Paris Alston: You're listening to GBH's Morning Edition. We are getting a bit of a break today from the wet weather that's become all too familiar this summer. But enjoy it while last because later tonight, more rain is in the forecast. Here to break it all down and to answer your questions about the weather and gardening is Dave Epstein. Good morning, Dave.
Dave Epstein: Good morning, Paris. Good morning, Jeremy.
Jeremy Siegel: So a reminder to everyone listening that you can text your questions about your garden or about the weather to Dave at 617-300-2008. Again, that's 617-300-2008. If we don't get to them today, we will try to next time we have Dave on. So Dave, we do want to get to the listener questions about gardening. But first, I just want to mention that we've gotten a ton of photos from listeners around the region, like Megan in Somerville, Peter in Andover, showing how widespread and intense the flooding was earlier this week, on Tuesday. And tonight we have a chance of what looks like it could be more severe weather, right? How bad could it be?
Epstein: Yeah, I think so. We've got a flood watch up for most of central and eastern Massachusetts for tonight. It's not the same scenario, right? And I think one of the things that happens is like last Friday, we thought there might be some severe weather and heavy rain and people woke up to zero. And then Tuesday, we said there'd be severe weather and possibly heavy rain, and obviously we had it. Again tonight, we have the possibility. I think the highest risk is actually south of the Pike. I think that some areas could miss it altogether. Again, it's going to be the sort of, the atmosphere's charged, the atmosphere has what it needs. But does it all come together at the right time, or does it kind of come together a little more splotchy? The reason it's a watch is because it's saying the conditions are favorable for the potential for flooding. But we don't have any flood warnings out. And there's a chance you wake up tomorrow morning and you just haven't had a lot of rain. So we're right on the edge of whether or not this is going to manifest itself or not. But, you know, be aware. The good news is it's overnight. It's not going to affect anyone's outdoor plans. By tomorrow morning, we're back to clearing — sunshine, low humidity. It looks gorgeous tomorrow, up near 80. Saturday looks pretty good. There might be a few thunderstorms Saturday night or Sunday morning, again, not 100% for everybody. And then we should clear out again Sunday.
Alston: Well, Dave, in any event, you have mentioned yourself on your Twitter, or your X account, I don't know what we're calling it these days.
Epstein: Twitter.
Alston: Twitter. But that, you know, these events, we're going to be dealing with these more often. And of course, they may not always be at night, right? And we know that many, many people got their cars stuck and that some of that severe weather, the flooding we saw the other day, you also had retweeted that the town of Billerica received more than 100 calls about residential flooding the other day. So what are your tips for dealing with that?
Epstein: Yeah. I mean, I think that if you're someone that's prone to basement flooding, certainly when you see the potential for a heavy rain event like this, you want to kind of go downstairs in the basement, make sure that things are elevated a little bit. I mean, if you've got two or three inches, you know, a pallet, something as simple as finding a pallet, those can be readily gotten from all sorts of different places. There's a farm up from where I am that gives away the pallets for free over in Sherborn. And so, you know, you put your stuff on a pallet, I've got a bunch of those in the basement. Also, maybe if it's happening frequently, it might be time to think about a sump pump or something like that. But the climate models do show that New England is apt to have more of these events. That doesn't mean they're going to occur all the time. It's like if one of these events occurs once every, I'm making it up 25 years, it may now occur every 22 years and then eventually every 17 years. It's not like we're going to go from not having a lot of these events to all of a sudden they're just going to be occurring every single summer.
Siegel: We're talking about GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. Let's get to some listener questions. We have one from Teresa in Billerica who says, What should I do about all the green tomatoes on the vine when it is raining super hard? Are they lost or can I bring them in and ripen them somehow?
Epstein: Nah, you just want to leave them out there. I mean, I would not bring them in because ripening tomatoes, the flavor is not as good. You know, if we were talking here late September or early October and we had a frost coming and you were going to lose them to that, I'd say, yeah, pull them off. Maybe you could, you know, fry them up. Fried green tomatoes are delicious. You can pickle them. That's really good. Sometimes if they've started to ripen, they'll ripen on a windowsill. But now, this time of the year, we're still August 10. Just leave them alone. They'll be fine.
