My first year for growing tomatoes and I'm ever the optimist and am hoping for something. I have 3 different varieties growing in containers and have my eye on one that's finally starting to ripen. Lost a few that split from the rain we had last month.

Should I be picking off the new flowers now?

We've been eating vine ripened tomatoes for about a week now. This year I tried a new variety to me, Manitoba. The size of the fruit on this one is a little on the small size for my likes but has a good flavor. Still trying to find an open pollinated determinate variety so I can save my own seed. Celebrity is a variety I've been growing for years, I really like this tomato but being a hybrid saving seed from this one is useless. Anyone have any suggestions on an open pollinated, determinate variety I might like? Early to mid-season as late varieties most years don't have enough time to ripen up here.

A......

We haven't had more than a few days of decent weather since November 1st! It's hard to believe that it is the middle of August and we are looking for warm sweaters and long pants. My tomatoes are not ripening.

Here south of Portland we finally got a few raindrops today! How I wish it was a cool wet summer like you lucky Washington folks got. Here it got very hot in April and pretty much stopped raining then. Weatherman said last 8 months all way below average rainfall. My 300+ baby trees much prefer real rain to tap water watering. Already everything's perked up. See a lot of new flush growth happening, that autumn spurt, hard to believe the plants feel the season beginning to change. Last year at this time it was searingly hot and hardly any clouds even all summer. So this summer down here, even though no rain, was a vast improvement because at least there were clouds.

My south neighbors just put up a 6' wood fence all along our shared property line (I have chainlink) and it's wonderful providing some shade from the scorching sun and puts a break in the wind tunnel there.

I look at real-time satellite pictures many times per day and have been so envious of Washington / Canada's west coast cloud cover.

It has been the coolest and wettest summer that I can remember. My garden and lawn are usually very brown and crispy by August, but this year everything is still green and lush looking. My perennials have really apreciated all the rain and I have loved not having a $200 water bill. My fall bulbs are already starting to bloom. The cyclamen and colchicums are coming up every where. They usually don't start blooming until the 1 or 2 week of September. They think it's fall, and it certainly feels like it. I hate to see the summer come to an end so quickly though. Hopefully we will have a warm sunny fall and a milder winter than last year. We deserve it after last year's horrible winter weather. Karen

Ian,

It sure has been wet and cool. My tomatoes have ripened some fruit, that the deer haven't eaten, but I don't think I will be getting any more, between the cool weather and the deer.

Several summers ago we had a cool summer. It was the summer you brought some eucalyptus over to my house. It was August and raining like heck and you told me that the agave and yucca wouldn't make it where I planted them because they were standing in water. You were right. The agave didn't make it but the Yucca schottii did. It was the dryest spot in my garden in summers past, that is why I planted them there, but the soil was hard pan and water stood on it. Agaves don't like that as I learned. I think that was about two summers ago.

John

I was just talking to my sister in SoCal and we were commenting on the highly unusual weather we've been having. But we are not alone........other parts of the world have been experiencing some unseasonal weather as well. All part of the "non-existant" global warming phenomenon, I guess. I'd like to think this means we can look forward to a long and very pleasant Indian Summer type fall, but I have absolutely nothing to base that on except my earnest hopes and wishes :-)

So far my tomatoes have performed on schedule - I've been harvesting the Sungolds and Sweet 100's for several weeks now. And everything else in the garden is doing well (including the most amazing assortment of weeds - anybody else with a brand new selection this season?), although the maiden grass is yet to produce any plumes and the echinaceas are only so-so in flowering. And no sign of blossoms on the big crape myrtle at work. But this has been the best year I can remember for my clematis and all manner of flowering shrubs and trees. And my maples and the water bill are loving this weather!!

This is definitely the coolest, wettest spring / summer I can remember here. We have only had 10 days in the entire year where the temperature made it to the average or was slightly over. That leaves over 200 days where the temperature was below average.

Some things are very happy, rhodos, dogwoods, most of the big trees. My gunnera and inula are ecstatic. A number of the perennials such as penstemon, and late blooming shrubs are not as happy.

I hope it does warm up for a bit so the berries will ripen properly (I love blackberries and have the battle scars to prove it;-)

Cheers,
MG

Here is a link that might be useful: Our website

On the plus side, most of the garden, including the lawn looks great but I have yet to pick any beans or tomoatoes!
In the 37 years I've lived on the west coast, this has been the coldest, wettest summer. Maybe we'll experience a warm Indian summer? Doesn't hurt to dream...

