Should I just consider my tomatoes dead after this storm? (Sacramento: agricultural, move)

[volleyballer]

Please don't move this post. I want Sac Valley peeps to only answer this. I planted my tomatoes and zucchini last weekend when the weather was beautiful. And then this week, what in the world happened? Should I just rip them out and plant another set of tomatoes? I know they cannot stand cold ground temps, and I'm sure my ground was colder than their tolerance? They look fine right now, but I'm willing to put in the work again for a bountiful harvest.

Any suggestions/advice?

[DMenscha]

Unless they've frozen (which I would doubt in the Sac area) you should be OK. Assuming you've got seedlings, you might want to place a clear plastic bag over them to make a little greenhouse for them. Tomatoes usually display their intolerance fairly quickly. Also the temperature of the root system is the main consideration, not the surface temperature of the dirt. What doesn't kill them makes them stronger.

I'm only answering this as we get more severe temps and storm action then you do in the valley and we have to deal with this kind of thing more often than valley dwellers. We also don't bring plants outside until the 3rd week of April, so you are probably right on schedule.

[KC6ZLV]

A light freeze in the Sacramento Valley is possible during March or April, but usually not enough to warrant the need to replace plants.

Squash (zucchini) don't like cold, wet weather, but if there is any real damage it would be obvious. I've planted tomatoes out in the middle of March, had them hammered by rain, hail, even a trace of snow one year followed by a few frosty mornings, and they recovered as soon as the weather warmed up.

So, unless they are dead, just leave them alone.

[ElectroPlumber]

It takes several hours of below freezing weather to do the damage. A light freeze that doesn't last for more than a few hours will not do any harm. My plants look fine today. My philosophy has always been to plant early and just replant if you lose some.

[DMenscha]

I forgot to mention that your local Master Gardener program is a great place to get valuable information. This is usually run under the agricultural extension agent in your county.

[CityGirl72]

Last year my tomatoes took a dump. Alot of gardeners had problems. It was cold for too long at night - I planted in Late March.

This year I'm planting May 1, and using the old rule "Do not plant tomato seedlings until it's 50 degrees or more at night." We'll see how that goes this year.

Some plants I have in my cold frame right now and have been ventilating them on sunny days