Down to 37 tonight - should I pick all the tomatoes?

[platys]

I've had a horrible tomato season this year, thanks to planting late and a huge heat wave right when I had my big blossoming. I did manage to get more fruit to set last month, and I've been praying for the weather to stay warm. Tonight and tomorrow night, its getting down to 37. Then, it'll warm up to a low of 45 after that.

Should I just pick all my green tomatoes and hope I'll get some ripening inside?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by platys

I've had a horrible tomato season this year, thanks to planting late and a huge heat wave right when I had my big blossoming. I did manage to get more fruit to set last month, and I've been praying for the weather to stay warm. Tonight and tomorrow night, its getting down to 37. Then, it'll warm up to a low of 45 after that.

Should I just pick all my green tomatoes and hope I'll get some ripening inside?

It's supposed to get down to about 34 Fri and Sat night and then warm up starting on Monday so when my helper Freda was here this AM I asked her to pick anything that had a blush and she did.

And left the rest of the greenies out there. If they were ripe ones the cold would not be good for them taste-wise but immature ones, not so much a concern, at least for me.

[Mudman]

29 here tonight and 32 tomorrow night. I just got in from harvesting all blushing tomatoes and melons, cucs, etc. It is really early this year for me but I got a good harvest so I can't complain. It is always exciting watching for that first frost and piling the kitchen counter high with veggies. I guess it is time to make sauce.

[delltraveller]

Pick things that are blushing, if you want. Then throw a couple of sheets over your plants, or your favorite plants with the most potential. For 37 degrees, I probably wouldn't even worry about covering since I live in the city and objects tend to hold some extra heat. They're mentioning 34 here, but it's pretty breezy. I was going to cover, but I don't know how well things will stay on with the wind at the level it's at. The wind whipping the covers off could to more damage than the temperature.

[tam91]

37? Really? (eeek, off to check the weather for here)

[delltraveller]

Originally Posted by tam91

37? Really? (eeek, off to check the weather for here)

-
Tomorrow night, too, so get all the eeeking out of your system all at once.

[cornbreadlouie]

This thread makes me sad. Already getting to be that time of year. Thouh I'm not expecting frost for at least another month.... Times like these when I need property in the southern hemisphere

[BigBrownDogHouse]

I've checked for blushing tomatoes, picked them.....covered up my hot peppers. I have hundreds and hundreds of Thai and Tabasco peppers that aren't quite ready yet.
Concord grapes are turning purple fast. Fall is quickly appoaching.

What a bummer! What happened to Summer!?
They are calling for 34 tonight, yikes!

[Gobig_or_Gohome_toms]

I picked all my blushing tomatoes tonight but most were pretty much ripe and needed picked anyway hoping that me being in pretty much surrounded by lake minnetonka that we will stay well above freezing and that it will warm up again for all the other green tomatoes still on the vines.

Craig

[Keiththibodeaux]

Originally Posted by platys

I've had a horrible tomato season this year, thanks to planting late and a huge heat wave right when I had my big blossoming. I did manage to get more fruit to set last month, and I've been praying for the weather to stay warm. Tonight and tomorrow night, its getting down to 37. Then, it'll warm up to a low of 45 after that.

Should I just pick all my green tomatoes and hope I'll get some ripening inside?

At 37, they should be fine if you can keep the frost off of them.

[ssi912]

wow, cant wait for cooler weather. it was 90 here today with 80 percent humidity. it has been a hot year.

[Douglas14]

I checked a couple of internet weather sites. They both forecasted 28 degrees F here tonight. I thought I heard 25 degrees F for a low tonight on the radio. I covered four of my plants, and picked many of the blushing ones(not all, as it got dark too fast). I hope the frost misses many of you... I don't think I'll be so fortunate.

[salix]

We've had at least 3 light frosts here, but not a killing freeze. As the above posters did, just picked what could potentially ripen indoors and then hoped for the best. Actually, I think the foliage provides at least a few degrees of protection. I am more bummed about the early onset of darkness than the colder temperatures.

[miken]

They've raised the predicted low up to 38 here in Lincoln NE, so if the wind isn't too brisk my garden should be OK. But I think this is the earliest I've seen this kind of temperature in the 34 years we've lived here.

[platys]

We did have some rain earlier in the day, but the plants themselves were already pretty dry. I don't have any blushers. I don't even have any maybe kind thinking about blushers.