Yesterday morning was the first (light) frost of the year. I was not even aware it was going to get that cold! I guess I was just not paying attention, i.e. watching the news. The temps officially got down to 33 degrees F, which to me means in some areas it did freeze.
Happily, it didn't do too much damage to my more tender plants at home. Just a twinge of grey and wilt on a few spaghetti squash leaves. The tomatoes stayed relatively unscathed.
However, my tomatoes at the community garden raised bed (ORB) were affected. When I visited I noted a good amount of dieback in the outermost, newest leaves.
So, last night I was paying attention, and I laid protective sheets over all my tomatoes last night -- both at home and in the ORB. I'm going to do what it takes to shield my tomatoes through the winter this year.
Anybody know the right thing to do with dead/frozen tomato leaves? Remove or let remain?
Wow- I didn't know zone 13 temps got down that low! I don't know, but I would probably remove the frozen leaves. It's not doing it any good. Good luck protecting your tomatoes. I covered mine with sheets for a while, but this week we are supposed to be in the 20's for several nights, so I have bid adieu.
ReplyDeleteYep, temps do get down around freezing a handful of times a year. Only in the wee hours, though, when on clear windless nights the heat just gets zipped up into the atmosphere. I'm a little embarassed because my mom and I just gave a talk on protecting winter veggies from frost and wind (blush). I should have been paying better attention to the weather reports!
ReplyDeleteSorry about your tomatoes! Did you have any still on the vine? With last year's frozen green tomatoes I kept them in a bag for a few weeks. Ripened up just fine!!!