The near-freezing night temperatures of the last week in Boise make it hard to remember that just a month ago, the city was close to triple digits. Is winter early this year, or is this quick transition actually pretty normal?
John McDade, the manager of the North End Organic Nursery in Garden City, says, in his experience, this pattern isn't necessarily out of the ordinary.
“This is fairly typical,” McDade said. “As we get into late September/early October, we’ll get a week or so of colder temperatures during the day and overnight. And then it’ll warm up again.”
But it’s still a good reminder that winter is just around the corner, and home gardeners need to prepare.
“You need at least a month to six weeks of decent weather before everything just stops growing. And we’re really at the point now that we’ve probably passed that,” McDade said. “So if you are going to plant, you really need to protect.”
McDade recommends covering home gardens with frost cloths or plastic sheets, or even using greenhouses if you can manage it.
Next week should be back into the 70s, so savor the warmth before it disappears again for good this winter.
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