Tomatoes require a lot of care to grow well in the NW. The long cool spring does not fair well with solanums, including tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos and eggplant. On rogue sunny days, I take the starts outside for some real sun. On chilly days, I still cover the starts with plastic. Under the plastic, it's humid and 90 degrees... perfect for summer plants. The plants always seem significantly happier after sunny days!I always believe that taking plants outside helps them grow stronger because it is more like the real environment they will live, not the safe environment under grow lights indoors. Outside there is wind and rain that will require that plants to be tough and resilient. Giving plants a healthy dose of the real world is good for them! But be careful not to be too harsh... always a balance!
