Happy to run across your channel, great video. I live in Brunswick county as well just 4 miles south of Belville. My wife was the master gardner, I just built stuff for her. She passed away in 2019 and now I am struggling to keep her garden alive and functioning. Hopefully with yours and other channels on UA-cam, I will be able to learn enough to keep her garden and memory alive. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. You and I are practically neighbors. We are probably within 5-10 miles of each other. It is tough growing things here. Living in NJ and PA my entire life, it was a big shock moving down here dealing with the rain, humidity, pests and heat. It was much, much easier growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and other popular summer vegetables up north. But, once you start to figure it out down here and get a system down, you can take advantage of the milder winter and extend the harvests quite a bit. And, there are a lot of fruit trees that do well down here. Fruit trees are the best, because they give you the most for the least effort. I appreciate you following along. The varieties I grow that do well for me will also do well for you!
Your wife must have been very special for you to keep her garden alive. Thank you for showing the world that good men are still out there! I'm sorry for your loss, but I hope you find comfort in your garden!
While you may be able to plant early and keep them alive, if the soil temperature is still not high enough, they will just sit there and not grow. I used to plant early like this until I noticed my next door neighbors tomato plants always caught up to mine even after having planted theirs weeks after I planted mine. By the end of the season, my plants didn't produce any more tomatoes than my neighbor and he did less work.
Its more than just soil temperature. I own farm land and get the farm bureau newspaper. Corn farmers all wax philosophical about "growing degree days".
@@stevenperez8157 In order to "warm up" the soil, I use hill beds. With cuttings from my trees at the bottom, then some leafs or grass & compost, then the soil I dug up for the initial hole. But you need to prepare this the autumn before, so that the bed can settle and start heating up during winter. During an early attempt almost a decade ago, I was shocked how warm the soil was when i planted my peppers and they grow really well. Perfect way to get rid of some kinds of "garbage" (well, long term compost stuff), improve my growing season (I am really jealous about his long season, I am in zone 5-6) and improve my soil (awesome harvests after the hill beds are levelled 5 years later.
I'm from Goldsboro, NC and now live in Ga so I feel a kinship to you and your page. I recently started trying to grow a few things and your videos have been super helpful. I planted a tomato slice hydroponically and a few seeds sprouted on Christmas morning. The number grew to about 10 after a week. I've slowly thinned out the slow growers. The strongest one I moved into a 10-gallon grow bag with Miracle Pro Performance Organics, and Dr. Earth fertilizer with a $15 grow light in my kitchen. Here I am 1/28/24 with a seedling that is about a foot tall and outgrowing my grow light.
*You are a great guy my friend THE MILLENNIAL GARDENER, but more importantly a good teacher. You also came across as very genuine and willing to share all that you know. May you grow in wisdom, I wish you abundant crops, happy gardeniiiiiiiiiing!!!*
I save all my egg shells thru the year and crush them into a butter tub. I run them thru a food processor later when I’m ready to plant my tomatoes. Free calcium to prevent blossom end rot. That bucket and milk jug method is what I told you works best in your last milk jug vid last year. I’ve been doing this for years. I’ll run Christmas lights also if it’s really cold.
I've been using 5 gallon buckets for many years. However, it seems the freezes are getting later and later every year. Usually, my plants are too large to cover with a milk jug, so the opportunity isn't there. However, I have been planting my seedlings later and later because these late freezes are becoming too frequent. The last several seasons have had freezes well beyond our 50% frost date and last year, even beyond our 90% date.
I tryed part of your method on May 8th 2020. I'm in N.y and my last frost date is may 15th. I planted out alot of my tomatoes because we were so close to the last frost date. We had a freeze coming and I thought that a jug with the cap on was good enough. But it was not. I should of put a bucket over the top but had no idea that it was gonna get that cold for we even got a coating of snow. I lost alot of tomatoe plants that year. I learned my lesson the next time if only predicted a frost I'm gonna double up with a bucket and never plant all of them out untill after may 15th. Great video!
Always assume it'll be 3-4 degrees colder than forecast. We live in a rough cold spot, and in the worst of the weather here in January, it's usually a full 6 degrees colder than in town where the forecast is for. Every year is a learning experience, for sure. This method *definitely* works down to the mid-20's as you can see, even on fairly windy nights, but always start extra seedlings that you can afford to lose. I wouldn't risk my main plants like this.
I almost didn’t watch this video because of the gimmicky title. Since I know your channel was always good, I went ahead and watched. And I’m glad I did. I love the videos when you can actually show the updates all in one video. Great job! The double layer of protection is a great idea!
Unfortunately, I’ve learned that nobody watches the straight-up titles. You can only make the same “How To XYZ” title so many times. This is all about creativity, and I believe it’s ok to have a hook as long as the content is good quality.
Yes, totally wasn't feeling the click bait title! That's a sure way to get me to UNsubscribe in a New York minute!!! Appreciated the info, but be direct with the title; "Get A One- to Two-Month Jumpstart on Planting Tomatoes Outdoors!" This had nothing to do with what the grocery store doesn't want you to know!
I am in South Texas, last week an old farmer told my husband his grandfather told him if there is lightning and thunder in Feb there will be a freeze in Apr. This will be interesting to checkout.
If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 🍅TIMESTAMPS for convenience: 0:00 Growing Tomatoes In Frost And Freeze Prone Areas 1:12 How To Determine Your Last Frost Date 2:58 When To Start Seed For Tomato Plants 3:33 How To Start Early Tomato Seeds To Beat Mother Nature 5:41 How To Fertilize Tomatoes At Transplanting 7:37 How To Transplant Tomato Plants 8:48 How To Use Soluble Fertilizer Products 10:18 My Secret Cold Protection Method For Tomato Transplants 13:29 How To Protect Against A 24°F(-4.5°C) Hard Freeze Event 14:57 PROOF THIS WORKS! Growing Tomatoes In Hard Freezes! 17:42 Adventures With Dale
Ahhh you finally found weather spark, or at least you first mentioned it. I love that site. The context it gives for your climate and weather is unbelievably useful. They give growing degree days as well which is great for seeing when your warm weather crops like squash will really do well and is super useful for fall harvest plants as well.
Bro summer hit early in Idaho its 77f right now and has been for a week. Global warming incoming in my 22 years living in and next to Idaho I've never seen it get this hot for this long this early ever.
Awesome video, I think wind is the biggest factor when I'm guarding my plants and I swear by using incandescent string Christmas lights for even gentle warmth underneath my poly sheeting or whatever insulation I use, I can even wrap the lights around my taller plants like my banana trees before wrapping with plastic, Christmas lights are cheap most people already have them and they are rated for outdoor use
Another process to keep in mind is watering heavily prior to the freeze. Evaporation can have a warming effect inside that mini greenhouse environment you created.
It's always important to keep your plants well-watered leading up to a freeze. Not only does moist soil retain more heat, but well-hydrated plants are also less prone to damage from cold. Desiccation affects dehydrated plants much worse. Well-hydrated plants will resist cold damage longer.
@@TheMillennialGardener I love your channel but your clickbait titles are really making it hard to want to watch your stuff. It just puts me off so much! I hate being emotionally manipulated and that I just what clickbait titles are. Please respect your audience even if UA-cam seems to want you to do this and rewards it.
@@TheMillennialGardener PS: this is a fantastic video with so much valuable information, especially the weather link, just don’t do these titles please.
@@sventer198 Click bait gets eyeballs, it's money in the bank, it's just how UA-cam works, the difference is thousands of dollars, the creator has to do it.
