We have had plenty of time on our hands lately for riding bikes and taking walks. We’ve also spent a large chunk of time on home projects, including our vegetable garden. Anyone that has spent much time in the Sierra knows that vegetable gardening can be a crapshoot. Take a look at this week’s forecast and you’ll recognize the challenge.
Yes, those temperatures in the 80’s this week have been a delight. But fortunately, being kind of a weather nut, I’ve seen the coming cold temperatures on the horizon. Lately, we’ve been stuck in a pattern with warm weekdays and chilly weekends, so this comes as no surprise.
Last summer, we actually only saw one stretch of 13 frost free nights. This spring, we had some extra time on our hands, since we weren’t skiing. We moved our raised beds to a new location in the yard, right next to the house against a south facing wall. We also got bold and put our potatoes into the ground in mid-April. So far they have endured a dozen or more nights of frosty temperatures and light freezes with just simple light coverings.
Saturday night is looking extra cold, for June, with a low of 25° forecast for my neighborhood. We already have some tomato fruits set and that has me a bit worried. Yes, these are “cheater tomatoes”, on a plant that came in a gallon pot from Home Depot. It’s really the only way to have a fighting chance with tomatoes in the Sierra.
We’ll be pulling some old tricks out of our hat for the weekend. These include putting in the “Wall ‘O Waters” that I finally located in the garage and a heavier multi-layer covering over the beds at night as temperatures drop. Enjoying home grown tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and onions later in the summer and fall will make all of the effort worthwhile. Tomatoes do taste better when you know they cost you somewhere around five or ten bucks each.
If you’re considering gardening in the Sierra, I would recommend checking out Slow Food Lake Tahoe. Normally they do classes to teach some of the best practices for success in gardening. This year those classes are “virtual classes” and the recordings are available here.
Well, of course, the minute I hit “publish”, I received the email with updated details on the Ikon Pass Assurance program. It’s going to take another 48 hours or so to digest the changes, as it’s not simple. Look for a post on the Assurance updates in a couple of days.
Love your posts! Knee replacement two weeks ago!! Skied til closing this year. See you on slopes this winter!
Nice work Mark and Ann! I have old/beater down comforters. Lemme know if you want them to drape over.
Thanks but we’re have a pretty good selection at ready!