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Hardening off tomato mistake

Have been leaving young tom plants outdoors in a cold frame for a few hours everyday and bringing them in at night for about 8-10 days now.

Last night I was a fool and forgot to bring them indoors, leaving them in the cold frame over night. I believe it dropped to about 4 degrees last night. Plants have all wilted.

Will they bounce back I wonder, or are they doomed?
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  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Depends how small they are @Maxwellverywell bring them in and don't put them out again until they recover or wilt and die. Toms are quite hardy once they are established,  but night temps below 10° will either kill or check their growth. That's why all us growers are grumbling at the cold nights, we can't even get them in the greenhouse yet, as even unheated ones like mine need a basic temp of above 5° constantly to keep them growing.
  • Thanks @purplerallim They 20-25 cm tall plants in mug-sized pots.
    I'll leave them in and see whether they recover. And start thinking about a plan B  :(
    The courgettes don't appear to have been so shocked incidentally.
    But yes, sick of this cold weather now!
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Tomatoes are perhaps the only plant I can think of that repairs itself.

    I did the same @Maxwellverywell a  few weeks ago .  I planted some out last week because it was getting crowded in their box (and I was impatient).  They haven't died but they haven't moved in fact they have shrunk and the ones left in the box (for replacements) have flourished!  They of course are in a warm place at night and outside in the lee of the wind during the day.
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    We always say tomato plants are a good starter plant as they can take a bit of abuse 😉 its what usually gets folk into growing their own veg, it always tastes nicer picked off the plant, still warm from the sun.
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    If the courgettes survived I would think the tomatoes will make it back.

  • I have my plants in the greenhouse from the beginning in March. Only when we had also very cold days, I brought them in in April for a few days. Tomatoes are very tough plants. Up to minus 2 degrees Celsius during the night is okay as long as it's a bit warmer during the day.
    This year will probably be a cold summer. I wonder if we get any ripe fruit at all.

    I my garden.

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    So many posts like this, you CANNOT go by the date, someone posted a week ago, "we won't get any more frosts now", well, I can see one from here at the moment, My neighbour put his veg out last March,April, lost the lot. You cannot be fooled by the lovelly sunny days.  It IS a pain, my veg here is HUGE, the cucumbers and courgettes have flowers, (conservatory) 2 frost free, one cold greenhouse full overwintering tenders, I have now put some of the bigger tomatoes which have been potted on into the cold one, because I have no space.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think my most useful piece of equipment at this time of year is an outdoor Max/Min thermometer ... as @Nanny Beach says, the sunny days can be deceptive but going outside every morning to check just how chilly it’s been in your garden overnight is so helpful. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Yes, of course I have one Dove, haha, at the moment 4.9c outside, now the sun has hit the probe, and 18.c in the conseravotry. The other day when it was 16c out side it got to 33c in the conservatory, We have fans,dehyhidifiers, AND last year treated ourselves to a proper (portable) air con unit. Mark Twain said "If you don't like the Weather in England, just wait 10 minutes"
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Oooh, sun now in the conservatory, since I just this second werote that it's now 19.2c
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