Great job with the milk cartons buddy I think we live pretty close to each other I have about 17 trees in my yard and then love to Garden we have a lot in common and I'm glad you make videos like this keep up the great work brother and God bless you and then you can you grow it grow growing growing God bless you
Exactly what we havwe had here in STL the past week... Temps below freezing for about the past week and as low as 21-22 degrees! No planting for me yet thank you! :)
Poor Dale, you tempt him like that and then say no. Great video! I personally like to see projects from start to finish like you did with this topic. Thank you very much. You got lucky with the weather; giving you a really good test.
Don't worry, he got a bowl full after that. I feel guilty giving him kibble. Most of his meals, we cook for him, so he's a spoiled boy. Right now, we have some steak and a sliced calf liver in the crock pot stewing for him. Then, it'll get rice and kale from the garden mixed in. He's got it made! I would say I got really unlucky with the weather! But you guys got a great ending proving the method afterwards 😅 When the forecast changed, I decided to hold off on finishing the video to truly put it to the test.
I start my Tomato seeds in February. Indoor with Grow Lights. I have dozens of seedlings for tomatoes, peppers and alschau right now, mid-February. My peas, gherkins and courgettes were started even earlier. They take up a lot more room because they're so vigorous.
Thanks ! Living in Michigan, this will be very helpful..I always plant my tomatoes a bit early and protect them at night, but this will definitely come in handy!!! 👍🏻👍🏻
Informative video ...what i've done for years is pile a mound of straw around the plants and set a bushel basket over them with a brick or two on top...Im in zone 6 ,Pa....this has worked well for me ...if it was going to get really cold for a period of time i would place a black garbage bag over the basket and push a little soil around it to keep it in position....keep up the great work!
Save your old igloo water coolers for freeze protection. They work great. Just cover them with the cooler and have straw around it they come out without any damage.
This was helpful for an entirely different reason. I was trying to figure out a way to keep out the possums and chickens , they eat the tomato plants entirely leaves and all and not just the fruit. We dont have none of this frost business in Australia. It also prevents cutworms and other bugs.
I love this video! ❤️Thank you... thank you ... thank you! I learned a lot! All these hard-work and dedication to gardening is admirable. Isn't is much easier to go buy a pound or two of tomatoes from the produce store or farmers' market? Or... just stock up at summertime when tomatoes are do inexpensive... but then ... I understand the feeling of harvesting your own home-grown vegetables... reaping from the labor of your love.
I've have them handles damaged my plants, I've had snow covered and 21 degrees temperatures and no problem. Biggest danger is hard winds so as shown pull the dirt to protect the bottom around the base. Good video it worked for me 20 years and still doing this
The key to this technique is the double layer and trapping the thermal mass of the earth and mulch under. The double-layer greenhouse effect really provides a lot of added protection.
I've only ever had one bucket and dirt pile around bottom and I've been snowed on had many neighbors run back for more plants and mine would grow out the top of the buckets and had 7 one inch holes yes a plastic tent like would keep temperatures better.
I live in New Jersey. I have a 16 by 20 garden completely enclosed. I put plastic sheeting over the entire garden. I was able to get temps in the lower 80’s in early April and got my garden started way earlier. I like your method better!
This video was a bloomin success story for us gardeners looking to extend our planting season. My kale and arugula plants came through three nights of below 5-10 degrees temps this January of 24' .I used five old blankets plus a tarp full of leaves on top to cover up everything. Im in zone 7b,southeast Tenn. I hope I' ll be picking greens come March ,weather permitting!
When your sunporch is finished you'll be in seed-starting heaven. 🌱😇 They make really great greenhouse rooms. Mine is very small, 8x10, but there's still plenty of room to shelve many trays of seedlings.
I cannot wait. It'll be so much easier to just have 2 foldable tables in there: one for cuttings and one for seedlings. Then, I won't have to do any of this carrying back-and-forth business anymore.
@@TheMillennialGardener 🙂👍 (Should add, my porch is only half-glassed with large screened window openings near the ceiling. On mild or warm days the above screen ventilation is excellent for growing plants. But the room can still get very hot by early summer & wilt seedlings. But cooler daytime temps, like now? Not so much worry. The space stays between 75°-85° 11am-6pm. Then I bring the trays into the house for the night. Esp during these goofy spring temps. (Per your comment reply below, re plastic vs full glass walls. Crazy costly, agree!)
@@whosedoingwhat 🤔 Not a bad idea, this would provide great humidity. But I'd be worried about the mist creating possible wood trim & siding rot issues And attracting termites & carpenter ants. Also, rusting the house's metal patio/window doors & hardware, if there. Normally these things are not a major water/weather issue but a damp misted enclosed/semi-enclosed sunporch wouldn't allow the space to dry out very well. Which is bad. Maybe consider a drip line hose instead?
I live near St. Louis, MO.... Last year I planted my outside garden on Feb 1st. Had no problems, had corn by mid june.. I usually plant March 1st here. I have already put some things into the ground this year. Frost doesn't bother me as I can cover my entire plantings if necessary. It is easy to do when things are small. .
@@TheMillennialGardener Very helpfull in fact I'm giving it a shot tomorrow I'm trying it with an Early Girl and a Better Boy -- already cut the water jugs 😂😂
This is largely true, but I can offer an exception from personal experience: Last year, I planted tomatoes and tomatilloes early. I've done it here and there previously, and the bottle technique worked well when it went below freezing overnight. What was different this time is that the temperature sat around freezing for more than a day. It was nearly 2 days, actually. By the end of the first day, about half of my plants were dead. By the end of the second, all had died. Thankfully, I grew a lot of extra plants, and had only transplanted about half of them early. I would encourage anyone trying this method to do the same, just in case you run into such a storm front. It won't hurt to have a somewhat staggered start to your harvest, if all goes well, anyway : )
Your videos are so informative, thank you! Great ideas!! I have realized for a long time the false Spring and will watch the Spring flower planting in the neighborhood and know there will be one more little freeze around the bin :), therefore I wait :). Looks like I don't have to! I am more about planting food these days anyway. My Lantana come back every year, even after the hard Tx freeze in 2021, I think it was. Sure glad I came across your channel.
My garden wagon holds 6 of the 7 gallon grow bags nicely. Instead of lifting each bag individually the wagon makes easy work rolling my early frost sensitive plants into the garage on cold nights.
Thank you. I watched this video and now thanks to you, I am already enjoying cherry tomatoes and jalapenos less than a month later. I do have to monitor the temps religiously, but you gave me a jumpstart on putting plants out in the garden. I went to my history to find this video to share it with friends.
Thank you for explaining the 50%, 75% frost date info. I had some “wild” potatoes come up and kept them covered, (I’m in 9B) and was lulled into a false sense of security by the warm weather and what I understood as the last frost date. They were uncovered when a frost hit. Won’t let that happen again!! I love your channel!!
I'm glad it was helpful. Truly, frost dates are nothing more than an estimate based on shoddy data. Consider we live on a 4.5 billion year old planet and only have around 40 years of somewhat reliable weather data. Our dates are such a tiny snapshot of history, so it's going to be very "normal" to have years that fall outside of those dates. We're getting slammed with 3 potential frosts this weekend into next week yet again, and it seems the growing season is contracting. The last several years have been a bonanza of late frosts and freezes.
