Usually Memorial Day (last Monday in May) marks the start of summer and warm weather here in New England when everyone plants out their tomatoes. Well yesterday barely broke 50F (10C) which is 20 degrees below normal. The weathermen predicted that we would get into the forties. Well they were wrong. It got to 38F (3C) last night. I wonder if northern New England had a lot of late frosts. I hope my Maine gardening friends haven't lost their tomatoes.
It was cold enough to bring my soil temperatures down to almost 40F. I've already seeded my beans and squash. Those seeds will not like these temperatures. I hope they don't rot in the soil. Today will be much warmer and sunny which will help. It won't be quite back to average, but at least it will be in the normal range.
But what I'm most worried about are my sweet potato plants. Yesterday these plants were green. They have turned purple from the cold. Sweet potatoes rot in storage when they see temperatures below 55F. Those roots are seeing a lot colder temperatures now. When I planted them the soil was in the mid 60Fs.
Not everything is hating the weather though. The spinach is happy to see cooler temperatures. It looks like it is ready for its first picking.
The garlic and onions seem to be really happy with the rain we had. They are both looking gorgeous. But no sign of scapes yet.
The carrots behind some bunching onions have no trouble with our dip in the temperatures.
I'll leave you with a photo of the garden entrance. I keep thinking I need to climb onto my husbands car to get a good photo of this. I've yet to get a photo that really shows the whole garden well. At my last house the land had a slope so it was tilted when I took a photo. And I had a good view out my dining room window. Here there really aren't any good vantage points. So I take photos of bits of the garden.
If you notice in that last photo, Kronos, my daughter's dog, is behind the garden gate. My daughter is back in Canada now, but I still have her dog for the summer. She is staying with a friend who is allergic to dogs, but she promises me that she will get an apartment in September that allows them. So for the summer I'll have a partner with me.
It has been a roler-coaster here as well, 87 on Monday and 38 this morning. I also planted out my sweet potatoes over the weekend and squash with melons so hope they won't get damaged, especially my very sensitive Luffa plants. :(
ReplyDeleteOur current problem is an excess of rain. Temperatures are not too bad. The only thing you can be sure of these days is that you have to assess the weather on day-by-day basis.
ReplyDeleteWhat variety of spinach is that? Mine has been very disappointing - tiny leaves!
ReplyDeleteSpace spinach
DeleteChilly indeed! We've been having our usual cold spring nights, down to 41F the night before last, but it certainly gets warmer than 50F during the day. More importantly, the soil temperature is staying warm. Your garden is looking lovely now, I love your entrance.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I hope the heat loving plants survive the cold weather. It is a reminder of just how fickle the weather can be sometimes. The spinach looks lovely. Maybe the cold snap will help it to hold on a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteYou just never know with the weather - last year we had a dip to -1°C (30°F) right after the tomatoes were already in the ground - everyone was frantically trying to cover all their frost tender veggies. Thankfully, they did survive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for your sweet potatoes. And your garden is beautiful - absolutely love the arbour with the climber on it!
ReplyDeleteIt was 40 degrees here this am, but nothing was damaged - except maybe the squash seeds. I haven't gotten the beans in yet. I am hoping for nice warm weather and some more rain.
ReplyDeleteDid it really get that cold last night? All I remember was that I needed to turn on our gas fireplace immediately when I got home from work last night. I hope your sweet potato vines are ok. Oh, and I'm glad you posted the last picture. I've always been curious to know what your garden looks like as a whole (or as close to that as possible).
ReplyDeleteI think we got down to 38 last night too. My tomatoes in the garden are doing ok. They are not happy, but there was no foliage damage. The peppers haven't been transplanted yet, but they spent the night outside too. Cruel treatment for sure.
ReplyDeleteI hope your sweet potatoes are ok. I love the picture of the carrots with the onions in the foreground. Lucky you to have gained a temporary canine companion.
This weather anymore is enough to make us gardeners pull our hair out! Your picture of the entrance to your garden is so pretty. At least you have a well behaved dog to doggie sit! Nancy
ReplyDeleteMaine here. I didn't put my tomatoes out yet, but they are clearly sick of being in the basement under lights. May be another not great tomato year... The favas love it; loads of green garlic and daily asparagus all month so there are some satisfactions.
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