sheets on the tomatoes tonight

[patandchickens]

Maybe I'm being overly paranoid - I mean, it's still about 3 wks before our usual first frost - but the forecast tonight is for low 40s (F) and we reliably run about 5-10 F colder than the forecast this time of year (because the forecast is averaged between two cities on lakes and we're inland, and because we're a low spot where cold air collects). So I hauled out the sheets and slung 'em over the stupid only-beginning-to-really-produce tomatoes.

Sheesh. What a funny year.

I figure if nothing else, with Murphy's Law, having the plants covered should cause the night temperature to be markedly higher than forecast

Anyone else getting into fall mindset?


Pat, rapidly running out of summer

 

[Reinbeau]

Summer is still here, I can tell by the humidity and thunderstorms! But fall is fighting her way in. We won't have frost threats until mid-October, and I've got all kinds of sheets out there ready!

 

[punkin]

Wow, Pat! I don't even want to think about those cold nights. (even though my garden has served me well this year). Just last week, we bushhogged it down. Very little rain in 6 weeks took its toll.

It's still in the upper 60's at night here.

 

[me&thegals]

Same weather here--low 40s tonight. I'm sipping hot tea and huddled in a hooded sweatshirt right now! I'm trying not to panic over the thought of fall/winter approaching so quickly when there is so much to be done yet. Maybe there will be an Indian summer??? OTOH, it is exciting to keep checking out my pumpkins and dreaming of thick soups and pumpkin choc-chip muffins Hope your tomatoes get their act together and provide you with some ripe beauties! If not, I've got a couple great green tomato recipes I'll send you

 

[blurose]

I've got dozens of canning jars sitting ready and waiting for my San Marsanos and golden roma tomatoes and am gnawing my fingernails down to the quick worrying about the summer temps not lasting long enough for them all to ripen. We are forcasted for low to mid 80s daytime and high 50s to low 60s for the next week at least. But having grown up in Oregon, I know better than to chisel in stone any weather forecast. It snowed on my HS grad day in 1980, the second week of June no less. Its also rained buckets for 4 days straight in August before. You'd have thought it was mid November then, and we were on a camping trip too.

 

[chickaD]

Gee, is it wrong of me to be envious of night temps in the 40's? We're already there, including some summer nights (and I wonder why the tomatoes were a dud). Tonight it's definitely the sheets, with mid 30's expected & possible frost in mt valleys. We've never decided if we qualify.

Not to gripe incessantly, but my garden, such as it is, and I are NOT ready for frosts & fall already! Guess I'll be moving 800 mph harvesting & hopefully dehydrating herbs and tender stuff.

 

[candyd]

They are calling for frost around here tonight too. I will only have to worry about my flowers, my garden was a dud this year!::

 

[patandchickens]

Turns out it "only" got down to 38 F last night, but I'm still glad I put the tomato sheets on as a precaution

I notice from my weather-and-garden record, though, that two years ago tomorrow's low was 33 F with frost. So it is getting towards that season...

Pat

 

[chickaD]

Pat, it makes me wish I'd joined early enough to add my 2 cents worth on your weather whining thread...as it is, I'm eventually turning every other thread into a surrogate Whine Zone.

 

[patandchickens]

Well, go 'wake that thread back up' then - I would be happy to see it active again and I am sure that lots of other people have whines of their own to add

Pat, not really complainin' too much at the moment because it is quite a nice day, and we just came back from several hrs at a local town's fall fair - but just wait a coupla days and I am sure I will feel another weather whine coming on