On the plus side, I've been picking fresh peas from my garden all summer! Not a lot, but I love them raw and there has been so much cool weather that the same plants just keep producing. My beans are going crazy now and I'm giving them to everyone.

we just moved here at the end of October 2006, moving into our house Dec 3, 2006, yes, just weeks prior to the windstorm, knocking out our power. We moved from So Cal, where I had flowers everywhere I could, some, not where they wanted to be, but where I wanted them. Thus, I haven't bought any plants to speak of yet, as I'm trying to learn the seasons, and be sure to plant where they'll be happiest. Is it too late to plant some perennials or should I concentrate on getting the beds ready to plant in the spring? We're in Juanita area of Kirkland, between Kirkland and Bothell.
Thanks

I just heard on the news a weather person saying that this type of summer is more normal than the one we had last year. He could be right. I was born and called Western Washington home for 58 years. Usually August and September are our driest months, but I have seen it rain so hard in August that rivers flooded. My father's parents moved to Aberdeen in 1906 and said that it never stopped raining there, except that in the summer the rain was a very fine mist instead of a heavy shower like it normally is in the fall, winter, and spring. They also couldn't ripen tomatoes or corn until the 1940's. I don't know if it was because of a weather change or plants were developed by then that could ripen in a short, cool summer that we usually get.

Weather seems to go in cycles, so if we are heading back to a cool wetter cycle, then maybe we had better get use to gardening with ferns and moss.

Norwega - you can plant perennials now, just be sure to keep them watered until winter (in case it doesn't rain again, or is drier where you are). You might not want to plant difficult or cold-sensitive perennials in the fall or winter.

In a couple ways this summer has just made up for last year. While not unusually hot, just a little bit warmer than average, last summer was extremely dry. Last summer the hot weather always coincided with weekends, and this summer the cool rainy weather is usually coinciding with the weekends.

As for what is thriving in this weather... it's true, the ferns are doing splendidly this year. So are all my Chilean rainforest plants, alpines, and most anything from New Zealand. And the Fuchsias - wow!

I can remember having a big rain in August in the past (or two in quick succession), but this year we had several decent rains including three in late July (really odd) - of course, I know not everyone got what I did. I think it has been cloudier and cooler for me this summer since I moved up into the Puget Sound Convergence Zone, the western edge of which usually sits right over Poulsbo.

Also, I remember summer two years ago being just a bit on the cool side, but I don't think it was quite like this. It was actually just about average in the end. I haven't bothered to figure out how cool this summer has truly been based on the stats so I'll admit to basing this thread on perception. If the rest of summer is nice it may yet turn out to be just a degree or two below average, despite the effect on the plants. For a really bad summer, how about 1954 - the last year Sea-Tac experienced no months with an average high temperature above 70. Our summers ARE getting a little bit warmer over the last 100 years, but just by a degree or two - and they are certainly not getting drier. 200 years ago, everything was quite a bit cooler, glaciers larger, etc. as we were still in the 'little ice age'. But most of the warming from that event occurred 1820-1880; warming has been a lot slower since that time.

Of course Aberdeen is another story as you know, because of its proximity to the coast. I can't say I've ever driven out there and seen things dry and brown like they usually are in summer in the interior.

Oh and Yucca schottii I think is a definite winner for our climate! Very impressive and surprisingly undemanding! Here is one in a Seattle garden.

July 1st was the only sunny day in Portland that fell on a weekend in July.

We had three weeks of overcast skies in August. It sometimes burns off to sun but it has been a very gray summer.

The temps aren't all that off though according to the newspaper. The newspaper also said to expect a rainy fall and winter.

We have only turned on our AC for a few days during hot spells that occurred suddenly and then were over. Not at all in August.

I have some plant damage mostly to new transplants from sudden hot spells but the lawn has never been greener in summer and I've been watering much less than normal.

I can't believe Oregon City has been so different since it is a suburb of Portland. Maybe being up the bluff from the river makes a difference?

It's peculiar and frustrating, the lack of rain here. When I'm in West Linn or Lake Oswego it can be downpouring and when I get to Park Place Oregon City there's barely drizzle on the street. You'd think so close to the Willamette and Clackamas there's be more rainfall -- guess I'm too far up the bluff. Wish some of the excessive rain in November / December would fall in April - September.

