Unexpectedly cooler night temperatures

ab2008

11 years ago

So with temperatures occasionally getting into the mid 80's, and 60's of a night, and then a week later the highs being in the 60's and nights dipping into high 30's/40's for a day or two, before repeating a vicious cycle.. How low can the temperatures be, before it's a little harder on the plants at this stage of growth?

Now I know if I have any doubt of possible frost, to get things in.. however I've read pretty conflicting information at times. Some folks say anything below 50 is hard, and some have said their plants were fine even down to as low as 38 degrees. (But I do think those were end of season temps, and mature plants..)

I'm not wanting to put anything out right now, but if something happens and temperatures do drop to the 40's... are things going to be okay for the most part? Typically before this year I planted mostly sweet peppers and such, and temperatures that low didn't seem to bother them all too much.

What's your all's take on it?

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Comments (8)

Bill_Missy
11 years ago
Ab,

I have had all my babies out 24 hours a day going on 8 days now (Been potting even) Our nights are low/mid 40s every night and low/mid 60s and 70s during the day and no ill-effects. Actually I think they are liking the temp changes. Mine are out for good now...

Bill
ab2008
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks Bill, that's nice to hear. It isn't often but here in TN it's a roller coaster of temperatures, 80's through the week, and the weekend drops into the 60's on the weekend, which results in some pretty cool temps of a night for a couple of days..
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tsheets
11 years ago
As long as there isn't any frost/freezing, it's really about ground temps at this point. If it's cold long enough for the ground temp to drop significantly, it'll slow them down. They may not show signs of distress, but, they won't grow much either. Once the ground warms up, they will take off. That's one good thing about pots...they warm up quickly and if it gets cool, you can move them for protection.
ab2008
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh I agree, but there's no way I'd ever try to pot up the 150+ pepper plants I have. lol
cheezdoodle12
11 years ago
I'm dealing with the same thing here in NY..... We had a few nice days in the 70's and I had the peppers (5 containers) outside day & night.. then it dropped down again into the 30's & 40's.. and now we have RAIN!! They're all back in the house again... :(
tsheets
11 years ago
So, you're strictly an in-ground guy, huh? :-)

It's hard to keep everyone's situation straight. You laugh at potting up 150+ peppers, but, you'd be surprised what some members do! haha!

I have some of each...I use ground until I run out, then supplement with pots.
ab2008
Original Author
11 years ago
Well, I have probably 10 acres that is cleared and fields, so if I can put it in the ground, that's where it'll go lol. Potting things up does have it's advantages though like you mentioned. Though I don't know if I'd trade all the 5-1-1 mix, or anything that can come in bags for anything that's had cattle on it and such hah.
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
11 years ago
ab: Lower night temps won't hurt the seedlings, but it won't help. If, during those few nights in the low 40's, it isn't too much of a PITA, you might want to drag them into the garage each night until it warms up again. I use high high 40's as my break off temp as long as their still in smaller 3-4 in. containers where I can just grab a flat or 3 and load up the little guys real quick.

Kevin