How much cold can tomatoes tolerate?
Tomatoes are notoriously cold-sensitive, so it helps to know what to do with the plants when temperatures drop.
Learn how to protect your tomato plants when the cold weather moves in.
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How Cold Can Tomatoes Tolerate?
If you start the seeds too early it will still be too cold to move them outdoors.
It’s best to start tomatoes from seeds six to eight weeks before your areas last projected frost date.
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Wait to plant the tomatoes until nighttime temperatures remain consistently above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Take your time hardening off the plants before planting them outdoors in your garden or containers.
These varieties typically also mature earlier.
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Early-season varietiesmature in 52 to 70 days and mid-season tomatoes in around 70 to 80 days.
There are many different varieties, both hybrid tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes.
Popular varieties includeEarly Girl(52 days) andBetter Boy(75 days).
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Instead, pick all unripe tomatoes from your plants andripen them indoors.
It’s a good time to prune the plant and remove excess foliage before wrapping it up.
Loosely tie a strong string around the plant to secure the cover from blowing away.
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Promptly remove the cover in the morning.
Tomatoes can tolerate temperatures as low as 32F, but thrive in temperatures above 50F.
Start covering your tomatoes when nightly temperatures drop below 50F.
Key to Common Problems of Tomatoes.
University of Maryland Extension.