LOL- I did milk jugs last year and a huge storm took virtually all, even those weighed down. Our growing season now stretches into November (Middle TN) so I've started staggering my planting so as to have tomatoes until much later (I have both det & Indet). I start inside (I have an entire floor) and plant after Tax Day. This year I staggered the seedlings - 13, 10 & 7 weeks before last frost. In fact today (2/27/23) I set out 30 or 40 in the 72° weather to acclimate.
I am still holding back on my main planting. The weather looks great, but I don’t trust it just yet. I am tentatively looking at Saturday the 26th depending on the 10-day forecast. If we are clear into the first week of April, I’ll probably start planting.
I am going to use this method but will also add a hoop house to warm the soil since tomatoes love heat. I'll let you know how that works. I'm in Northern Utah where it's not unusual to have snow up to early March. Hence the need to warm the soil.
Growing up dad would use the milk jugs to keep the garden warm at night believing that tomatoes enjoyed a warm night (true ?). We also used milk jugs with screwtops in two other ways. First, we would puncture the bottom of the jugs with a small brad, fill with water, and cap. During the heat of the day as the water warmed up the water would be forced out providing additional moisture to the plants. The second, we added red dye to the water, no punctures, dad believed that the increased red light increased the blosoms.
hello my friend i am new but i have been looking at you shows for a long time now and found it very very interesting very good information keep it up friend
A jug is good for a light freeze or frost, but the real gains are made by covering them in mulch and adding a second cover. Those 5 gallon buckets make excellent greenhouses, surprisingly.
Hey, thanks for all your videos, I especially love the fig advice. I looked but didn't see an update/results video. How did the early planting work out?
Just please be sure to only use seedlings you can afford to lose. There is still some risk here. I only planted the extra stuff I wouldn’t mind losing, since there is only upside. I wouldn’t plant my main crop this early. If you have a couple extra plants or a ton of plants and the risk is worth planting a few early, definitely go for it.
@@TheMillennialGardener I have 2 tomatoes that got too big too early. Im starting a bunch of new plants tomorow. Our last frost date is April 5. I've got 2 choices, the way you showed today, or large pots. But I've got the milk containers, the buckets and the mulch. I think this will work. And if it doesn't I've got extra. Going to do it in a raised bed and that seems to offer its own protection
Nature is a meanie! I checked out that chart and March 11 we're at a 90% frost date. I should have been ok but we got the freeze that killed back my potatoes and pepper plant on March 10-12 lol! I swear it's my luck
Last year, we got an April 3rd hard freeze at 28 degrees. That's past our 90% frost date. The last few seasons have been warm late Februaries into early Marches, followed by late freezes. The worst of both worlds. It's been tough to manage.
@@TheMillennialGardener I did what you suggested for the potatoes and they're growing back great! I'm going on our first family vacation since '14 next weekend and hope there won't be any surprises when we get back. It's a cruise, so I'll be disconnected from weather reports and neighbors. Fingers crossed :)
We hit 37 degrees. There was the tiniest patch of frost 20 feet up on my neighbor's roof where two peaks come together and is always shaded. No ground frost, thankfully. I looked at the weather map today, and it was colder in Gainesville, Florida, than here. They were still at 36 degrees at 8am when we were at 44! I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I always appreciate your information and I don't think it's click bait . Your showing how to have 🍅 earlier and longer . Therefore we wouldn't be going shopping for not only 🍅 but other produce as well .q
i do this alot planting early from january 1st in AZ. 2ft tall over 40 plants.all are in the same pot growing healthy they sustain themselfs so no need for a stake.and a cactus hidden in the middle to keep birds away.
I have 3 earlier Black Krim, which is a earlier type of heirloom. slicers . I'm testing your method and my old 5 gal.bucket trick that has survived down to 21 degrees..Third I'm testing a cement block in my third earlier setup. If I can have fresh tomatoes in the middle of June, that's my goal. Thanks 👍
Well it was still snowing working in the garden today. Our last date is in about 6-7 wks. Everyone plants tomatoes on memorial day weekend here. I'll keep this in mind for next year as I dont have any plants ready for the garden.
I plant my tomato and pepper seeds the week between Christmas and New Years. If I'm going to be using cuttings from an existing tomato variety, I take them around Halloween. My tomatoes went out two weeks ago, with seed-started Carbons at about two feet, and the wintered over cherries and Everglades at close to four feet with ripe fruits on them already.. I only do this with indeterminates, so I get an amazing growing season out of my plants. My spuds go in the last week in February for three harvests per year.
@@DavidKimFX Yes, I'm in Charlotte, but in a microclimate that is pushing a 9B. You may still be successful if you can use hoop houses or another insulating method. In fact, this coming season, I will be using hoop houses on my raised beds to get potatoes going in January. If you don't have a frost line, you might look into subterranean beds that will get the 52 degree ground temps as a heat source over the winter as well. Hope this helps, but if you need more info, shoot me an email.
I'm in Wilmington and have never done a garden before this year. I had no clue how hard this is! Are you doing classes, I would love to learn more with other fellow gardeners.
I did the same thing last year during our late hard freeze and snow. (Had been 70 for a month before that😳). I used recycled bubble wrap and loosely wrapped around plant and then placed 2 containers over that and was able to save my tomato’s with that method.
A thin bamboo stake can be put carefully down hole or handle to keep wind from blowing them away. Also I like Wall of Water covers. They protect tomatoes down to 20°.
Hi and thank you so much for educating me. My mother used fish emulsion many years ago and I remember so well that our tomatoes had a "fishy" taste. Is this still so?
Frosts have been occurring later and later, at least here along the east coast. "April 1" has traditionally been the safe date for pretty much all of eastern North Carolina, but we've been getting April hard freezes recently. It's always good to have an insurance policy.
Thanks for the knowledge.👊 I started using bubble wrap around some of my plants before covering them with a box or row cover and it helps. I didn't use buckets this year but have in the past. I like your method and will keep it in mind for next year.😃❤ Stop teasing Dale...that was like handing you a bowl of early tomatoes and saying just look at them. 😄
I would be cautious with bubble wrap, because in and of itself, it will only protect against a frost. You need something warm inside so the bubble wrap traps the heat. Otherwise, it'll just freeze through. It'll work if you add incandescent lights under it, or some kind of thermal mass like a jug of water or a pile of warm mulch. Holding in the warmth of the damp ground and damp mulch is what made this possible. Dale needs to be told "no" every now and again. This guy has steak and liver in a crock pot on the counter as we speak. That little stinker has it made 😅
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks for the advice on how to use the bubble wrap best to protect my plants.🙂 It's so much fun to spoil our fur babies! Dale is so well trained that I know he hears his share of "no". 🙂 Y'all do a great job at keeping him fit too.👍
Interesting and informative video. I especially liked your method of protecting your plants when you have an unexpected hard frost. On the topic of mulch, I too generously apply mulch (leaves, wood chips, etc.) during the main growing season and late in the fall through the winter. However, I remove the mulch in early spring and wait until the soil warms up. I believe the soil warms up much quicker without the mulch. I tested this approach by comparing the soil in two different raised beds: one with the mulch removed and the other with the mulch untouched. Remarkable difference!
Here, the soil never freezes. If you live in a place where the ground freezes, you can temporarily remove it, but you’ll want to place it back when you plant things to protect the soil and the plant roots. I try to never let my actual soil get solarized unless you had a disease problem you need addressed.
I am going to try this and if I have Cole After the plants get too big for the milk jugs I will use a small 22 and a half gallon bucket and put the big bucket over top of that I like this idea
You can place mulch around the plant directly, stick a 5 gallon paint bucket on top as the first bucket, then place the extra large 22 gallon bucket on top of that. That would have the same effect. Just make sure you take duct tape and cover up any drainage holes. Each bucket must be airtight.
