It’s getting very chilly here at night. The average frost date in Spokane is October 10th, although there has been frost as early as September 7th, and as late as the end of November. Here on our hill, our temperatures are always 7 to 10 degrees cooler. It cools off faster up here at night, frost and snow arrives earlier, and our bloom season is nearly three weeks behind the valley.
I can’t believe how long I waited to have ripe tomatoes, and then, for awhile, had tomatoes coming out my ears, and now they’ve slowed down and are nearing the end. The plants are still covered with green tomatoes and I don’t want to lose them. I will put black garbage bags over them tonight. I know that some people believe that it takes sunlight to ripen tomatoes, and they will leave them on their window sills. What it actually takes is heat. They would be better off to put their tomatoes in brown paper bags and leave them sitting on the counter.
I stopped watering the tomatoes several days ago, and today I will go out and cut into the roots of the plants with a shovel. This stresses the tomato plant and it puts everything it has into ripening the fruit. I don’t sweat it much, if a frost is forecast and I have to pick the tomatoes green. I love fried green tomatoes - and I can always ripen the others in the house.
Here’s a great part of autumn for me – the birds are migrating and they stop here for a ‘bath’ every year. The bluebirds come with the finches.
And the pine siskins just bring their whole family.
Fried green tomatoes with onions and garlic…….wonderful. Yes, the nights are getting cooler now here too, frosts are about in the north but not yet around here. Because of the warming we dont get the frosts and cold winters like we used to. Anyway you have the trip south to look forward to. Which route will you take this time?
Cooler? Oh, yeah. It actually got down to 72F last night. Definitely time to start digging in for winter …..
Dave – winters here have been fairly mild for the last three years – not alot of snow. T swears though, that if we decide to stay home for the winter – it’ll be record snow falls! We are thinking of staying in California on the Colorado River this year, instead of staying in Arizona. We’ll go over to the Washington and Oregon coasts first, though, as we really love that area – and I have a brother and daughter in Oregon.
Charlene! Is there really a need for sarcasm – when you are living in pardise???
I’d LOVE to live somewhere that I could wear flip flops 12 months of the year! The grass is always greener…..
I’m seeing the last of the hummingbirds now that the nights are cooling off. We have one that peeks in the glass doors before he goes and feasts on my flowers. Crazy little guy.
Great tips on the tomatoes I didn’t know but will try.
I love Fall.
Thanks for the tomato tips-I’ll have to remember that if I ever try growing tomatoes again.
I’m wistful for fall-it’s still summer-hot here.
Kat – T really enjoys the hummingbirds here. Ours are few and far between right now, but am still leaving feeders out for awhile. T swears that when the feeders get empty – those little guys come and look right in the window – to let you know.
Nessa – you and Cindra….loving the fall. I guess as many people do, as there are people like me, who want SUMMER.
Janet – it’s that old “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” thing. I want summer because I’m here, and you want fall because you are there. I suppose if we switched places, our ‘wants’ would change.
Jackie, You need to have some fried green tomatoes for supper! My girlfriend, who puts NO effort into her tomatoes, always seems to have so many. I’ve been plucking her green ones for a taste of home. Yum!