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Re: question about Wall O Water

We used a dozen Wall-o-Water on tomato plants when we were in CT and they
worked well. Early in the season you may want to not fill them completely
so they sort of collaspe at the top inward to make a little greenhouse. 
I'm not sure about 16 degrees but I know we have them in place down to
about 22-25 with good success.  They work best to stabilize the plants
after it has started to warm up.  I don't think they would stop a continous
25 degree period.  You need the sun to build the heat. In CT, our last
frost date was May 20th so any early days helped.
You need to either germinate them inside yourself or get plants already
started and hardened off.  You will have to wait until near or even after
your frost-free date to start the seed outside.

If you must start from seed, I would suggest that you contact Johnny's and
get seed for short seasons.  They have a wide variety.

One trick is to place the Wall-O-Waters earlier than the plants and to make
an earthen bank around the outside to assure no leakage along the ground. 
Mine finally wore out and after the last 3 years in AZ, we didn't worry
about replacing them (getting heat isn't a problem in AZ.)

This year I plan on using water-filled milk bottles to create heat sinks
near my early tomato plants and earth bank them in.  We are having a
non-winter winter here in AR and the daffs are already blooming and we have
a crabapple and a plum tree ready to bloom.  Way too early!

Rich
Purrfleece Farms

----------
> From: MJAspen@aol.com
> To: veggie-list@eskimo.com
> Subject: question about Wall O Water
> Date: Thursday, February 19, 1998 9:02 AM
> 
> I am new to gardening, well, new at least to sucessful gardening.  I have
read
> about Wall O Water but have never seen them in action.  I'm not sure how
they
> work.  The pictures in the catalog show plants growing out over the top. 
Do
> they first close the top untill the plants get too big or what?  I do
> understand the physics involved a little like the energy required to make
the
> water change state, so I do kind of believe the advertising but
protecting
> down to 16 degrees, is that realistic?  
>      I live in Boulder County Colorado at an elevation of about 5000 ft. 
The
> average last frost suppousedly occurs on May 6th.  When could I put seeds
in
> the ground, protected by these Wall O Water things to get a jump on the
> weather?  I don't have the ability to start seeds indoors and then
transplant,
> for a number of reasons.  
>      Thank you very much for any help that anybody may have for me.
> 
> MJ Aspen
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