Actually, the tiny hairs on a tomato stem are called trichomes, they do not form into roots, the roots that develop on the tomato, sweet potato plus many others are called adventitious roots, and form from the tissues within the stem. Actually, synthetic fertilizers do damage to the soil biology, fortunately if used in moderation the biology will rebound. One could also put some clear plastic on the bed to increase the soil temp to help it through a cold night, I like the idea of placing a bucket over the milk carton. Great job of keeping them tomatoes alive. A couple years ago I used some wall of waters to plant luffas and a couple tomatoes early in my zone 5a garden, they worked fine. Think I will use your trick with some of my other tomatoes this year, hate waiting until July to have fresh tomato on a grilled cheese. Stay Well!!!
great information. Certainly going to try to plant at the beginning of April with the knowledge, but I cant believe its really worth the risk before thats since the plants will grow at snails pace in ground thats too cold.
What's actually cool about the milk jugs is they get so warm during the day that they'll grow rapidly right away. However, once they outgrow the milk jugs, you're kind of sunk. That's why it's great to do this with dwarf tomatoes like I am. By the time they outgrow the milk jugs, they are already flowering and starting to set fruit. Doing this with indeterminate tomatoes would be tougher, because they'll outgrow the milk jugs pretty quickly, and then you'll find it more difficult to protect them in case of a late freeze. I recommend planting out determinate and dwarf tomatoes as your "early" tomatoes since they stay small and will benefit from this jump start. Then, wait until the traditional dates for your indeterminates. And, as always, only risk plants you're okay with losing, since this is never 100%.
I learned this method by accident one year when I got too eager to plant out my tomatoes. I had a bunch of one gallon glass jars. And put a blanket of contractor bags over them.
We still have 2 feet of snow on the ground in New Hampshire we’re talking about 1 June is when we are safe from frost and the ground temperature gets above 45°
Omg man. Thank you. Going to do thi! Video idea, compilation of all hacks against the laws of nature frost protection of all your plants, update yearly as more hacks are implemented.
Just remember to always start extra seedlings for things like this. Don’t risk your main seedlings. These methods are helpful, but they aren’t bulletproof. I always start extra early seedlings to risk them for big rewards, but I would never risk my main crop!
@@TheMillennialGardener 5 miles from The Space center in Florida. It's been really nice here this year. We only had a few days near freezing. I probably could've grown them earlier. They were just accidents in a pot. 😁
I came back (4-27-23) ---- go to walmart or grocery store and buy those BIG clear plastic barrels of cheese balls or pretzels ---- throw the cheese balls away and use that big barrel as a greenhouse they work great! All of my plants have been out since April 3rd and are doing very well. P.S. my last frost date is 4-29! I'm ahead of the game at least a month --- tomatoes in July 🙏
I am close to you, in Cary, NC. I have been planting very early as well. Love your method of using milk gallons and Lowe's buckets! QUESTION - I have heard from others that having tomatoes in the ground very early can lead to reduced harvest in the latter weeks, even if they are protected by your method. The ground temp being low is the reason given. What is your opinion here? I have had about 20 in ground since March 9th here in the Raleigh suburbs.
We live in an area in Canada where we can have a hard frost even in late June. We use the bucket method and also cover the buckets with the heavy bubble wrap that is used for swimming pool covers.
Do you generally grow determinate tomatoes? I imagine they'd be so much easier to protect. I'd recommend checking out The Dwarf Tomato Project if you haven't already, because those plants are small and can be covered year-round, yet they have "heirloom quality" fruit.
we grow tall tomatoes like san marzano and stake them but we wait till the end of June before putting them out in the garden and often lose the last of the harvest as frost is early but we make sure we plant enough to take this into account. The remains get composted. We grow robin, tiny tim, pear shaped yellow and patio tomatoes--all in pots that can be moved@@TheMillennialGardener
I believe tomatoes typically need 1300 gdd (growing degree days) to ripen and full spectrum UV light or sunlight to taste the best. Tough to achieve that with 24 degree low temp. Maybe you are on to something. I read that the French used to garden in green houses on top of heaps of curing compost. I own a farm parcel that is used to compost 100s of thousands of tons of yard waste every year. They operate year round. I have seen freshly turned windows steaming for hours in Chicago January temps. That would really raise the low temp factor in the gdd calculation. But still 50 degrees is the benchmark average for gaining growing degree days. Maybe use curing compost to heap around the buckets instead of mulch?
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Happy to run across your channel, great video. I live in Brunswick county as well just 4 miles south of Belville. My wife was the master gardner, I just built stuff for her. She passed away in 2019 and now I am struggling to keep her garden alive and functioning. Hopefully with yours and other channels on UA-cam, I will be able to learn enough to keep her garden and memory alive. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.
Aww, I'm so sorry to hear that. You and I are practically neighbors. We are probably within 5-10 miles of each other. It is tough growing things here. Living in NJ and PA my entire life, it was a big shock moving down here dealing with the rain, humidity, pests and heat. It was much, much easier growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini and other popular summer vegetables up north. But, once you start to figure it out down here and get a system down, you can take advantage of the milder winter and extend the harvests quite a bit. And, there are a lot of fruit trees that do well down here. Fruit trees are the best, because they give you the most for the least effort. I appreciate you following along. The varieties I grow that do well for me will also do well for you!
Sorry for your loss. Hope you are keeping her garden growing in her honour. Take care and Happy New Year!
Your wife must have been very special for you to keep her garden alive. Thank you for showing the world that good men are still out there! I'm sorry for your loss, but I hope you find comfort in your garden!
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So sorry for your loss😔. I grew up in Moore County, NC. You're not by chance kin to anyone there are you?? I went to school with a Carr.
While you may be able to plant early and keep them alive, if the soil temperature is still not high enough, they will just sit there and not grow. I used to plant early like this until I noticed my next door neighbors tomato plants always caught up to mine even after having planted theirs weeks after I planted mine. By the end of the season, my plants didn't produce any more tomatoes than my neighbor and he did less work.
Your comment is spot-on. This milk jug method is good, but if the soil is too cold the plants won’t thrive.
Ń
I tried this last year, and found the SAME EXACT THING you did. _Surviving isn't "THRIVING'._
Its more than just soil temperature. I own farm land and get the farm bureau newspaper. Corn farmers all wax philosophical about "growing degree days".
@@stevenperez8157 In order to "warm up" the soil, I use hill beds. With cuttings from my trees at the bottom, then some leafs or grass & compost, then the soil I dug up for the initial hole. But you need to prepare this the autumn before, so that the bed can settle and start heating up during winter.
During an early attempt almost a decade ago, I was shocked how warm the soil was when i planted my peppers and they grow really well.
Perfect way to get rid of some kinds of "garbage" (well, long term compost stuff), improve my growing season (I am really jealous about his long season, I am in zone 5-6) and improve my soil (awesome harvests after the hill beds are levelled 5 years later.
I'm from Goldsboro, NC and now live in Ga so I feel a kinship to you and your page. I recently started trying to grow a few things and your videos have been super helpful.
I planted a tomato slice hydroponically and a few seeds sprouted on Christmas morning. The number grew to about 10 after a week. I've slowly thinned out the slow growers.
The strongest one I moved into a 10-gallon grow bag with Miracle Pro Performance Organics, and Dr. Earth fertilizer with a $15 grow light in my kitchen. Here I am 1/28/24 with a seedling that is about a foot tall and outgrowing my grow light.
