Should you cover tomatoes to protect from frost?

Answer 1

An interesting article I ran across is below. I have known that at the point of freezing, water gives off heat. Here is the article : By Livai Matarirano, Zimbabawe You can grow tomatoes even in cold weather. A farmer in Zimbabwe, Mr. Francis Handwa, uses cooking oil or milk bottles filled with water to keep tomato plants warm. This is a good alternative to covering tomatoes if used bottles are easy to get. Here is how he does it. Francis fills cooking oil or milk bottles with water until they are three quarters full. While the plants are still young, he places the bottles upright on the ground among the tomatoes. He places one bottle beside every third plant in every other row. He makes sure that the neck of the bottle appears above the plants. When the plants get taller than the bottles he places stakes beside the tomato plants. He hangs a bottle on each stake with a string. The bottles hang 10 centimetres above the plants. When the temperature drops below freezing the water in the bottles freezes. The tomatoes stay frost free even though the surrounding grass and shrubs are covered with frost. Mr. P.R. Makaya, an expert on fruit and vegetable production in Zimbabwe, explains why the water in the bottles freezes while the tomatoes are not attacked by frost: "When water has things dissolved in it, it freezes at a lower temperature than when it is pure. The water in plant cells, tomato cells in this case, contains dissolved salts. But the water in the bottles is pure, or at least has much less dissolved matter. In frost conditions, pure water freezes earlier than water in plant cells. So in the morning you find the water in the bottles is frozen. When water freezes it releases a lot of heat. The heat released when the water in the bottles freezes keeps the air around the tomatoes warmer than the surrounding area".

Answer 2

1. Copper fungicide (pale blue/greenish liquid) that is sprayed on BEFORE blight appears as a protection.
2. DON'T grow potatoes anywhere near tomatoes if you can.
3. pick of, destroy and burn all infected leaves as soon as they appear.
4. Make sure not to reinfect future plants by sterilising and cleaning ll equipment and greenhouses.

Answer 3

if you live in a cold place during the winter, if you plant the plants your self, they do make root warmers that are kinda like electric blankets for trees that require more heat and that will keep your plant alive during the winter months in addition to that you can put a plastic bag over the plant with a small lil heater so it will insulate the whole plant

Answer 4

Cover the tomato plant with a fabric type cover. Never use plastic, it transfers the cold to the plant.

Answer 5

40 degrees and below. You could also fill milk jugs with water and paint them black to soak up the suns heat during the day and keep your plants a little warmer at night.

Answer 6

Tomato plants should be allowed to die in the winter.

Answer 7

That would be a wise idea if I were you.