I don't know what I did, I started at 1 hour, went to 2 hours, then 2.5, then 3 hours, then 4,5,6 and it still didn't work. The leaves are turning white and the entire plant is wilted. They are not dried out, watered regularly, good drainage, and not too wet as far as I could tell. Half the days were sunny, the other half overcast with showers. Temperatures when I put them out was always over 50f. I MAY get lucky and the little bit of new growth will survive but I am not holding my breath. The varieties are Legend, Brandywine, 100 and Ceylon. Did I let them get too big before moving them outside? Some were a good 18 inches tall but I buried them deep to get a good root mass. Is it just too early to move them outside with the highest temps only get to 60F for a few hours a day? Is it just too cold for me to move them outside yet and even try to harden them off? Temps have been 50-60 in the 7 days I have been trying to harden them off. I hate to start over but I may have no choice. Is there something I can do to make them more tolerant to outside conditions? Move them out into greenhouse as soon as the first sign of a sprout appears? Start them outside so I don't have to harden them off? I have already started Ceylon, New Big Dwarf, 100's and I will likely be starting a few others just in case. There has to be something I can do to get my tomatoes started off ASAP so I actually get a harvest before Halloween.
I live in Vermont and after the snow melts and the day time temps are in the 40's I put my tomato plants on my closed in porch and leave them out there every night. They are doing wondering. I might suggest building small portable green houses to put over your plants at night or "tent" them with plastic. Tomato plants really really hate it below 50 and need as much protection as they can get.
When my tomato plants go in the ground it's in the 60's or warmer in the daytime but in the 50's or lower at night. I cover the plants with old bedsheets at night. I think 18" is pretty tall for a tomato transplant. Are you starting the seeds too early for your area? I had a couple of plants nipped by a sneaky, late frost last year. I just pruned out the wilted stuff and started putting 1 liter soda bottles of water around the plants. That water warmed up some in the daytime and kept the plants warmer under their night time covers. That method worked great for me this year. If you try this, put your covers on before the sun goes down. Put your covers away when you are sure it's gonna be 50 degrees or more at night. Anyway, the two plants that got nipped didn't die. They looked pretty awful for several weeks, but they caught up to the other plants over time. They made plenty of tomatoes. Your plants are in the ground now. Right? They are growing roots underneath. You mention new growth. So, I'm thinking that you are having some luck. Don't be in a hurry to yank those plants out. If you have new growth, then clip out any dead or diseased looking leaves. You can buy a couple of tomato plants at a garden center or completely start again if you want. But don't give up on your other plants yet.
Sounds to me like they are a little "sunburned". I'd leave them be and they'll get more growth. Trim off the burnt leaves if they really bother you.
They are in buckets and I move them inside for the night. They are staying inside right now because of a mjor wind wtorm but hopefully will be going back out to finish hardening them off and hopefully they will survive.
I find 50° too cool for toms, personally. That coolness with wind drying them out could cause you problems. So long as the temps there are in the 50's, I would only put them outside for a limited amount of time (if at all).
Okay, I misunderstood your original post. Your plants are in buckets--not transplanted into garden soil. Keep on with bringing them in and out. They'll probably improve when things warm up a bit. You'll want to think about whether or not the buckets are deep enough to accommodate the plants. You said the plants have good drainage. I'm assuming that includes a hole or two in the bottom of the buckets. I know you are worried now but you'll feel really smug when you are biting into your first harvest.
5+ gallon buckets with 8, 1/2 inch holes drilled in them, 4 in the bottom, 4 in the sides. I have started all of my toms again just in case, the weather is rediculous here and the highs are only supposed to be in the low to mid 50's for the next week. So much for getting them outside anytime soon.
