First frost on Friday? It all depends on whose forecast you believe in. Because, as I’ve discovered over time, all weather forecasts are not created equal. The online weather page we’ve used for the last few years is often in sync with the others, but when it comes to cold, it can go its own way, and it’s usually right. Here, we have a low of 1°C for Friday, OR, I can go for a more veggie-friendly choice of two 6°C’s and a 5°C, from three of the big weather outlets. That’s the difference for me between row covering all the tender crops we’d like to save, and…not. There is a pattern: sites like this one that’re based on Environment Canada’s weather service (that’s the Canadian government) tend to be several degrees lower and more accurate. So it’s on with the row cover on Friday, then wait and see!
We had our first two last week….and more expected this week. Our area runs much colder than the forecast area, so we always know to subtract a few degrees from the projected lows.
Do you cover any of your crops or just consider that the end of the season?
You must be a bit up north. Down here in Southern Ontario we’re sitting at a fairly reliable plus 6 for Friday night. In your experience, will the tomatoes keep ripening on the vines in this weather, or should i just give up already and just pull them indoors?
I guess it’s a toss-up. It’s mighty nice to have a bunch of toms ripening indoors, well after a killing frost. Especially if you have space and a nice convenient setup for storing and culling them. The taste and texture aren’t right up there, but…they’ve become rare. But it’s also nice to just get ’em done with in the field. I’ve always had a kinda shocking litter of leftover tomatoes on the ground at the end of the season. I’m not sure if it’s even possible to get ’em all… :)
Haha, I knew it. You guys are Canucks! I always wondered how you could grow winter vegetables in the middle of the summer.
Just fyi the temps down here in the Delta state of LA are low78, high 94… which in celsius is… hmm, times 5, divide by nine, subtract 32… a low of 1 bazillion C and a high of 2 bazillion C.
Someone might want to check the math though.
I had no idea that your first frost was so early. Our first frost is late October/ early November.
Everyone is complaining down here in NC about how cold it is and its only 60 degrees! But we were in the high eighties yesterday, so you can really feel the temperature change.