The Northeast Weather Blog...

cc - what do tomato plants cost. if you get them in the ground in a week or so and you lose them to frost you go buy new plants and get them in the ground for memorial day. i always get my fragile vegetable plants in the ground 2 weeks early and have yet to be disappointed.

blizz - i would still look into have good composted dirt delivered. it looks like you need about 2 cubic yards. i have never had great luck with bagged dirt except to amend the soil.

Blizzard- I did have a touch of frost this AM, 31.3 F at my place. Thankfully, I had crops covered. Looks like I'll be covering them again tonight.

Blizz,

Yeah I get those rogue wind gust reading as well. 106 mph a few weeks back. This time it wasnt the Heavy Weather, it was the Ambient Weather that transmits my data. Here is my link, check out the graph. Link

Already down to 32.

Hi cchamp. Just a tip for planting tomatoes early. First plant the tomato deep, which is always a good idea for encouraging strong root structure. Then if you take an empty, and washed, gallon milk jug and cut the bottom out, it can be pushed into the ground over your tomato plant. Leave the lid off until frost threatens, then pop the lid on. In the morning, pop the lid back off before the plant cooks. The jug is like an cheap cloche.

I used to do this with a few tomatoes just to get them going early, but now I sink a few plants in a large container and keep them close to the front door until almost Memorial Day. Which is also my frost free date.

Thats a really good idea. I think I will wait 2 weeks to plant them. I would hope it will be safe after that. I will keep that idea in mind though if I change my mind.

22 degrees here this morning!!!

what a beautiful morning here. the sun is out and everything is nice and green. we had a low of 36.1 F overnight.
another advice for tomatoes for everyone. dig a hole sideways and on a slant. lay the plant on that slant with the roots in the deepest part of the hole. trim off all leaves except the top 2 or 3. take some newspaper and wrap once around the stem where it comes out of the hole to protect against cut worms. cover with dirt and keep the top leaves above the dirt. the tomato plant will use that stem underground and send out roots throughout. the leaves will stick up to the sky within a day. it will straighten to the sun. don't try it with other plants. something to do with the tomato stem.

Hey Blizz,


According to the NBC weather guy in Hartford, it was the coldest reading in the state. New record at Windsor Locks of 28 degrees. Pretty cold stuff for May 1 !!!!

raspberrypatch- i've tried that slant planting trick for tomatoes, it works! I haven't tried the newspaper, though. Planting my tomatoes this weekend!
low of 30.9F here this morning, got some light shower activity earlier this evening.

jthal - the newspaper should just be a strip and like i said it is to protect the stem where it comes out of the ground from cut worms. i have never seen cutworms around my stems, but it is a good precaution and the newspaper will decompose.
i hope to get my vegetable garden in completely this weekend with tomatoes, zuchini,cucumbers, carrots, beets, peppers, sugar snap peas, lettuce and onions. my potatoes are starting to come up. if you want to grow a hot pepper grow a tabasco. from your garden it can be extremely hot. when i make tabasco sauce with the peppers i have to blend it outside because the fumes take your breath away. and when i grind up the dried peppers again you have to take it outside. and when you use the dry powdered tabasco the tiniest amount goes a long way.

raspberry-thanks. Happy planting!!

Good morning Blizz. This morning it looks like I'll be clipped by the showers to the north. Hopefully we won't get very much rain for the moment, I was planning on planting more onion plants, radishes and peas. It already 60 here; quite a change from Tuesday morning!