Cold Frames in use

Has anyone used a cold frame here in MI as early as March? If not, what is the earliest a cold frame is recommended?
My tomato plants are almost ready to have more room. In another 3-4 weeks, they will have out-rooted the pots they are in now.
Thanks, Gardners.

I have seen lettuce that MSU grew in a coldframe-it was unreal!!
I have a GH and i take my stuff out there late march-early april
i will start my tomatoes in a few weeks inside then move them to the GH (unheated)
as soon as possible. If nights get to cold i will take the boys electric heater and put it
out there with my other babies!

Post pics of your plants! i luv the smell of tomato plants!!!
Im still planting daylilies downstairs in my in house grow room!

im sure someone else will come along with more info for you!

I'm not much help since you are talking about tomatos. But I have moved my daylily seedlings out to my very small plastic 'coldframe' in March. I keep it near the house for wind protection and faces West/south for max sun. They do well. Not sure how those warm weather crops like tomato would do.

THANKS, notmartha and toofewanimals for your replies.
I will send photos of my tomato plants as soon as I can. I'm not sure how much of the delicious smell the pics will give you, but you ceratinly can use your imagination. They DO smell great.
My Early Girls are getting too big for the pots they are in now and I have one Orenburg Giant (Siberian) also ready to transplant into a large pot to finalize growth using a "nite-lite" as a source for heat as well as more light. I will use aluminum foil as a heat catcher wrapped around a tomato cage, but leaving enough leaves for the sunlight to catch the foliage. I'll send a photo of this also when I have it "just right".
I am designing my own "el cheapo" cold frame out of cut wall paneling and using old newspapers for a two inch thich wall insulation. After reading y'all's advice, I think it will be best for me to wait until early to mid April before I place my tomatoes out side. Cold weather doesn't affect tomatoes "that much" although freezing will. Cold only "stunts" the growing process. In fact, I planted my tomatoes as seedlings on Nov. 20th and it has taken this long to bring them this far.
I am only experimenting and I have already learned quite a bit about tomato growth reaction to stimuli. My reasoning is the HIGH price of tomatoes, especially during the winter months. Next fall/winter I plan to have tomatoes all through those seasons and beat the high prices.
Thanks again for y'all's reply.

Lowell

Soil temperature is as important as the air temperature. Check your soil temperature in the morning at a two-inch depth for seven consecutive days. The minimum soil temperature for tomato growth is 50ºF to 55ºF. You can try to warm up the soil before putting your plants out by covering the soil with black plastic.

I think temperature is more important than the month or date on the calendar since the weather is so changeable here in Michigan. Tomatoes are a warm weather crop and if you plant them out too early they just sit there and don't put on blooms or grow much. I can't tell much difference in putting them out early then just waiting till close to Memorial weekend and planting them out when everything has warmed up. Putting them outside for a few hours every day to harden them off is a good idea and gets them used to the change in temps and wind etc.

THANKS, LOON, for your advice. I will use it appropriately.
At present, I will use two rooms in-house which does not have direct heat and the temps drop into the low 40's. To induce heat to the plants, I will use nite-lites w/25 watt bulbs in tomato cages wrapped in [red] foil to capture the light as well as heat. Of course I will also use themometers to check induced temps. Hopefully my experiments work!
I have designed two "el cheapo" seperate cold frames for outside use, of which, I will use your advice before I put a plant in the garden.
Thanks again.

I love the smell of tomato plants.
One year I started several plants in the basement in Feb. Never again, they got tooo big, too fast.
Now I wait till the middle of March. I only plant one tomato plant in my gardens each year ... not enough room in my flower beds.
But I always end up with many extra plants and end up giving them to co-workers and family. I usually plant more than one type of tomato and make it something unusual and people love to try the new ones.

Lost, you will have to show us how big those tomato plants are now, I can't imagine since you started them in Nov.

I have always bought the tomatoe plants, but I want to do them from seed this year, didn't get to plant a garden last year at all, not one mater :(

I don't have a basement, or a greenhouse, so when should I sow my tomatoe seeds? I got different kinds thru trades and the WSn site... Should I sow them now, with the rest of my WSing seeds?

Connie