Ghosts In The Garden

We're enjoying typical Ohio weather this week. Let's see: blizzard, heatwave, drought followed by a hurricane, flooding and now freezing temps again. Okay, it hasn't been quite that bad, but over the course of 3 days, we're going from 15-20 degrees below average (yesterday) to 15-20 degrees above average (Friday). That's rough on the old body, not to mention the fruit-bearing plants and trees. The fruit trees, berry bushes and vines really enjoyed the warmer temperatures early in the month and are absolutely *loaded* with fruit, so I'm desperate to protect them by any means.


Jeff and I have become experts at protecting tender fruits from impending frosts. All you need is a length of fabric or plastic and extra large clothes pins. Oh, and you can't be afraid of looking like a doofus while you're out there plastic-wrapping your fruit trees. Jeff found some fairly inexpensive, fairly heavy window-type plastic that we've been using all year to cover the fruit trees and shrubs. It works well and can be used over and over, from one season to the next. Last year, we used lengths of a coarse black fabric, which worked well enough, but startled me every time I looked out the back window. It looked like someone standing in my backyard who ought naught be! So this year, we're using the plastic and it's not nearly as startling, but it does look like ghosts floating around in the garden!

Here's hoping for fair weather and a bumper harvest! Til then....

Best wishes from the Run.