The Old Farmer's Almanac says Fall 07 here will be wetter and warmer than normal. That sounds really good. I've got leaves turning too early. Now that the baby trees are starting to grow I don't want to see the leaves fall. The purple robed locusts and shademaster locust have already lost their inside yellowed leaves.

Have a baby sycamore getting the most beautiful huge leaves -- want summer foliage to last 3 more months. Have hardly any room left in yard but will have to plant some winter interest brightly colored bushes so this winter isn't so depressing. At least the willow grove is sprouting huge amounts of branches so the birds flitting about the thicket this winter will be entertaining.

Is it called rain shadow or banana belt when the geography lessens the rainfall?

I just drove to Seattle on business and saw trees turning all along the route. You aren't alone there.

I don't know about rain shadow or banana belt. I think banana belt refers more to being warmer than surrounding areas though.

When I worked in Wilsonville, it would be different there than it was at my house in SE Portland, often. I'd leave in rain and arrive to sun and vice versa.

Maybe I'll move to Oregon City, I hate rain.

Ian,

Do you know where I might find Yucca schottii. I don't want seed if I can get away with purchasing a plant. Let me know.

-Brian

I'm thinking 2007 will go down as a cabbage year, glad I didn't schedule a wedding. The short term weather trends can twist, turn and do 180's. This could be an echium winter, you never know. It's the randomness of payoffs that keep you in the casino.

When I got married back in 1989 I was afraid to schedule it outdoors even though being married in a garden was the most appropriate place for my wedding to be. I decided I did not need the extra stress of worrying about it for months. It turned out to be a lovely weekend, of course.....

I live in SE Michigan in a Microclimate near the Great Lakes. I've successfully planted and nutured two Chinese Fan Palms, we need to cover them with leaves After our Oaks fall around Christmas and uncover in early March. I am now trying two Monkey Puzzle trees. A historic photo of the the Mariners Museum in Detroit shows a huge monkey puzzle tree back from the 1940's.

Soooo, I'm am trying them in my well drained yard. I've heard that some grow as far north as BC and Seattle. Can anyone help with any type of Winter care. We do occassionally get down to single digits, and last year had 3 days near zero at night. I hope they make it, if history tells us anything they should.

The only difference is that Michigan has a very long hot and humid Summer and a milder winter in along some shorelines than most of the Midwest. That is why Michigan grows fruits like OR and WA. However, our heat can be intolerable during a good part of the summer.

Please Help.

There are quite a few large Monkey Puzzle trees here on Vancouver Island. About 15 - 20 years ago, we had a very cold snap in mid October and that killed a lot of marginal plants, including some very large MP trees. Usually, our temperatures decline gradually and sometimes in Jan-Feb we get very cold weather, down to 0 F or so and they seem to live through this just fine. Mind you, the cold weather never lasts more than a few days to 2 weeks or so. I've never grown one myself so can't help with that part of it. Good luck, it's fun to push the zones.

Looks like summer is finally here! 86 degrees in Hoquiam, wow.

Think it was about 96 here, Ian. Knowing it was coming, spent the whole weekend watering the really dry spots but don't think it helped; even the tree mallow looks scorched. At least one more day of this 90 degree stuff. Yuck! The asters lining the path are starting to bloom and the blue flowers are intense. The sumac looks on the verge of turning color. Maybe its time to start thinking autumn. Its my favorite season anyway.

Been scorching hot here for several days now, plus east hot winds. Drive down the street, see piles of leaves everywhere, tinder dry and yellow, crispy.

I'm finally getting some tomatoes now. They're protected from the rain, but they don't get any extra heat.

26 days below average and counting.....

I got plenty tomatoes this year. First one rippen in greenhouse, then I had to share my outside ones with slugs.
Last week i harvest all tomatoes that were growing outside, greens were pickled, half-greens are hanging in garage (I have removed them with branches).
For me it was not such a bad summer. I liked that my lawn stayed almost green (I don't water it a lot), i got plenty of veggies. Well, i want to cry about raspberry, heavy fall crop but rotting-rotting.

Here it went from summer to winter, no autumn like we usually have with a delightful indian summer. In the middle of August the clouds were a merciful relief from the awful heat and scorching sun but no rain beyond a tiny misting. September 27 there was a dramatic pouring crackling thunderstorm that broke rainfall records for the date, and ever since then it's been cool, overcast with frequent rain.

