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Growing Tomatoes

Cold treatment - how much, how often, and when?

15 years ago

I am planting my tomatoes tomorrow...hopefully the last few seeds will come in the mail (if not, I will plant them a day late).

I want my plants to be stockier than last year's, so I will open my window on cold days or nights to give them cold treatment. But the problem is - I don't know when to give them cold, how often to give them cold, or how long (like all night, all day, or what?) Some advice on cold treatment would be appreciated. I figure I'll let the room cool down into the 50s or something like that..

Thanks

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Comments (6)

fusion_power
15 years ago
I grow seedlings with a minimum temp of 45 degrees to avoid problems caused by physiological changes.

You might read up on this link.

http://www.kdcomm.net/~tomato/Tomato/start.html#tip1

DarJones
catman529
Original Author
15 years ago
That helps...but one problem is that my grow room is my bedroom, so I might have to sleep somewhere else or just be very cold at night...other problem is that I don't know if my potting mix I'll be using is sterile, and I see that in cold treatment the risk of damping off is increased. I haven't had any problems with damping off before, and I don't want to have any. Can I microwave the potting mix before planting to sterilize it?
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fusion_power
15 years ago
It is better to just grow the seedlings very dry. I do this by watering them thoroughly, then letting them dry out until they wilt slightly before re-watering. Be careful when the seedlings are very small, they don't use up water as fast then so give them less water compared to later when they are larger plants. I touch on this a few times on my website. The key to avoiding damping off is to avoid overwatering. Plants can grow just fine with occasional light wilting. Excess water just encourages fungal growth that kills the plants.

DarJones
catman529
Original Author
15 years ago
So should I keep them more dry while I give them cold treatment, or as an alternative to cold treatment?
miesenbacher
15 years ago
This was taken out of the book "Greenhouse Tomatoes, Lettuce & Cucumbers" by S.H. Wittwer & S. Honma where they recommend 'Cold Treatment' for hardening off tomato seedlings.
The cold treatment should be started just as the first true leaves emerge, whether the seedlings are still in seed rows or pricked-off. Air and soil temperatures should be lowered to 52 to 56 deg F for ten days to three weeks. A ten to twelve day cold treatment is adequate during periods of good sunlight. Three weeks are usually necessary in the fall and early winter when most of the days are cloudy and plant growth is slow. The amount of cold during the ten-day to three week period is more important than the time of day in which it is given. Cold exposure during either the day or night, or both, is effective. Night temperatures of 52 to 56 deg F are recommended when the days are sunny and partly cloudy.
Following the cold treatment, night temperatures should be raised to 58 to 62 deg F. Cool daytime temperatures (60 to 62 deg F) should be maintained in cloudy dull weather. On bright sunny or partly cloudy days, temperatures of 65 to 75 deg F accompanied by good ventilation are suggested.
Tomato plants properly exposed to a cold treatment develop large cotyledons and thick stems, with fewer leaves formed before the first flower cluster, up to double the number of flowers in the first, and often the second clusters, and higher early and total yields.
catman529
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the info. Will see if I can give my plants cold treatment and find another room to sleep in for a while... now I gotta go plant them in a couple hours....

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