*You are a great guy my friend THE MILLENNIAL GARDENER, but more importantly a good teacher. You also came across as very genuine and willing to share all that you know. May you grow in wisdom, I wish you abundant crops, happy gardeniiiiiiiiiing!!!*
Thank you. I really appreciate that. Thanks so much for watching!
@@TheMillennialGardener You're welcome, it's been a pleasure
I save all my egg shells thru the year and crush them into a butter tub. I run them thru a food processor later when I’m ready to plant my tomatoes. Free calcium to prevent blossom end rot. That bucket and milk jug method is what I told you works best in your last milk jug vid last year. I’ve been doing this for years. I’ll run Christmas lights also if it’s really cold.
@CLOV4R713 where did I say anything about March 15th? I plant March 1st usually.
@CLOV4R713 you do realize everyone doesn't live in the south right?
@CLOV4R713 we get freezes in southern NC up until mid April like clockwork every year...
I've been using 5 gallon buckets for many years. However, it seems the freezes are getting later and later every year. Usually, my plants are too large to cover with a milk jug, so the opportunity isn't there. However, I have been planting my seedlings later and later because these late freezes are becoming too frequent. The last several seasons have had freezes well beyond our 50% frost date and last year, even beyond our 90% date.
@@TheMillennialGardener mine were so big last year I had to use trash cans and 55 gal drums. Some of the smaller ones I could use 5 gal. buckets.
I tryed part of your method on May 8th 2020. I'm in N.y and my last frost date is may 15th. I planted out alot of my tomatoes because we were so close to the last frost date. We had a freeze coming and I thought that a jug with the cap on was good enough. But it was not. I should of put a bucket over the top but had no idea that it was gonna get that cold for we even got a coating of snow. I lost alot of tomatoe plants that year. I learned my lesson the next time if only predicted a frost I'm gonna double up with a bucket and never plant all of them out untill after may 15th. Great video!
Always assume it'll be 3-4 degrees colder than forecast. We live in a rough cold spot, and in the worst of the weather here in January, it's usually a full 6 degrees colder than in town where the forecast is for. Every year is a learning experience, for sure. This method *definitely* works down to the mid-20's as you can see, even on fairly windy nights, but always start extra seedlings that you can afford to lose. I wouldn't risk my main plants like this.
I almost didn’t watch this video because of the gimmicky title. Since I know your channel was always good, I went ahead and watched. And I’m glad I did. I love the videos when you can actually show the updates all in one video. Great job! The double layer of protection is a great idea!
Unfortunately, I’ve learned that nobody watches the straight-up titles. You can only make the same “How To XYZ” title so many times. This is all about creativity, and I believe it’s ok to have a hook as long as the content is good quality.
I hope it works out for you. I love your channel and wish you all the success in the world! God Bless!!
@@brownthumbnursery thank you! I really appreciate it.
Yes, totally wasn't feeling the click bait title! That's a sure way to get me to UNsubscribe in a New York minute!!!
Appreciated the info, but be direct with the title; "Get A One- to Two-Month Jumpstart on Planting Tomatoes Outdoors!" This had nothing to do with what the grocery store doesn't want you to know!
I am in South Texas, last week an old farmer told my husband his grandfather told him if there is lightning and thunder in Feb there will be a freeze in Apr. This will be interesting to checkout.
Back today for review. Nice dog.
Dale's the best 🐕
If you found this video helpful, please "Like" and share to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 🍅TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Growing Tomatoes In Frost And Freeze Prone Areas
1:12 How To Determine Your Last Frost Date
2:58 When To Start Seed For Tomato Plants
3:33 How To Start Early Tomato Seeds To Beat Mother Nature
5:41 How To Fertilize Tomatoes At Transplanting
7:37 How To Transplant Tomato Plants
8:48 How To Use Soluble Fertilizer Products
10:18 My Secret Cold Protection Method For Tomato Transplants
13:29 How To Protect Against A 24°F(-4.5°C) Hard Freeze Event
14:57 PROOF THIS WORKS! Growing Tomatoes In Hard Freezes!
17:42 Adventures With Dale
Ahhh you finally found weather spark, or at least you first mentioned it. I love that site. The context it gives for your climate and weather is unbelievably useful.
They give growing degree days as well which is great for seeing when your warm weather crops like squash will really do well and is super useful for fall harvest plants as well.
Bro summer hit early in Idaho its 77f right now and has been for a week.
Global warming incoming in my 22 years living in and next to Idaho I've never seen it get this hot for this long this early ever.
@@thesilentone4024 x,
I definitely shared this video with friends and family
You are the best gardening channel on the internet
Coming from a cold climate, I've always used the rule to water the plants before a freeze as it adds protection from the cold.
Awesome video, I think wind is the biggest factor when I'm guarding my plants and I swear by using incandescent string Christmas lights for even gentle warmth underneath my poly sheeting or whatever insulation I use, I can even wrap the lights around my taller plants like my banana trees before wrapping with plastic, Christmas lights are cheap most people already have them and they are rated for outdoor use
I remember buying frost caps at the same time we bought our tomato plants. Thanks.
Thank you for suggesting Weather Spark-very useful tool. I have it bookmarked now.
Another process to keep in mind is watering heavily prior to the freeze. Evaporation can have a warming effect inside that mini greenhouse environment you created.
It's always important to keep your plants well-watered leading up to a freeze. Not only does moist soil retain more heat, but well-hydrated plants are also less prone to damage from cold. Desiccation affects dehydrated plants much worse. Well-hydrated plants will resist cold damage longer.
Yes, good advice : )
@@TheMillennialGardener I love your channel but your clickbait titles are really making it hard to want to watch your stuff. It just puts me off so much! I hate being emotionally manipulated and that I just what clickbait titles are. Please respect your audience even if UA-cam seems to want you to do this and rewards it.
@@TheMillennialGardener PS: this is a fantastic video with so much valuable information, especially the weather link, just don’t do these titles please.
@@sventer198 Click bait gets eyeballs, it's money in the bank, it's just how UA-cam works, the difference is thousands of dollars, the creator has to do it.
See? When you focus on gardening, almost nobody else comes close to the quality of the material you produce. Great video.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Great job with the milk cartons buddy I think we live pretty close to each other I have about 17 trees in my yard and then love to Garden we have a lot in common and I'm glad you make videos like this keep up the great work brother and God bless you and then you can you grow it grow growing growing God bless you
Exactly what we havwe had here in STL the past week... Temps below freezing for about the past week and as low as 21-22 degrees! No planting for me yet thank you! :)
Poor Dale, you tempt him like that and then say no.
Great video! I personally like to see projects from start to finish like you did with this topic. Thank you very much. You got lucky with the weather; giving you a really good test.
Don't worry, he got a bowl full after that. I feel guilty giving him kibble. Most of his meals, we cook for him, so he's a spoiled boy. Right now, we have some steak and a sliced calf liver in the crock pot stewing for him. Then, it'll get rice and kale from the garden mixed in. He's got it made!
I would say I got really unlucky with the weather! But you guys got a great ending proving the method afterwards 😅 When the forecast changed, I decided to hold off on finishing the video to truly put it to the test.
I start my Tomato seeds in February. Indoor with Grow Lights. I have dozens of seedlings for tomatoes, peppers and alschau right now, mid-February. My peas, gherkins and courgettes were started even earlier. They take up a lot more room because they're so vigorous.
