (and other vegetable) seedlings under a low hoop tunnel/creche out in the vegetable patch. What she described to me is that he would plant seeds in the ground, cover them with a small tent/creche type thing (only a couple of feet high, covered in clear plastic sheeting, with the edged weighted down), and let them sprout under and develop there with no other light source than natural sunlight. THen he would transplant them to their final spot in the garden once they reached a certain level of maturity.

Her plan is to plant seeds in six-pack starter cups, and simply leaving these under a tunnel creche in the garden so that they will sprout when the temperature in the creche is warm enough. Of course, she will go to water them every day or so. She thinks that the plants will get a good bit of light out there, and that they will be hardier by the time they mature. I suppose this might be right, but if they don't sprout and start growing early enough, being hardy wont make them produce tomatoes any faster. The problem is, we live in a short growing season area (Seattle Washington, zone 8), and I am pretty sure that even with a creche in place the plants will not sprout and grow early enough or well enough to get a good head start on the season. I am concerned that if they are put out early and they sprout during a spate of warm weather, the weather will cool down and kill or stunt them soon afterwards.

Has anyone tried this method? Am I right in thinking that the plants will sprout and mature too late?

In any case, she relented enough to let me plant some "backup" plants in the house under a flourescent light and next to a sunny window. I expect that we'll be using my plants rather than hers when it comes time to transplant. :)

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Comments (5)

mtbigfigh
15 years ago
my grandparents and uncles were farmers in Missouri(I am from Cali) and used to do the same thing - but my one uncle who taught at Univ of Kentucky had my uncle who ran my grand parents big farm rig up a wire or something that heated the ground some how(today there are coils you can put in the ground) - I also think I remember something about this small pot they burned oil(thy do that for citrus) or something in and blew heat down the tunnel - since they have been dead for years I can't contact them and I was 10-13 yrs old back then so don't remember well - maybe someone uses that technique today
plantslayer
Original Author
15 years ago
Hmm, well we have always put water bottles in our creches to store heat from sunlight, but rigging up something like you described is out of the question. We're on a tiny plot in a community garden, so it isn't possible and not worthwhile to fix up an elaborate heating system. Anyway, it'll be enlightening to see how it turns out, and as long as I have backup starts done indoors then I don't have much to lose. It's interesting to know how that worked back in the day!
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sundevil
15 years ago
In Seattle you will get better results by starting the plants indoors and transplanting to your cloche sometime in April or May. You don't want to water them every day or you'll get damping off disease. Check out Steve Solomon's book "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades".
barrie2m_(6a, central PA)
15 years ago
The method you described worked for our ancestors because they were more diligent in monitoring and caring for the needs of things in those days. My concern is that you will cook the emerging seedlings on the first sunny day. Since you don't live at the site you can't be with the plants during the night or midday to make adjustments for weather changes.

Nowdays there are a few strategies that could still work for you. Slitted plastic or Remay type row cover will gain you a few weeks and also allow excess heat to escape. I would still suggest starting seedlings indoors which would allow you to plant seedlings through black plastic. The black plastic mulch will help much in warming the soil, especially under a clear plastic covering.

I believe we have come a long way since the cold frames and hot frames of our ancestors. I sat in on a seminar where an Egyptian researcher showed slides of that countries use of acres and acres of "Low tunnels" which are the newer version of what you may be seeking. I feel more comfortable with "High tunnels" to extend my season by months rather than weeks.

It's encouraging that you are pushing the limits and experimenting. Please let us know how it works for you.
captain_q
15 years ago
FYI it's cloche, not creche. I'm in Seattle and I would start them indoors.

starting tomatoes entirely under low hoop tunnel

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mtbigfigh

plantslayer
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starting tomatoes entirely under low hoop tunnel

Comments (5)

mtbigfigh

plantslayerOriginal Author

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sundevil

barrie2m_(6a, central PA)

captain_q

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plantslayer
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