Native to South America, tomatoes do not tolerate frosty temperatures. This circumstance has a significant influence on cultivation in beds, greenhouses and on the balcony. How to prevent frost damage to tomatoes.
How do you protect tomatoes from frosty temperatures?
To protect tomatoes from frost, they should only be planted outdoors after mid-May. Use polytunnels, garden fleece or tomato covers as protection. For potted plants, these can be brought into the house at night. Green tomatoes can ripen indoors before frost.
Effective protection against frost from sowing to harvest
Tomatoes must not come under the influence of sub-zero temperatures at any time. This premise applies from the start without exception. In the local regions, sowing generally takes place behind glass. The required 18 to 24 degrees Celsius can be achieved on a warm windowsill or in a heated greenhouse. After pricking, it continues like this:
- Do not plant early tomatoes until after May 15th
- protect in the first few weeks outdoors under a polytunnel or garden fleece
- plant individual plants with a special tomato cap (€12.00 on Amazon) from specialist retailers
- Set up frost monitors or grave lights in the unheated greenhouse at night
- Bring tomatoes in pots into the house on a plant trolley overnight
With the departure of the Ice Saints in mid-May, the danger of frost for tomatoes has not yet definitely passed. In some years the sheep cold hits between June 4th and 20th. Prudent hobby gardeners therefore maintain protective measures against frost until mid-June.
Timely harvest before the first frost – ripening indoors
When Grim Reaper knocks on the garden door, it is not uncommon for unripe tomatoes to still be hanging on the plants. Knowledgeable hobby gardeners don't let this bother them, because green tomatoes ripen indoors within a few days. Individual fruits are wrapped in newspaper and stored at 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. Several tomatoes go into a cardboard box, ideally accompanied by a ripe apple or banana.
Tips & Tricks
An unheated greenhouse is naturally protected from frost by a 'manure heater'. The warming effect of horse manure is used here. The ground is dug two spades deep and filled with horse manure. Add a layer of garden soil with compost on top. The mixture of dung and straw gives off pleasant warmth as the rotting progresses.