Siegel: Could they explode in the rain, though?
Epstein: You know, cherry tomatoes, small cherry tomatoes, if they get a lot of water, they can crack. They don't explode. What happens is the tomatoes actually get a crack and then that crack can be susceptible to things like fruit flies or even a little bit of fungus. It happens to my tomatoes. I just leave them. And then what I do is I bring them in. Where that crack is, I just cut it off and eat the rest of the tomato, or I use them for tomato sauce or something.
Alston: That reminds me, I used to go to my grandma's garden and just pull them right off the vine and eat them right away. Love it. Well, we also have a question from Nicole in Worcester, who is growing dahlias for the first time. Shout out to you, Nicole. Nicole says they planted tubers in early June. They don't have buds yet and are wondering about pinching, fertilization, what tips do you have, Dave?
Epstein: Yeah, I mean, dahlias are a great plant. I have a bunch in containers. I love doing them in containers because they're easy to pull out. They're not hardy, so you've got to take out the tubers later in the winter. This time of the year, you still have plenty of time for the dahlias to be forming their buds. You can give them some liquid fertilizer that's specifically made for flowers. So there's, you know, a lot of them are called like bloom busters or happy blooms or whatever.
Alston: We need T-shirts that say Bloom Busters.
Epstein: Yeah. That'll help a little bit. But I wouldn't, you know, worry. We've still got all the way until, depending on where she is, October before you get a frost. What you want to do is — by the way just fast forwarding, once they get their first frost and the plants' tops die, then I dig them out. I put them in the basement and you can go Google kind of how to store them over the winter, and then next year you can replant them. And as they get bigger, they tend to produce more flowers year after year.
Siegel: We have a question from Connie in Natick, who says, My husband's tomato plants just aren't producing fruit this year. Same plot purchased at two different places, same as previous years. Any thoughts on that?
Epstein: Yeah, I mean, one of the problems could be that the nutrients from the previous years are pulled out of the garden, right? You plant a tomato plant, it uses what it needs in that spot. And if you don't replenish with nutrients that especially are specific for whatever you're planting, in this case tomatoes, then they can't produce as much. We have had a lot of rain. I don't know what type of tomatoes they are. I'm hearing a lot of reports of a lot of folks with green tomatoes just not ripening as quickly. I think that we have had a lot of cloudiness. Certainly in July, we've had a lot of moisture. So things may just be a little bit late this year, but have some patience as well.
Alston: So very quickly here, Dave, Penny was asking about what action from Perseid, the meteor shower, we can hope to observe. I was reading that it means to face your fears, at least astrologically. Do you have any growing wisdom around that?
Epstein: You know, we just want to wait for a clear night. I think Friday night should be a great night to see the Perseids. It's a wonderful meteor shower because unlike some of the other ones that are in the winter, it's comfortable so you can get outside and watch them. It tends to be better after midnight, in the wee hours of the morning. But even as early as 10, 11 p.m., you can go watch them. And it's a fun thing to do with the kids. I used to take campers from Camp Kingswood up in Maine. I used to take them all to the ball field. We'd all lay down on blankets and watch it. One of my favorite memories.
Alston: Oh, that sounds so much fun.
Siegel: That is GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. And you're listening to GBH's Morning Edition.
Meteorologist Dave Epstein is our go-to person for pressing weather questions on everything from winter blizzards to summer droughts. He’s also a horticulturist, meaning he’s an expert in anything that grows leaves and flowers. GBH's Morning Edition asked our audience for weather and gardening questions, and Epstein graciously answered them on the air. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Tweet him
@GrowingWisdom, email us at
thewakeup@wgbh.org, or text 617-300-2008.
There’s a flood watch for parts of the Boston area Thursday. What does that mean? What should I do to prepare?
Conditions are favorable for flooding, Epstein said. But whether Eastern Massachusetts sees more torrential rain Thursday night or more of a smattering of showers remains to be seen, Epstein said.
“I think the highest risk is actually south of the Pike,” he said. “I think that some areas could miss it altogether. The atmosphere's charged, the atmosphere has what it needs. But does it all come together at the right time, or does it kind of come together a little more splotchy?”
