When to plant out tomatoes in polytunnel

[Susan BBPM]

In previous years I've normally ended up putting them out in mid May and they've been fine - despite some cold nights. I've read that you should wait until night time temps are reliably above 10 degrees, but where I live that doesn't happen until mid summer.

This year I've sown two batches (so I can afford to take a small risk with the first batch) - second batch are ready to be pricked out into pots. The first lot are getting a bit too big to be indoors.

My polytunnel has big (2 foot deep) raised beds. The temp in the tunnel has regularly been reaching 30 degrees centigrade during the day and is always in the high teens during the day at this time of year. But at nights it's typically between 3 and 8 degrees - sometimes less. Frost is still possible but unlikely.

Anyway, point is my soil is nice and warm!

I have some benches with heated wire so I could pot up my tomatoes into bigger pots and stand them on the heat benches. But I could do with that space for other things so I'm swithering over whether to just plant them straight out into the beds. I'm even considering getting another heat wire to keep the soil warm in the bed.

Provided I can protect from frost damage (very unlikely by May where I am) does it matter how cold the air gets at night if the soil is kept warm?

 

[NigelJ]

Mine are in my greenhouse for the past 10 days still in smallish pots, day time about 20°C, nightime similar to yours, they seem fine and are growing steadily, couple of cooler nights this week sp fleece and sheets of newspaper over them till morning.

 

[Susan BBPM]

I think I'm going to need to take the plunge and put them out. All my indoor growing spaces are packed to the rafters. Half the stuff needs potting up and I'm still to sow squashes, beans, corn, melons etc....

But this is the kind of pressure and chaos I love LOL