Last week I took half a dozen yellow pear tomato plants into our post office where I volunteer each Monday. Our postmistress and the two other volunteers were incredulous that I not only had so many excess plants (there are still a lot at home), but also that I had started planting my tomatoes on April 1. Admittedly, I was taking a little bit of a risk. My normal planting date is April 15—note that I said my date. If I actually believed and followed the guidelines for my area, I’d never be able to grow tomatoes.
Anyway, the temperatures had been pretty respectable at the end of March and the forecast for the next nine days looked quite pleasant. So I decided to take the risk and put in a dozen tomato plants. Of course, April 11, temperatures started tanking, ultimately dipping to 17°F. Ouch. However, I only lost one-third of the plants.
So how is this possible?
This is my backyard this morning as I write this morning, April 22. Yep, we got 5-6 inches of snow last night.
Now, if you look on the right at the back you can see eight little cones just in front of the brick retaining wall. Each of those cones is protecting a quart-size tomato plant. As I wrote in a post back in January on methods of getting a head start on spring gardening, those cones are called Wall o’ Waters, as I learned they were called when they first came onto the market. They’re now sold as Kozy Coats or simply plant protectors. I think Wall o’ Water is the most accurately descriptive name for them.
These plastic plant protectors consist of 14 channels about 2” wide each that are filled with water. When full, the wall o’ waters look like a cone with the top 1/3 sliced off. With that large an opening at the top, there is no way they can protect the tender plants inside from freezing temperatures. However, the tops can also be squeezed together to push some water out and form a teepee, protecting the plant perfectly, even down to sub-freezing temperatures. The manufacturer claims plants are protected down to 16°F.
So perhaps now you are wondering about why I lost 1/3 of my plants when the temps only dropped to 17°F. A couple died because I got sloppy. I didn’t make sure the plant protectors were well closed at the top. Those 3-4” openings at the top were just a little too much. But the other two were closed. The problem is that the wall o’ waters just aren’t able to keep plants warm enough through several days of cold temperatures and clouds. A few days, yes. An entire season? No.
The wall o’ waters are really easy to use.
- Put your plant in the soil as usual.
- Invert a 4-5 gallon round plastic bucket over the plant.
- Place the wall o' water around the bucket.
- Fill each channel of the wall o' water with water.
- Squeeze to close at the top if freezing temperatures are anticipated.
Most people use wall o’ waters for getting a head start on tomatoes, but they also work really well for peppers, melons, and squash. And you can even use them to get some really early cabbage and broccoli going.
For best results, do this at least a few hours before sunset, so that the sun has time to warm the wall o’ water and the plant and soil inside. Make sure to continue watering your plants on schedule. You don’t want them to dry out and die. When it’s time to remove the wall o' water, try to do so when a cloudy day or days are in the forecast, if the plant hasn’t yet outgrown the wall o’ water and had a chance to harden itself off against the sun.
Links to related posts:
Options for Getting the Earliest Possible Crops
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