Should I cover my tomatos with a row cover?

jymarino 10/26/2011, 6:36 pm

I still have some toms on the vine, and a couple of zucs as well. It will be in the 60s the rest of the week with lows in the mid to upper 40s. If I use a light row cover and keep it on them during the day, will this facilitate ripening?

**Furbalsmom** 10/28/2011, 2:37 pm

Jennie, I have not used a light row cover to help keep my plants warm, but others members here have reported doing that. It seems that it would not hurt and certainly may help.

If I were trying, I would also keep the row cover on at night too.

Have you considered adding plastic over your hoops? The plastic along with the row cover may add enough extra protection to get you through a bit longer.

The plastic would need to be vented during the day to prevent overheating.

Hopefully, others who are trying to extend their season a bit will chime in.

quiltbea 10/28/2011, 3:18 pm

Row cover will not cut out the sun's rays so if you leave it on during the daytime, the air will heat under the row cover and help retain needed warmth. Leaving it on during the night will not only retain the heat gained during the daytime hours, but will keep the cold from penetrating. Its all a good thing.

jymarino 10/28/2011, 5:02 pm

Quiltbea

Would you recommend putting plastic also or not? Also, should I cover the broccoli?

quiltbea 10/28/2011, 7:02 pm

jymarino.....If your temps are staying in the 40s at nite I wouldn't cover the Broccoli. Brocc enjoys cool temps. If it starts getting close to freezing, then cover them.

Covering toms with plastic is a big help if you want additional heat. Just be sure that you vent the plastic during the heat of the sun because temps can rise inside over 30 degrees higher than outside the dome. Check the temps inside the plastic. If its heading toward the 80s, then vent for sure. Just allowing the hot air to escape thru the top for an hour or so should be sufficient. Late in the afternoon, close the vent to accumulate some heat before nitetime.

Good luck and enjoy your extended harvest.

jymarino 10/28/2011, 10:31 pm

Thanks! I will get some plastic to put over the toms. Our daily temps aren't likely to go above 70 for the rest of the season. We will be mostly in the mid upper 60s until late Nov.

I forgot to ask if I should put plastic over the zucchini. It is actually still doing pretty well and I've gotten a couple of fruits off of it. It would be nice to keep it going for a while longer, but I don't know if that is feasible.

At this point is heat or sunshine more important?

quiltbea 10/28/2011, 10:50 pm

jymarino, lucky you still getting zukes. Mine have long passed.

By all means cover your zukes and any plants that you want to extend. Even a few extra days makes a difference in many cases. They still need the warmth and they'll get sun whether they are covered with plastic or row cover. Sun is not impeded by row cover to any great degree.

jymarino 10/28/2011, 10:55 pm

Quiltbea

It is really quite a miracle that the zucchini are still going b/c I got hit with SVB despite my preventative measures. I am thinking for next year to just keep them under row covers and hand pollinate. At least then none of the annoying pests that I battled this year will be even able to get near them.

I didn't get a bit of sweet peppers but had tons of cherry toms and lots of zucchini.

quiltbea 10/28/2011, 11:06 pm

Funny, I got sweet peppers but only 3 small hot peppers from 4 plants. They just didn't fruit. Will try again next year also.

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