Thanks ! Living in Michigan, this will be very helpful..I always plant my tomatoes a bit early and protect them at night, but this will definitely come in handy!!! 👍🏻👍🏻
My mom always put jugs around her rose plants . Fond memories working in the garden !!
Water jugs work great as a heat source, too, if you throw a blanket over them. Water radiates heat for a long time.
That was very good information thanks I live in Conroe Texas and it the middle of February and wanting to start my tomatoes and potatoes soon
Informative video ...what i've done for years is pile a mound of straw around the plants and set a bushel basket over them with a brick or two on top...Im in zone 6 ,Pa....this has worked well for me ...if it was going to get really cold for a period of time i would place a black garbage bag over the basket and push a little soil around it to keep it in position....keep up the great work!
Save your old igloo water coolers for freeze protection. They work great. Just cover them with the cooler and have straw around it they come out without any damage.
This was helpful for an entirely different reason. I was trying to figure out a way to keep out the possums and chickens , they eat the tomato plants entirely leaves and all and not just the fruit. We dont have none of this frost business in Australia. It also prevents cutworms and other bugs.
I love this video! ❤️Thank you... thank you ... thank you! I learned a lot! All these hard-work and dedication to gardening is admirable. Isn't is much easier to go buy a pound or two of tomatoes from the produce store or farmers' market? Or... just stock up at summertime when tomatoes are do inexpensive... but then ... I understand the feeling of harvesting your own home-grown vegetables... reaping from the labor of your love.
I've have them handles damaged my plants, I've had snow covered and 21 degrees temperatures and no problem.
Biggest danger is hard winds so as shown pull the dirt to protect the bottom around the base.
Good video it worked for me 20 years and still doing this
The key to this technique is the double layer and trapping the thermal mass of the earth and mulch under. The double-layer greenhouse effect really provides a lot of added protection.
I've only ever had one bucket and dirt pile around bottom and I've been snowed on had many neighbors run back for more plants and mine would grow out the top of the buckets and had 7 one inch holes yes a plastic tent like would keep temperatures better.
I live in New Jersey. I have a 16 by 20 garden completely enclosed. I put plastic sheeting over the entire garden. I was able to get temps in the lower 80’s in early April and got my garden started way earlier. I like your method better!
Here in Canada East Coast I plant outside July 01 and I pick Cucumbers & Tomatoes in October before Winter.
This video was a bloomin success story for us gardeners looking to extend our planting season. My kale and arugula plants came through three nights of below 5-10 degrees temps this January of 24' .I used five old blankets plus a tarp full of leaves on top to cover up everything. Im in zone 7b,southeast Tenn. I hope I' ll be picking greens come March ,weather permitting!
That’s excellent news! Glad I could help!
I think you are great. I need a 12 by 40 tarp for shade over my grape vineyard. 1:44
When your sunporch is finished you'll be in seed-starting heaven.
🌱😇 They make really great greenhouse rooms. Mine is very small, 8x10, but there's still plenty of room to shelve many trays of seedlings.
I cannot wait. It'll be so much easier to just have 2 foldable tables in there: one for cuttings and one for seedlings. Then, I won't have to do any of this carrying back-and-forth business anymore.
@@TheMillennialGardener
🙂👍 (Should add, my porch is only half-glassed with large screened window openings near the ceiling. On mild or warm days the above screen ventilation is excellent for growing plants. But the room can still get very hot by early summer & wilt seedlings. But cooler daytime temps, like now? Not so much worry. The space stays between 75°-85° 11am-6pm. Then I bring the trays into the house for the night. Esp during these goofy spring temps. (Per your comment reply below, re plastic vs full glass walls. Crazy costly, agree!)
@@monkeybusiness1999 what if U installed a misting hose at top for hot evenings works for Restaurants= clients just enough moisture to cool dn a bit.
@@whosedoingwhat 🤔 Not a bad idea, this would provide great humidity. But I'd be worried about the mist creating possible wood trim & siding rot issues And attracting termites & carpenter ants. Also, rusting the house's metal patio/window doors & hardware, if there. Normally these things are not a major water/weather issue but a damp misted enclosed/semi-enclosed sunporch wouldn't allow the space to dry out very well. Which is bad. Maybe consider a drip line hose instead?
I truly appreciate all the info you share … can’t wait to see how both your and my spring garden goes this year! Happy growing.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy the videos. I appreciate you watching.
I live near St. Louis, MO.... Last year I planted my outside garden on Feb 1st. Had no problems, had corn by mid june.. I usually plant March 1st here. I have already put some things into the ground this year. Frost doesn't bother me as I can cover my entire plantings if necessary. It is easy to do when things are small. .
This is one of the BEST tips on tomatoes on UA-cam ------ thank-you 👍👍
You're welcome! I'm so happy to hear it's helpful!
@@TheMillennialGardener Very helpfull in fact I'm giving it a shot tomorrow I'm trying it with an Early Girl and a Better Boy -- already cut the water jugs 😂😂
This is largely true, but I can offer an exception from personal experience: Last year, I planted tomatoes and tomatilloes early. I've done it here and there previously, and the bottle technique worked well when it went below freezing overnight. What was different this time is that the temperature sat around freezing for more than a day. It was nearly 2 days, actually. By the end of the first day, about half of my plants were dead. By the end of the second, all had died.
Thankfully, I grew a lot of extra plants, and had only transplanted about half of them early. I would encourage anyone trying this method to do the same, just in case you run into such a storm front. It won't hurt to have a somewhat staggered start to your harvest, if all goes well, anyway : )
Thanks for the video , and not bashing non-organic fertilizers. Thanks for the WeatherSpart link too !
Your videos are so informative, thank you! Great ideas!! I have realized for a long time the false Spring and will watch the Spring flower planting in the neighborhood and know there will be one more little freeze around the bin :), therefore I wait :). Looks like I don't have to! I am more about planting food these days anyway. My Lantana come back every year, even after the hard Tx freeze in 2021, I think it was. Sure glad I came across your channel.
If you water 1 Time out of the week with epsom salt and 1 day out of the week with banana water your tomatoes will be so sweet.
My garden wagon holds 6 of the 7 gallon grow bags nicely. Instead of lifting each bag individually the wagon makes easy work rolling my early frost sensitive plants into the garage on cold nights.
I do that as well, but that is a little different than growing in-ground. This method is for in-ground growing.
I totally appreciate you sharing your knowledge. This is FANTASTIC information! Blessings!
Thank you. I watched this video and now thanks to you, I am already enjoying cherry tomatoes and jalapenos less than a month later. I do have to monitor the temps religiously, but you gave me a jumpstart on putting plants out in the garden. I went to my history to find this video to share it with friends.
Thank you for explaining the 50%, 75% frost date info. I had some “wild” potatoes come up and kept them covered, (I’m in 9B) and was lulled into a false sense of security by the warm weather and what I understood as the last frost date. They were uncovered when a frost hit. Won’t let that happen again!! I love your channel!!
I'm glad it was helpful. Truly, frost dates are nothing more than an estimate based on shoddy data. Consider we live on a 4.5 billion year old planet and only have around 40 years of somewhat reliable weather data. Our dates are such a tiny snapshot of history, so it's going to be very "normal" to have years that fall outside of those dates. We're getting slammed with 3 potential frosts this weekend into next week yet again, and it seems the growing season is contracting. The last several years have been a bonanza of late frosts and freezes.
