What I learned - seedlings are tough!

**nctomatoman** · March 22, 2006

ON EDIT -

We are through a week of harrowing temperatures. For nearly a week, my seedlings were covered with a single layer of Reemay (it is all I had) - except when it was a cold, windy rain. It is Monday morning - all Reemay was removed this morning. We hit somewhere near 30 lat night - there was frost on my truck window. The plants probably experienced 3 nights total under 32 degrees.

The verdict - I will give a more thorough check when I get home from work and the plants have had a day in the sun and relative warmth (60 or so) - looks like I lost NO tomatillos or eggplant and just a few peppers. Losss of tomatoes was greater - perhaps 100 plants - but the total potential loss I feared did not happen. So, now on to more transplanting.

The original post:

My work schedule is insane this year, with far too much travel. With the warm streak we had in Raleigh, I took advantage of the time I did have and got quite a few of my transplants outside in my driveway - pretty much all of the hot and sweet peppers and eggplant and perhaps one third of the tomatoes - maybe 1500 or so seedlings. So now our weather turns cold, I am up here in Philly and my seedlings are down there in Raleigh. They've already had a few nights where it got close to freezing - in fact, one morning was exactly 32 degrees. The seedlings are covered with a single or double layer of Reemay (frost cloth is a synonym), and they are sitting on light colored concrete. The next two nights have forecasted lows in the upper 20's. There is no way the plants can be brought in for protection! So - there is an interesting experiment in progress. Will the Reemay protect the seedlings if the temp goes to 27 or 28 degrees? With the plants covered during the sunny days (and with the plants well watered due to rain the past few days), can the pots warm up in the sun then radiate the heat back out at night, thus creating a warmer microclimate for the seedlings? Same thing with the concrete surface - it should warm up during the day and radiate the heat up overnight - will it be enough???

Stay tuned for the outcome of this most unwelcomed experiment!

March 22, 2006	#1
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	What I learned - seedlings are tough! ON EDIT - We are through a week of harrowing temperatures. For nearly a week, my seedlings were covered with a single layer of Reemay (it is all I had) - except when it was a cold, windy rain. It is Monday morning - all Reemay was removed this morning. We hit somewhere near 30 lat night - there was frost on my truck window. The plants probably experienced 3 nights total under 32 degrees. The verdict - I will give a more thorough check when I get home from work and the plants have had a day in the sun and relative warmth (60 or so) - looks like I lost NO tomatillos or eggplant and just a few peppers. Losss of tomatoes was greater - perhaps 100 plants - but the total potential loss I feared did not happen. So, now on to more transplanting. The original post: My work schedule is insane this year, with far too much travel. With the warm streak we had in Raleigh, I took advantage of the time I did have and got quite a few of my transplants outside in my driveway - pretty much all of the hot and sweet peppers and eggplant and perhaps one third of the tomatoes - maybe 1500 or so seedlings. So now our weather turns cold, I am up here in Philly and my seedlings are down there in Raleigh. They've already had a few nights where it got close to freezing - in fact, one morning was exactly 32 degrees. The seedlings are covered with a single or double layer of Reemay (frost cloth is a synonym), and they are sitting on light colored concrete. The next two nights have forecasted lows in the upper 20's. There is no way the plants can be brought in for protection! So - there is an interesting experiment in progress. Will the Reemay protect the seedlings if the temp goes to 27 or 28 degrees? With the plants covered during the sunny days (and with the plants well watered due to rain the past few days), can the pots warm up in the sun then radiate the heat back out at night, thus creating a warmer microclimate for the seedlings? Same thing with the concrete surface - it should warm up during the day and radiate the heat up overnight - will it be enough??? Stay tuned for the outcome of this most unwelcomed experiment! __________________ Craig