These young tomatoes are really looking good.

[Zeedman]

Once the weather gets above 15C(59F) at night time I am thinking of putting the tomatoes and peppers in the back of my husband's pick-up truck. We could park the truck in the carport overnight, and then just driving it out into the warm sunshine in the morning. That would be so easy! Then if the sun gets too hot midday-- drive it back into the carport. Stay tuned for further updates on that front.

That sounds like a great way to manage those sometimes widely-ranging Spring conditions. And they would be out of reach of hungry critters too! I do something similar to handle the bigger transplants, when I get tired of moving them back & forth, in & out of the greenhouse. I put the trays into the 4-sided trailer, which I level off so that I can water the trays evenly. They get plenty of sun, are out of range of hungry mouths... and when the rural garden is ready to plant, we just hitch & go.

 

[Dahlia]

Tomatoes are about 30 days old now (started from seed) and showing good growth. I'm growing them organically in a basic soil mix of mine and using a liquid organic fertilizer.

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That's impressive you started those from seed! Ive never grown tomatoes from seed! I always cheat and buy the young plant at the nursery and add it to my garden. I mainly do that because we have a short growing season.

 

[baymule]

Having a vapour barrier on the bottom sounds like good advice Zeedman. I found a paper from Purdue on managing the environment in high tunnels that says 'Many growers don’t seal all cracks and crevices, keeping their tunnels somewhat “leaky” or “drafty” to reduce relative humidity without having to open and close vents so frequently. Of course, leaky tunnels won’t be as warm, and if a heater is used it will cost more'. We have an option to place the tunnel at the end of our carport, and if we did that it may alleviate a lot of the excess moisture.

Once the weather gets above 15C(59F) at night time I am thinking of putting the tomatoes and peppers in the back of my husband's pick-up truck. We could park the truck in the carport overnight, and then just driving it out into the warm sunshine in the morning. That would be so easy! Then if the sun gets too hot midday-- drive it back into the carport. Stay tuned for further updates on that front.

Now that’s what I call a Truck Farm!!

 

[Growin-Stuff]

That's impressive you started those from seed! Ive never grown tomatoes from seed! I always cheat and buy the young plant at the nursery and add it to my garden. I mainly do that because we have a short growing season.

Thank you.
I have been in a greenhouse and a garden since I could walk, starting seed and growing gardens is second nature for me but I have to say one of the hardest things for me was making the switch form Synthetic to Organic. Now I think I got a hand of it, and I never thought about going back.

I tried nursery stock one time back when I first got married and never much luck with them.
I live in N.E. Ohio and it's safe to say I have about a 4 to 5 month growing window for warm season crops like tomatoes and peppers, some year more some years less. I just give them a good head start in the greenhouse or if need be, under lights.

 

[seedcorn]

I am SO jealous. My started plants always look like crap and have a terrible root system. Once planted-if they survive me-they do well. I’m an embarrassment for someone that made a living in AG. Guess I need to stick to field crops.

 

[digitS']

Welcome to the forum Growin-Stuff, Ducks4you will be along to suggest that you put that NE Ohio location in your account details so that we see it with your avatar and have some ongoing idea of where things are during your seasons.

I don't know if it makes sense for me to apologize for our tendency of hijack threads but you "hit the right note " with your plant starts and it lifts our spirits and away we go .

My first time anticipating the outdoor growing season was putting seed in some soil that I had scraped into pots from the forest outside the South Window of my living room. Those tomatoes and peppers grew and found a home in the garden.

An Outdoor Garden had provided me a comfortable home since I was in my Grandmother's, as a toddler. I could honestly say, when I was lost in my Grandmother's Garden and realized, as long as I was there, it didn't really matter if I could find my way out.

Steve, who didn't have greenhouse experience until he sort of escaped into one because it was a terrible Winter with lots of snow and cold and trouble getting around. Commercial greenhouses gear up production outside of the growing season and often are looking to hire people if they show up at the packing shed door.

 

[Growin-Stuff]

I am SO jealous. My started plants always look like crap and have a terrible root system. Once planted-if they survive me-they do well. I’m an embarrassment for someone that made a living in AG. Guess I need to stick to field crops.

Don't be jealous, I had my share of failures and less than ideal plants over the years.
One thing I have learned is start off with a good soil mix. For years I started seed in a basic soilless mix of 70% peat and 30% perlite with lime to buffer the pH and it wasn't until I changed my mix to a mixture of 50% Peat, 25% perlite, 20% worm castings, 5% biochar, ThermX-15M (yucca meal as a wetting agent), mycorrhiza, lime, azomite and a light dose of 5-5-5 then letting this sit damp for about a week or two did I start seeing good results. I also use a decent liquid nutrient that along with other ingredients has soy protein hydrolysate, alfalfa and kelp extracts which contain a natural growth hormone that helps plants fill out and grow. For bigger/ stronger roots I use mycorrhiza and a liquid "root stimulator" which is basically a bunch of micro life that help stimulates root growth.

 

[baymule]

I am SO jealous. My started plants always look like crap and have a terrible root system. Once planted-if they survive me-they do well. I’m an embarrassment for someone that made a living in AG. Guess I need to stick to field crops.

DUH!! Go plant 90 acres of tomatoes and they should do outstanding. Put up a sign, Pick your own.

 

[heirloomgal]

Those tomatoes starts look about as perfect as a tomato start can get. You've got the perfect formula!

 

[Growin-Stuff]

Those tomatoes starts look about as perfect as a tomato start can get. You've got the perfect formula!

Thank You verry much.