Some tomatoes evidently can set fruit with nights under 55°, we’ve had a bunch of sub 55° nights since February 15th this year, Gregori’s Altai, Japanese Black Trifele, Carmello, and Purple Boy are stand outs so far on fruit setting, others like Amana Orange and Beefsteak don’t appear to be able to set fruit in the cooler nights or for whatever reason are dropping multiple blooms in spite of being into their second blooming trusses. The soil temperature likely never went much below 60° F. A few leaves got every so slightly burned, but all traces of that damage is long gone and the plants are blooming well, growing great and look healthy. I’ve got WU personal weather stations nearby on all four sides of me so I feel like the low temperatures measured were accurate. The tallest one, Gregori’s Altai, currently is roughly 48” tall and has several tomatoes on it, the biggest larger than a Silver Dollar. Planting too early stresses plants due to cool air and soil temperatures. They endured no less than three nights at, slightly below or around 32° F, 0° C. Transplant tomatoes outside when all danger of frost is past. If you are staking or supporting plants, set your support system at this time.I put 16 of my tomato sets in the raised beds February 15th.Mulching tomatoes is very important to provide even moisture and prevent fruit from cracking. Water plants thoroughly and mulch with a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic material such as compost, leaves, cottonseed hulls, or straw.Fill the planting hole with soil, pressing the soil down firmly with your hand.Set plants to the depth of the lowest remaining set of leaves. Gently remove the plant from its pot and loosen the root ball.Remove the lowest set of leaves and dig a hole deep enough to accommodate the root ball plus the length of stem up to the first set of leaves. Tomato plants benefit from deep planting and will produce roots along portions of the buried stem. Otherwise, space unsupported plants 3 to 4 feet apart in the rows. If you plan to stake or support your tomatoes, set them 2 feet apart in rows spaced 5-6 feet apart.Do not set out tomatoes until the soil temperature is above 60☏. Wait until all threat of frost has passed before transplanting tomatoes.Begin hardening off seedlings about one week prior to transplanting into the garden or outdoor containers.Fertilize seedlings with a started solution after transplanting to larger containers, repeating applications every two to three weeks.Transplant seedlings individually into 3- or 4-inch pots about 2 to 3 weeks after sowing or when they have at least 3 pairs of leaves.If supplemental lighting is needed, use a fluorescent plant light set 3-4 inches above the seedlings, raising it as plants grow. Remove plastic when seedlings emerge and move them to a location receiving bright light. Covering the seed tray loosely with plastic is an excellent way to maintain soil moisture. Repeat the process on day 2, increasing the time to an hour and a half or two hours. A sheltered garden or space near a wall of the house or garage works well. Use a mister or spray bottle to keep the soil moist but not wet. In the simplest terms, try these steps for hardening tomatoes: Bring your tomato seedlings to a shady area for one hour on the first day.
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