When spring is near we all want to get the jump on starting those new tomato plants in the hope that maybe this year we can get some tomatoes out of the garden earlier than normal.  However, all to often we are disappointed by the onset of a late frost or even a killing freeze.  Here are a few ideas on how to keep Jack Frost from stealing those early spring tomatoes away from us.

First, it's good to set aside a few plants just for the purpose of getting those early tomatoes.  Be sure you've chosen a variety that is not only a little more frost tolerant (there is a limit to how much cold any tomato can take before it is zapped by the cold) but just as importantly one that will set fruit in cold weather.  Check your seed catalog description to find the ones best suited for the cold.

The other thing that needs to be done is to keep the tomato plants warm.  You can do this by either growing your early tomatoes in a container or protecting them in the garden.

There's a couple of good choices for containers.  One relatively inexpensive way to to use an upside down tomato planter.  There are also some other types of hanging tomato planters, but they all share some common advantages.  First, they can easily be moved to a protected area if there is a late frost.  A garage or a basement can easily provide the protection needed.  The other advantage is that the soil in these planters will warm quickly and get the tomatoes growing more rapidly.  I've seen these yield fruit 2 weeks earlier than plants in the ground, and this was from plants started the same day and from the same 6 pack of plants.

Another container to try is the Earthbox planter, which gives a large container to work with, is self watering, and has a plastic mulch which will help retain heat.  You can also buy a staking system to work with this to grow larger tomatoes without blowing over.

Alternatively, you can plant them in the ground and protect them in place.  The most common solution is to use some type of water cloche, the most familiar being the Wall o Waters.  These a simply vinyl sleeves attached together that hold water, which acts as a thermal buffer to store heat during the day to keep the plants warmer at night.  In addition, they act as a mini greenhouse.

Finally mulching can help.  These days there are special tomato mulches that not only keep the weeds down, but are designed to reflect the red light, which is beneficial to the tomato plants, so they get a double boost from the mulch.

Get going with these ideas and you can get some early tomatoes out of your garden this year.