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Growing Tomatoes

Kozy Coats/WOWs with bigger seedlings/transplants

16 years ago

I posted this on four seasons vegetables but I think this forum is more appropriate....I just read the instructions for the Season Starters and bummer! It says do not plant bigger than 4" tall because otherwise the roots will extend past the circle of protection. Has anyone ever ignored this and planted bigger seedlings? My tomatoes are about 8" tall right now....I wanted to try this product this year but not if my seedlings are too big and they risk death...what about using the red tomato mulch to help warm the soil around the kozy coats? Has anyone ever tried planting large tomato plants early using the kozy coats? -I am talking in March! Zone 5. Thanks!

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Comments (6)

mitanoff
16 years ago
Hello:
I'm in zone 4/5. My last frost date is around May 21st.
I've used WOWs on maybe 6" plants in April (raised beds) with good results. I intend to use WOWs and soil warming cables in containers this year. Due to a 2wk vacation coming up, I am restricted to starting my seedlings at the beginning of March so the earliest I'll be planting out this year is the beginning of May :Good luck to you!
tomatomike
16 years ago
I don't know anything about other devices except W-O-W, which I use yearly with two types of tomatoes that have been the only ones to be effective with this method (4th of July and SunSugar). I have tried many early season, and mid-season types and none really come on significantly earlier for me but these two. To put the zone and planting times in perspective, I am in Zone 7 and am just starting the seeds for the W-O-W this week and won't plant them out until mid-March. If I tried any earlier the plants would outgrow the covering too soon. If you have 8 inch plants now in Zone 5, you may have a challenge getting them outside anytime soon. I think it was unanimous with the groundhogs--6 more weeks of winter (groan).
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Some big disposable drink cups will work, you don't need pots (just be sure to cut a lot of holes in the bottom). A potting mix (not soil, not MG Moisture Control) is fine, you don't need anything special. I just bought some Espoma Seed Starter mix (it's not really as fine as a seed starter, more like a potting mix that holds a little more moisture), can really recommend that as my plants took off right after potting up 2.5 weeks ago, they need to be repotted again. But if that's too pricey (I think it's normally about $15 for 8 quarts) you can go with a cheaper store brand without the beneficial bacteria and starter fertilizer. I have some others started the same time that I waited to pot up (just this Monday) since I didn't want to leave too many trays for my dad to water while I was on vacation, I haven't seen any new growth in 3 days so I am hoping for the best as they seemed to go into suspended animation - didn't grow at all the 10 days we were gone, they were in tiny cells with Jiffy seed starter mix and I'm just hoping they aren't permanently stunted (though besides larger cells and the fertilizer, it could also be that the Espoma holds moisture better and the ones still in Jiffy may have gotten too dry while I was away). Don't want to see you have the same problem. How many plants did you buy?
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adk13
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks so much for your advice and comments!
Tomatomike --if I were to plant them soon using the wows, I will bury them deep so that they aren't close to the top of the wows. -I don't use lights so my maters are always a bit on the leggy side when I transplant. I read that if you do this with the wows, since the roots will grow stronger and bigger sooner, they'll extend past the circle of protection...sorry, I should have clarified this was what I planned to do. Well, maybe I'll experiment and see what happens with them.
tomatomike
16 years ago
Good luck with the plants. They should benefit from deep planting and the covers will help them transition to being in sunlight. What varieties are you working with and have you decided on what method (Hot Caps, Kozy Coats, etc) you will be using?
adk13
Original Author
16 years ago
Well I am thinking about the kozy coats, they are more $ but supposedly the red color will improve yield and size? This year I am trying a bunch of new varieties, haven't found a lot in the forums on some of these:

Nepal
Moskvich
Dona
World's Smallest Tomato (mainly for my little girl, let's see if she'll eat them! They sound fun)
Giant Valentine
Sweet Cluster (very interested in how the sweet cluster and the giant valentine turn out taste-wise)

Some others:
Mortgage Lifter
Sun Gold
Anna Russian
Purple Cherokee
Brandywine OTV (never tried this strain)
Opalka and San Marzano for sauce mmmm....

How about you --what are you planting?
tomatomike
16 years ago
I am growing (all indeterminants or "semi"):
Goliath
SunSugar
4th of July
"Tree" tomato
Celebrity
Champion
Anna's Russian
Big Zac
Kellogg's Breakfast
Better Boy
Opalka

Ongoing Dehybridizing projects:
Old Timey
Emily's 2-bite
Salmon Cherry

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