From watching the satellite photos all summer, you fortunate folks in Washington State got a lot of cloud cover and cool respite during the summer. I need to move to Washington ... close to the Canadian border ... more rain, lots more clouds, more rivers and lakes, more kayaking!

If you don't like it hot you would like it better up there. You might not like the frigid winds blasting down the Fraser River, however. A few exposed neighborhoods near Bellingham feature trees which have all their branches mostly on one side. A more conspicuous hint is the groves of native paper birches that appear along I-5 north of Everett, continue to be seen off and on all the way to Vancouver. Paper birches only grow natively in cool climates.

Bboy thanks for the temp indicators. Didn't know about the frigid winds. Is there a more sheltered spot between Everett and Canada that gets the clouds and rain of Western Washington but isn't windy? Almost moved to Bellingham decades ago but was afraid it would be too cold and too wet -- that was before the climate changed so much here and before I started kayaking, which is one of the most deeply enjoyable ways to experience nature I've encountered. Kayking way better up in NWWa. In 1986 saw Lake Whatcom and wanted to live there, so beautiful. Too expensive even then!

What's the primo growing spot?

There's plenty of agriculture around Mount Vernon, including, of course the famous flower bulb fields, as well as a USDA experiment station with demonstration gardens. Most appealing area seems to be flats west of town (see current Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK for climate zone patterns).

Otherwise, crowds seem to be fleeing Seattle for the Island County environment of Camano Island. Olympic rain shadow influence gives parts of Camano same shrubs-and-fields aspect as Willamette Valley, although not so flat. And much cooler than Portland. Salt water almost all the way around, too.

Statistical records would indicate that last summer wasn't really cooler than normal after all. Here are some numbers from Sea-Tac airport showing last summer's temperatures and a few other selected interesting years. These data are all available from the Western Regional Climate Center website.
June high/low
July high/low
August high/low
September high/low


Average
69.4/51.4
75.1/54.7
74.8/54.9
69.4/51.4


2007
69.3/51.3
77.3/58.3
74.8/56.4
67.4/52.6


2006
72.2/54.0
78.0/56.9
77.1/54.7
72.4/52.2


1993
68.6/52.5
68.7/53.6
74.9/56.0
73.5/50.2


1958
73.0/54.9
81.4/56.2
78.3/54.8
68.1/51.5


1954
64.8/47.8
69.5/50.7
68.6/52.6
66.2/51.1

....of course, last summer may have been cloudier than normal, or more annoying than normal.... but these numbers don't tell you that!

Here's a note from this morning's forecast discussion at the Seattle NWS office.

Climatology...Seattle is currently on a streak of 5 consecutive
months of below normal temperatures ( through August ). July and
August ended up pretty close to normal...just a half a degree below
normal for the two month period. The hot spells over the Summer have
masked just how cool it has been for Seattle. Taking a look at the
number of days with highs 70 degrees plus so far this year the
number is only 54. The average number of days with highs 70 or above
during the year for Seattle is 84. On average Seattle will get
another 11 days before the end of the year with highs 70 plus. The
record for the least number of days 70 plus in Seattle at sea-tac is
46 days in 1955. The top 5 is rounded out by 53 days in 1954...65
days in 1980 and 1964 and 66 days in 1956. 1954...1955...1956 and
1964 were all La Nina years. It is certainly possible that this year
will end up in the top 5 for the least number of days with highs 70
plus. Felton

...thinking back fondly of the lovely summer we had in 2007....LOL. Actually, it's not so bad, because the slower my plants grow, the less I get behind on potting them up.

"Hot spells"? I'm surprised there were that many days above 70F.

I want a rerun.

Thanks for reminding us of other poor summers. It shows that this one was not an anomaly.

Summer 2007 was really not that bad, temperatures were close to normal and it just seemed bad since it was cloudier than usual and rain fell at odd times. Summer 2008 on the other hand I recall as being slightly cooler than usual but not feeling that bad because there was much more sun. But in neither case were we approaching any records.

So apparently the equatorial Pacific has just experienced about the most abrupt transition ever to a very strong La Nina event. We're almost certain to have a colder winter than usual this year - possibly much colder. ENSO conditions in the fall are a very useful predictor of winter severity. As far as that goes our current scenario is setting up quite similar to the winter of 1988-89, an excellent analog year except with La Nina conditions not as strong as with this current event.

Another event liable to result in a cold winter is I just bought more small plants from Ian.