The temperature has really dropped today so I am guessing that week 37 will be the week that never was. But still … what an innings!

There was a “firmish” frost this morning – but this photo was taken yesterday and the flowers and green fruit were most definitely there – not the healthiest of plants – but hanging on regardless. The photo to show the gorgeous blue sky above is a wonderful calendar contrast to last year when  it was all snow clouds overhead and drifts and ice underfoot! Will the real November please stand up?

Outdoors, I still have a few plants with foliage – those mid October frosts were hard but not enough to get plants in sheltered positions. Indoors, I still haven’t put my heating on. I’ve given it a quick blast to make sure it still works – which it does – but it’s still all very mild.

There’s probably some big freezer cabinet door that’s being slowly cranked opened that will release all the wrong kind of weather in our direction – and I’ll soon be eating my words ( and the scattered frozen peas that fall out at the same time if it’s anything like my freezer) but for the time being, this year has been very odd for having all the right weather at the wrong times!

And given that lots of people use St.Patrick’s Day as the calendar marker to sow tomato seeds by – that would make it a full seven months today since home growing got going.

I think the week ahead saw the first frost of last year – so I wonder what I’ll be writing this time next week. Still in possession of some green stems – or if the curling fingers of Jack Frost will have closed the curtains on 2011?

For tomato growers – this summer has to be the movie equivalent of those films where only those who haven’t crushed their popcorn buckets and flipped up their seats by the time the credits finally reach the end of their roll – get to see those last few frames – snuck in right at the end. An unexpected and joyful burst of the story you thought had reached its finale.

So even though I can’t count myself as an “active” tomato grower as most came to a blighted end – if it hadn’t of been for that – I would still have plants and fruits – and so would have notched up a full fortnight of tomato growing over the half year hump! And all outdoors. I think there’s a celebration in there somewhere. But in the meantime, I will just celebrate being back – and seemingly able to remember how to publish a blog post!

Still, if some plants can hang on in there for another couple of week then it will be that 26 weeks of my year was spent “growing tomatoes”. This year – not the best! But that’s ok, as I know next year doesn’t have to be much better – to be amazingly better. And whilst I know nothing about weather forecasting – I feel in my very under-tomato-nourished bones that next summer is going to be a tomato bonanza!

Saturday – my phone bleeped with a blight warning text.

It’s no wonder the garden looks such a sorry sight!

I pulled a couple more plants this week. Only those where the stem was black and beginning to sprout tufts of white fluffly mould. Not quite the wholesome, home grown image I was aiming for.

However I also picked some tomatoes – and they were fine. It’s parallel worlds out there right now!