LOL- I did milk jugs last year and a huge storm took virtually all, even those weighed down. Our growing season now stretches into November (Middle TN) so I've started staggering my planting so as to have tomatoes until much later (I have both det & Indet). I start inside (I have an entire floor) and plant after Tax Day. This year I staggered the seedlings - 13, 10 & 7 weeks before last frost. In fact today (2/27/23) I set out 30 or 40 in the 72° weather to acclimate.
I was just about to message you and ask when you were planting your tomatoes because IM READY!
I am still holding back on my main planting. The weather looks great, but I don’t trust it just yet. I am tentatively looking at Saturday the 26th depending on the 10-day forecast. If we are clear into the first week of April, I’ll probably start planting.
I am going to use this method but will also add a hoop house to warm the soil since tomatoes love heat. I'll let you know how that works. I'm in Northern Utah where it's not unusual to have snow up to early March. Hence the need to warm the soil.
Growing up dad would use the milk jugs to keep the garden warm at night believing that tomatoes enjoyed a warm night (true ?). We also used milk jugs with screwtops in two other ways. First, we would puncture the bottom of the jugs with a small brad, fill with water, and cap. During the heat of the day as the water warmed up the water would be forced out providing additional moisture to the plants. The second, we added red dye to the water, no punctures, dad believed that the increased red light increased the blosoms.
Really good information. I especially like the weather website with the frost dates. That’s helpful.
Thanks to this video I planted some tomatoes over the weekend!
Best of luck!
hello my friend i am new but i have been looking at you shows for a long time now and found it very very interesting very good information keep it up friend
Very helpful. Unfortunately i saw this video after a frost night that destroyed my tomato plant.
I use accu weather for monthly forcast, so far its been as accurate as weather is
Very cool. Thanks for sharing your results!. I tried the jug method last season didn't go well but never thought about using buckets as a dual cover.
A jug is good for a light freeze or frost, but the real gains are made by covering them in mulch and adding a second cover. Those 5 gallon buckets make excellent greenhouses, surprisingly.
Hey, thanks for all your videos, I especially love the fig advice. I looked but didn't see an update/results video. How did the early planting work out?
Thank You 💖
You are welcome!
I'm doing this tomorrow with some of my tomatoes and peppers. Thank you for doing this. Ilm also starting up a few new seedlings
Just please be sure to only use seedlings you can afford to lose. There is still some risk here. I only planted the extra stuff I wouldn’t mind losing, since there is only upside. I wouldn’t plant my main crop this early. If you have a couple extra plants or a ton of plants and the risk is worth planting a few early, definitely go for it.
@@TheMillennialGardener I have 2 tomatoes that got too big too early. Im starting a bunch of new plants tomorow. Our last frost date is April 5. I've got 2 choices, the way you showed today, or large pots. But I've got the milk containers, the buckets and the mulch. I think this will work. And if it doesn't I've got extra. Going to do it in a raised bed and that seems to offer its own protection
March 25! I wish lol my last frost date is like May 22 I think here 😢 I'll be starting my seeds around the time your planting
Genius Dude! Thanks for the great garden tip!
Nature is a meanie! I checked out that chart and March 11 we're at a 90% frost date. I should have been ok but we got the freeze that killed back my potatoes and pepper plant on March 10-12 lol! I swear it's my luck
Last year, we got an April 3rd hard freeze at 28 degrees. That's past our 90% frost date. The last few seasons have been warm late Februaries into early Marches, followed by late freezes. The worst of both worlds. It's been tough to manage.
@@TheMillennialGardener I did what you suggested for the potatoes and they're growing back great! I'm going on our first family vacation since '14 next weekend and hope there won't be any surprises when we get back. It's a cruise, so I'll be disconnected from weather reports and neighbors. Fingers crossed :)
Some great info here. April 10th..... North Georgia.....frost and 30 degrees.
We hit 37 degrees. There was the tiniest patch of frost 20 feet up on my neighbor's roof where two peaks come together and is always shaded. No ground frost, thankfully. I looked at the weather map today, and it was colder in Gainesville, Florida, than here. They were still at 36 degrees at 8am when we were at 44! I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I always appreciate your information and I don't think it's click bait . Your showing how to have 🍅 earlier and longer . Therefore we wouldn't be going shopping for not only 🍅 but other produce as well .q
i do this alot planting early from january 1st in AZ. 2ft tall over 40 plants.all are in the same pot growing healthy they sustain themselfs so no need for a stake.and a cactus hidden in the middle to keep birds away.
Love the idea of the double green house effect method to protect plants from frost and freeze. Very smart! 🌱🌷🐇
It works very well. However, I think the warm mulch pile is also of importance, since it holds some warmth. Don't forget to pile some up.
I have 3 earlier Black Krim, which is a earlier type of heirloom. slicers . I'm testing your method and my old 5 gal.bucket trick that has survived down to 21 degrees..Third I'm testing a cement block in my third earlier setup.
If I can have fresh tomatoes in the middle of June, that's my goal.
Thanks 👍
Well it was still snowing working in the garden today. Our last date is in about 6-7 wks. Everyone plants tomatoes on memorial day weekend here. I'll keep this in mind for next year as I dont have any plants ready for the garden.
I plant my tomato and pepper seeds the week between Christmas and New Years. If I'm going to be using cuttings from an existing tomato variety, I take them around Halloween. My tomatoes went out two weeks ago, with seed-started Carbons at about two feet, and the wintered over cherries and Everglades at close to four feet with ripe fruits on them already.. I only do this with indeterminates, so I get an amazing growing season out of my plants. My spuds go in the last week in February for three harvests per year.
Are you in North Carolina? I'm in Illinois and would like to try planting that early.
@@DavidKimFX Yes, I'm in Charlotte, but in a microclimate that is pushing a 9B. You may still be successful if you can use hoop houses or another insulating method. In fact, this coming season, I will be using hoop houses on my raised beds to get potatoes going in January.
If you don't have a frost line, you might look into subterranean beds that will get the 52 degree ground temps as a heat source over the winter as well.
Hope this helps, but if you need more info, shoot me an email.
I'm in Wilmington and have never done a garden before this year. I had no clue how hard this is! Are you doing classes, I would love to learn more with other fellow gardeners.
Great idea to plant some tomatoes in a grow bag.
That is something you can do early in the year and late in the year. You can grow into December with a late planting.
I did the same thing last year during our late hard freeze and snow. (Had been 70 for a month before that😳). I used recycled bubble wrap and loosely wrapped around plant and then placed 2 containers over that and was able to save my tomato’s with that method.
This is crazy cool thank you so much for sharing this keep up the good work it means a lot
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
A thin bamboo stake can be put carefully down hole or handle to keep wind from blowing them away. Also I like Wall of Water covers. They protect tomatoes down to 20°.
Hi and thank you so much for educating me. My mother used fish emulsion many years ago and I remember so well that our tomatoes had a "fishy" taste. Is this still so?
Thinking about the spring freezes we get here in Colorado and sort of tempted to stick a hot hands packet between the milk bug and the bucket. . .
This would make it easier for me to plant my tomatoes and keep them growing in our cooler weather and keep them growing
im just now into the 30% chance. Im potting up my tomatoes this weekend. Ive been bit before by planting them out before april 15th.
Frosts have been occurring later and later, at least here along the east coast. "April 1" has traditionally been the safe date for pretty much all of eastern North Carolina, but we've been getting April hard freezes recently. It's always good to have an insurance policy.
