gardening weather

Every area has a semi-official last-frost date. Ours is mid to late May. Certain plants will be fine given some cold weather if they've been hardened off (acclimated to cooler-than-greenhouse temperatures). Even some somewhat tender plants like parsley will be ok if hit with a light frost.

the thing here is that albaturkey, while seemingly desert is at the very base of Sandia which is part of the Sangre De Christo mtns and the city/valley is still at 5100 ft. we can get desert climate coming in daily from the south-east with temps in the 80's F and a few hours later a winter storm rolls down off the Sandia dropping the temps back into the 30 degree range. It can be so nice at 4 p.m. and an hour later the furnace kicks in trying to keep the house warm. People get easily confused.

Thanks for the update, Dys.

Dys, I know exactly of what you speak. Imagine being another 2 thousand, plus, feet up and in a valley which produced a conversion layer. Santa Fe was tricky too. Happily I wasn't trying to garden there.

yes mane, my plastic flamingos are looking fab and the birds are as thick as canadians in February.

Fascinatingly similar to what I experienced in my former residence north Albany NY and with Northern Mass/NH border. I guess you guys have some real temp extremes there. Seems like you get robbed of length of season but you have a lot more sun there than I did.

It's gardening weather today in my part of MA. Sunny, dry and warm. I'm pulling dandelions with a device called a weed hound.

my cats find that hilarious...

I'm off to plant lettuce and some other stuff. we are done with frost. now just hella winds and heat.

oh, and hail...

Yesterday I put a sheet of plastic over the seedlings I planted a few days ago. Checked on everyone this morning and they don't seem to have been harmed. Except for the few tomato plants, the rest are cool weather veggies. I suspect I'll have to replace the tomato plants if it stays this cold for many more days here.

Planted my garden the other day. A woman gave a friend a tomato plant, which he gave to me. I planted it in the sunniest part of the back yard. I calculate that as often as I have to water it, I will be paying twenty bucks per tomato, assuming it produces any, which I rather doubt.

Tomatoes are an amazing fruit. I'll bet you get more yield than you think. And, most importantly, it won't be poisoned. I feel that the labor of our own hands is priceless.

Last time I planted tomatoes, I had about fifty on the vine when the weather changed and the plants died. None got ripe. I am in the remnant of a pine forest. Not ideal for a garden.

Oh, but I love pizza with some mozzarella and thin sliced green tomatoes..

FWIW, depending on how unripe they are, you can ripen some in a brown paper bag. Also, a few years ago I planted 2 dozen tomatoes right under some pines and did just fine. Though, admittedly I had reasonable weather.

Regardless, tomatoes have not been worth the effort, in my opinion, on this piece of ground.

Green tomato pie is actually very good. I avoided it for years but my daughter made one last summer. I couldn't believe how delicious a green tomato can be. I made two and my son who won't eat a red tomato ate the better part of both.

Here's the recipe we used. You can and should cut back on the mayo or else mix it with yogurt.

Summer Tomato Pie
James Villas, My Mother’s Southern Kitchen
One 9″ pie crust
5 medium size ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 cup chopped green onions, some leaves included
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup homemade mayonnaise or Hellman’s mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Prick the pie crust with a fork, bake 10 minutes, and remove from the oven.
Reduce the heat to 325 degrees
Cover the bottom of the crust with two layers of tomatoes.
Sprinkle on half the scallions, oregano, and basil and season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl, combine the cheddar cheese and mayonnaise, mix till well blended, and spread half the mixture over the tomatoes.
Repeat the layering process and top with the parmesan cheese.
Bake for about 45 minutes till golden and firm.
Let the pie cool some then slice into wedges.
Savory Tomato Pie
Same as above but replace cheddar cheese with mozzarella cheese.
Use 3 tablespoons basil.
Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Last week, the store was full of weird people. Today, it was full of gardeners. Everyone was pink from the sun and tired but it was a good kind of tired.

I don't do fancy cooking. I eat a very simple diet. Thanks for the suggestions.

I put in 2 different types of tomato plants 2 weeks ago. Various stages of size so I am not picking ripe tomatoes all at once. Still waiting for cucumber plants.
I will remember that I can ripen green tomatoes at the end of the season. The only vegs I will plant this year will be tomatoes and cucumbers.
The wind has been sweeping down the plains in ferocious gusts last week.