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Old March 7, 2012   #7
feldon30
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Rock Hill, SC
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Up north, jumping the gun on planting tomatoes outside rarely pays dividends. As you say, the soil is too cold. However the interesting thing about S.E. Texas is that the soil temperature is usually warm enough that, even though we are sometimes dipping down into the mid-30's at night, the roots will grow, and when it gets warm the plants will take off like a rocket.

The last 2 years I gardened in Houston, we had a near-freeze event the 1st or 2nd week of April. There's no way I could wait that long to plant, since peak harvest is the last week of May/first week of June and everything is on the decline sliding into July.

The hardest part about growing tomatoes in S.E. Texas is planting earlier than logic seems to dictate, and then being prepared for those 2-3 scary cold nights. The end result is worth it though! And I think wrapping your plants in row cover from day one, and just leaving it there until all danger is gone is the way to go. You might even gain a few days growth with the slight greenhouse effect.
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