Some areas might not see much rain at all, he said. But depending on atmospheric conditions, some places could also see the same flooding Massachusetts had on Tuesday.
“The good news is, it’s overnight. It’s not going to affect anyone’s outdoor plans,” he said. “By tomorrow morning, we’re back to clearing — sunshine, low humidity. It looks gorgeous tomorrow, up near 80.”
People who live in homes that tend to flood can prepare by raising their items off the ground. Epstein recommended getting pallets from nearby stores or farms and using them to raise whatever’s being stored in their basement by a few inches.
“If it’s happening frequently, it might be time to think about a sump pump or something like that,” he said. “The climate models do show that New England is apt to have more of these events. That doesn’t mean they’re going to occur all the time. It’s like if one of these events occurs once every — I’m making it up — 25 years, it may now occur every 22 years and then, eventually, every 17 years.”
What should I do about all the green tomatoes on the vine when it’s raining super hard? Are they lost, or can I bring them in and ripen them somehow? — Teresa from Billerica
This summer’s rainy, cloudy weather means tomatoes may be slower to ripen, Epstein said.
“I think that we have had a lot of cloudiness,” he said. “Certainly in July, we’ve had a lot of moisture. So things may just be a little bit late this year, but have some patience.”
For now, leave those green tomatoes on the vine, Epstein said.
“I would not bring them in because ripening tomatoes, the flavor is not as good,” he said. “If we were talking here late September or early October and we had a frost coming and you were going to lose them to that, I’d say, yeah, pull them off.”
But since it’s only August, Epstein said, they should be OK on the vine. Some smaller cherry tomatoes can crack if they get too much water, he said. If that happens, fruit flies or fungi can get into those cracks — but picking the tomatoes, cutting off the cracked part, and eating them fresh — or using them in a tomato sauce — is still a good option.
If you’ve already picked unripened tomatoes, there’s a small chance they may ripen in a sunny windowsill. If they don’t, try frying them up or pickling them, Epstein said.
“But now, this time of the year, we’re still at August 10. Just leave them alone,” Epstein said. “They’ll be fine.”
My husband’s tomato plants just aren't producing fruit this year. Same plot, purchased at 2 different places, same as previous years. Any thoughts? —Connie in Natick
The soil may be depleted of its nutrients, Epstein said.
“You plant a tomato plant, it uses what it needs in that spot. And if you don't replenish with nutrients that especially are specific for whatever you’re planting, in this case tomatoes, then they can’t produce as much,” he said.
New organic soil or compost could help, he said.
Hi Dave! I’m growing dahlias for the first time. Planted tubers in early June. No buds yet. Any tips? I heard about pinching? Should I fertilize? —Nicole from Worcester
Dahlias are a great plant, Epstein said. They can produce colorful blooms with bushy petals, and — if cared for properly — will produce more flowers year after year.
“I love doing them in containers because they’re easy to pull out,” he said. “They’re not hardy, so you’ve got to take out the tubers later in the winter.”
Nicole’s dahlias still have time this season, Epstein said.
“This time of the year, you still have plenty of time for the dahlias to be forming their buds,” he said. “You can give them some liquid fertilizer that’s specifically made for flowers. So there’s, you know, a lot of them are called like bloom busters or happy blooms or whatever.”
When the first frost comes, likely in October, preserve the bulbs for winter.
“Once they get their first frost and the plants' tops die, then I dig them out,” he said. “I put them in the basement and you can go Google kind of how to store them over the winter, and then next year you can replant them. And as they get bigger, they tend to produce more flowers year after year.”
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What action from Perseid can we hope to observe this year? — Penny
Friday night should be beautiful and clear, Epstein said, perfect for watching meteors.
“It’s a wonderful meteor shower because, unlike some of the other ones that are in the winter, it’s comfortable so you can get outside and watch them,” he said. “It tends to be better after midnight, in the wee hours of the morning. But even as early as 10, 11 p.m., you can go watch them.”
It’s also a great activity for kids, so long as they don’t mind a disrupted sleep schedule.
“I used to take campers from Camp Kingswood up in Maine,” Epstein said. “I used to take them all to the ball field. We'd all lay down on blankets and watch it. One of my favorite memories.”