We are trying to get a head start on the garden this year since planting everything in a two week time frame can be a bit overwhelming. I purchased 8 small San Marzano Plum tomatoes Monday from a local garden center and rather than nurse them along in the tiny pots for a couple of weeks I planted them outside under my new plastic cloches. We usually don’t put our tomatoes out until the last weekend in May but I’m hoping these cloches will give me a good jump start to the season.
While this spring’s weather has been unseasonably warm, the nights are a bit cool and so the cloches are a good insurance policy.
How are the tomatoes coming along?
Hi Amanda — they were doing great under the cloche. Unfortunately after a heat spell I removed the cloches then we had a sudden drop in temperatures. Weather network said it would go down to 5C, it went down to 1C and they succumed to frost. Have started over again with some new starts, under cover and they did just fine. They are now more than double the original size. I’d say the cloche were successful, my monitoring was not. Lesson for next year.
Sharon