Go Little Tomatoes! Go!

I'm holding my breath for the tomatoes to ripen before the cold snap hits for good. We've gotten two Cherry Tomatoes so far and now they seem to really be taking off. I'm not gonna hold my breath for the Brandywines though, they're still green as ever and I don't think I'll be getting the pleasure of a red, ripened one anytime soon so I might as well kiss it goodbye. I'll try again next year.

Caught Up Now

Ok. I've had to dig to find the photos and stuff, but I've gotten all my garden blogs transferred over from two different systems. They've been back dated to when they were originally posted so scroll down the page to read them.

Frost Precaution

Ok. After looking at the weather reports, I changed my mind. I decided to be safe than sorry so I once again covered the tomatoes and herbs. It is supposed to be about 35 degrees F, but that is too close to take a chance. Tomorrow night it is supposed to be in the forties so I'll take my chances then. You can see in the above photo, they look like three little ghosts...aren't they cute?

1st Frost of 2007

I'm back! I've been trying some other private blogging, but I decided I didn't really like it. So, I'm back to the Google owned Blogger. Simple and, for the time being, works for me. I'll try to transfer those blog entries over when I get time. I will back date them so that they get filed correctly.

Anyway. Last night was the first hard frost of this year. I had gotten these plant "bags" for my poor tomatoes. Poor things are just starting to ripen...at least the sweet cherries. I have several Brandywine fruits, but they are green, green, green! I hope the weather holds out just a little longer so that we can have some juicy heirloom tomatoes. Yes. I'm being very selfish! :) The only evidence that there was a frost was on my Basil. Somehow the tops were exposed and frosted. When I went out this morning around 10:30, they were brown. I didn't bother covering my peppermints though and they seemed to have survived just fine. So did my Dahlias and other flowers I have. I looks like it shouldn't freeze tonight so I don't think I'll cover the plants again tonight.

For the record, the first frost of 2007 in Larimer County was on October 7th.

Fall is just around the corner

You can definitely tell fall is just around the corner. We had our first severe temperature drop today. As I write this at 3:30 in the afternoon, it is 63 degrees according to my weather widget. I’m sitting out on my porch enjoying this lovely weather and listening to the squirrel chirp above me in the tree. Perhaps he just discovered me down here and doesn’t like what he sees.
My poor tomatoes finally have some berries, but they are small and still very green. I fear they won’t make it before our first frost. ‘Tis the season to begin watching the temperature more closely. Last night dipped to 48 degrees and it is expected to dip to 44 tonight. I will have to think of some clever ways to keep my tomatoes alive a little longer. It may not me ideal weather for my plants, but it is absolutely perfect for me. Open the windows and let the fresh cool air in!

The Monsoon Season

The rainy season is here finally! We’ve been getting a good dousing for about 15-20 minutes every other day or so. The other days, the sky threatens, but nothing comes of all the rumbling and grumbling. It’s really too bad mother nature can’t spread out the rains more evenly. I’d funnel some of the water from Texas if I could. What a waste to have whole towns flooded and the rest of the region bone dry.

First Blooms

The first blooms have popped up in my Dinnerplate Dahlias. Two of my varieties have buds. I think this is the Lilac Time variety because it is beginning to show the purple tips. I will be excited to see what the others come up as. I've lost two varieties because I waited too long, but I managed to save five I think. I have two varieties that are still pretty small since they were planted later so I don't know if I'll get blooms out of them or not this year. I'm actually surprised they are doing as well as they are. I had to plant them in containers since the "real" garden is still full of weeds and clay soil. *sigh* Maybe next year they will have a proper garden to grow in. For now I'll enjoy what bounty I get.