Well, the tomatoes in my makeshift greenhouse made it through the first couple of frosts, but not through the 25° one a couple nights ago. I got my days screwed up and thought the hard freeze was supposed happen Saturday night/Sunday morning, not Friday night/Saturday morning. First thing in the morning (still only 29°), I thought I’d actually gotten away with screwing up–most of the leaves were still meaty and bright green. But by the evening, they were all curled up and dark. Boo. I think the problem might actually be that I watered them the day before (thinking I still had a full day for it to get taken up by the roots), so the soil around the roots may have been waterlogged and frozen.
On the bright side, the tomatoes are unharmed, and the extra month I teased past the first frost means that most of the green tomatoes are mature enough to ripen on their own, good news. For now, I’m going to leave them where they are. If the forecast is still calling for freezing lows during Mitten School, I’ll probably cut the vines and bring the whole things inside and hang them up in my office or another of the cooler rooms to ripen slowly. Otherwise, I’ll let them just ripen on the vine outside. I think the sunshine will produce the best flavor. And the parsley, sage, and oregano are still in great shape.
I’m sad I didn’t keep them alive through Thanksgiving, my hope, but it’s still pretty fucking awesome to have ripe, homegrown tomatoes in November. And I’m kind of psyched to pull them up in the next few weeks and plant some greens in their place. Once Mitten School’s over, I’ll have some time to properly cover the front and back of the house and get it a little more snug in time for winter.
Speaking of Mitten School: QUINCE & CO YARN!
I missed the best light, but you can still tell how gorgeous it is. And so soft and bouncy. The heathery colors on the right are the lining colors, a wool/silk blend. I’m making up the kits this week–I’ll shoot them when they’re all finished.
If you’re feeling envious about Mitten School, it’s not too late to sign up–and we’ve added a Day Camp option for localish people. I went a little overboard with extra yarn so everyone could have some wiggle room to switch colors, so we can definitely make room for a few more students.
You wanna to know how excited I am about Mitten School? I’m so excited that I’m not even stressed out. Me, angsty-pants. I’m a cucumber, baby! My only concern is which colorway to pick. But as the host, I have the luxury of dithering as long as I want.
Okay,back to laundry time. I may not be anxious about it, but those sheets and towels still ain’t gonna wash themselves.
Oh wow your green house looks great…..and congratulations for having tomatoes in November. Heck o pete we can’t even get them during normal growing season these days. This years crop was extremely disappointing. We don’t have a good way to water and the lack of moisture this summer really took it’s toll. You are such a hard worker.