Thanks for the knowledge.👊 I started using bubble wrap around some of my plants before covering them with a box or row cover and it helps. I didn't use buckets this year but have in the past. I like your method and will keep it in mind for next year.😃❤
Stop teasing Dale...that was like handing you a bowl of early tomatoes and saying just look at them. 😄
I would be cautious with bubble wrap, because in and of itself, it will only protect against a frost. You need something warm inside so the bubble wrap traps the heat. Otherwise, it'll just freeze through. It'll work if you add incandescent lights under it, or some kind of thermal mass like a jug of water or a pile of warm mulch. Holding in the warmth of the damp ground and damp mulch is what made this possible.
Dale needs to be told "no" every now and again. This guy has steak and liver in a crock pot on the counter as we speak. That little stinker has it made 😅
@@TheMillennialGardener Thanks for the advice on how to use the bubble wrap best to protect my plants.🙂
It's so much fun to spoil our fur babies! Dale is so well trained that I know he hears his share of "no". 🙂 Y'all do a great job at keeping him fit too.👍
Great info wrong title. Your videos are always educational. You do not need to use gimmicks.
The end goal is to reach as many people as possible with the information. Videos that don't get promoted don't reach anyone, and then nobody benefits.
Man, I love your dog!!!😃
Interesting and informative video. I especially liked your method of protecting your plants when you have an unexpected hard frost.
On the topic of mulch, I too generously apply mulch (leaves, wood chips, etc.) during the main growing season and late in the fall through the winter.
However, I remove the mulch in early spring and wait until the soil warms up. I believe the soil warms up much quicker without the mulch.
I tested this approach by comparing the soil in two different raised beds: one with the mulch removed and the other with the mulch untouched. Remarkable difference!
Here, the soil never freezes. If you live in a place where the ground freezes, you can temporarily remove it, but you’ll want to place it back when you plant things to protect the soil and the plant roots. I try to never let my actual soil get solarized unless you had a disease problem you need addressed.
I am going to try this and if I have Cole After the plants get too big for the milk jugs I will use a small 22 and a half gallon bucket and put the big bucket over top of that I like this idea
You can place mulch around the plant directly, stick a 5 gallon paint bucket on top as the first bucket, then place the extra large 22 gallon bucket on top of that. That would have the same effect. Just make sure you take duct tape and cover up any drainage holes. Each bucket must be airtight.
Thank you my Dear for information
You're welcome!
Thanks for this impotant information. Bravo Zulu.
Very nice information and well explained, Thanks
You're welcome!
I add mycobliss on the roots when planting also.
That IS astounding!
Actually, the tiny hairs on a tomato stem are called trichomes, they do not form into roots, the roots that develop on the tomato, sweet potato plus many others are called adventitious roots, and form from the tissues within the stem. Actually, synthetic fertilizers do damage to the soil biology, fortunately if used in moderation the biology will rebound.
One could also put some clear plastic on the bed to increase the soil temp to help it through a cold night, I like the idea of placing a bucket over the milk carton.
Great job of keeping them tomatoes alive. A couple years ago I used some wall of waters to plant luffas and a couple tomatoes early in my zone 5a garden, they worked fine. Think I will use your trick with some of my other tomatoes this year, hate waiting until July to have fresh tomato on a grilled cheese.
Stay Well!!!
great information. Certainly going to try to plant at the beginning of April with the knowledge, but I cant believe its really worth the risk before thats since the plants will grow at snails pace in ground thats too cold.
What's actually cool about the milk jugs is they get so warm during the day that they'll grow rapidly right away. However, once they outgrow the milk jugs, you're kind of sunk. That's why it's great to do this with dwarf tomatoes like I am. By the time they outgrow the milk jugs, they are already flowering and starting to set fruit. Doing this with indeterminate tomatoes would be tougher, because they'll outgrow the milk jugs pretty quickly, and then you'll find it more difficult to protect them in case of a late freeze. I recommend planting out determinate and dwarf tomatoes as your "early" tomatoes since they stay small and will benefit from this jump start. Then, wait until the traditional dates for your indeterminates. And, as always, only risk plants you're okay with losing, since this is never 100%.
@@TheMillennialGardener you could cover the tomatoes with a bucket then a cardboard box. Cardboard is very insulating.
Awesomeness ! Thanks
I learned this method by accident one year when I got too eager to plant out my tomatoes. I had a bunch of one gallon glass jars. And put a blanket of contractor bags over them.
How cold did you get?
@@TheMillennialGardener 25°F
I think the four or five hours of the black contractor bags absorbing some of the solar energy helped too.
We still have 2 feet of snow on the ground in New Hampshire we’re talking about 1 June is when we are safe from frost and the ground temperature gets above 45°
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Very helpful tips with a live proof!
Thanks a lot!!
- cheers from TX
Thank you for subscribing! I really appreciate it!
Omg man. Thank you. Going to do thi! Video idea, compilation of all hacks against the laws of nature frost protection of all your plants, update yearly as more hacks are implemented.
Just remember to always start extra seedlings for things like this. Don’t risk your main seedlings. These methods are helpful, but they aren’t bulletproof. I always start extra early seedlings to risk them for big rewards, but I would never risk my main crop!
@@TheMillennialGardener yea. I have extra starts to give away, made too much. This is my second season growing.
Btw, i love dale man! Haha.
You do a great job with explaining the process 💯
Thank you! I appreciate that!
My first tomatoe is ready to eat today!!😁
Where are you located? That's fantastic.
@@TheMillennialGardener 5 miles from The Space center in Florida. It's been really nice here this year. We only had a few days near freezing. I probably could've grown them earlier. They were just accidents in a pot. 😁
I came back (4-27-23) ---- go to walmart or grocery store and buy those BIG clear plastic barrels of cheese balls or pretzels ---- throw the cheese balls away and use that big barrel as a greenhouse they work great! All of my plants have been out since April 3rd and are doing very well.
P.S. my last frost date is 4-29! I'm ahead of the game at least a month --- tomatoes in July 🙏
I am close to you, in Cary, NC. I have been planting very early as well. Love your method of using milk gallons and Lowe's buckets! QUESTION - I have heard from others that having tomatoes in the ground very early can lead to reduced harvest in the latter weeks, even if they are protected by your method. The ground temp being low is the reason given. What is your opinion here? I have had about 20 in ground since March 9th here in the Raleigh suburbs.
We live in an area in Canada where we can have a hard frost even in late June. We use the bucket method and also cover the buckets with the heavy bubble wrap that is used for swimming pool covers.
Do you generally grow determinate tomatoes? I imagine they'd be so much easier to protect. I'd recommend checking out The Dwarf Tomato Project if you haven't already, because those plants are small and can be covered year-round, yet they have "heirloom quality" fruit.
we grow tall tomatoes like san marzano and stake them but we wait till the end of June before putting them out in the garden and often lose the last of the harvest as frost is early but we make sure we plant enough to take this into account. The remains get composted. We grow robin, tiny tim, pear shaped yellow and patio tomatoes--all in pots that can be moved@@TheMillennialGardener
Here in Idaho also!
I believe tomatoes typically need 1300 gdd (growing degree days) to ripen and full spectrum UV light or sunlight to taste the best. Tough to achieve that with 24 degree low temp. Maybe you are on to something. I read that the French used to garden in green houses on top of heaps of curing compost. I own a farm parcel that is used to compost 100s of thousands of tons of yard waste every year. They operate year round. I have seen freshly turned windows steaming for hours in Chicago January temps. That would really raise the low temp factor in the gdd calculation. But still 50 degrees is the benchmark average for gaining growing degree days. Maybe use curing compost to heap around the buckets instead of mulch?