Jeremy Siegel: This is GBH’s Morning Edition, and here to answer your questions about the weather and gardening is GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. Good morning Dave.

Dave Epstein: Good morning Jeremy. Good to be here.

Siegel: It’s great to have you. So before we do get into listener questions, let’s talk just a little bit about how beautiful it is outside. I think you said in your forecast this morning you wish you could bottle it up. How long is this going to last? Because I know we have the fifth named tropical storm of the season happening right now, Ernesto. Are the models showing that this could disrupt our beautiful patch of weather?

Epstein: Yeah, it’s not going to affect our weather in any way. It could bring some rip currents to the beach this weekend, but any of our weather as it goes downhill this weekend is not going to be related to Ernesto. So it’s going to stay way too far offshore. But some of the waves could reach our shoreline. To answer your question, I think the nice weather continues up till Saturday. It goes downhill a little bit over the weekend. I think that we are going to have some more showers and more cloudiness for the weekend, but until then it’s looking pretty good save for a quick shower here tomorrow afternoon or evening.

Siegel: All right, let’s get into some listener questions here. Emily wrote to us and says, I’ve grown tomatoes in the same raised bed for several years now, in a very small urban plot. This summer, I’ve seen more signs of disease than ever, even losing a plant entirely early on. Do I need to replace all of the soil in the bed? Is there anything less expensive that can be done?

Epstein: Yeah, it’s a great question. So it’s funny, I just moved my tomatoes from vegetable garden A to vegetable garden B this year for exactly this reason. If you keep planting tomatoes — or for that matter, any vegetables, but especially tomatoes — in the same spot in the same soil, you’re going to eventually get disease. And it’s really difficult. So you could, Emily, go online and sort of Google how to kind of fumigate your soil. It’s really not an easy thing. It’s probably also not easy to remove the soil as well. Here’s what I would say is, plant very heavy disease resistant plants. Take a year off from your tomatoes, move them into containers if you can. Maybe get them out of the raised bed and put them in some pots for a couple of years. You can also spray with an organic fungicide right from the beginning. As soon as you plant those things next year and continue doing it every six weeks or so, that should help. But I would try to get them out of that soil and let the soil breathe for a couple of years. I know it’s difficult, but that’s the problem.

Siegel: So when you do the two tomato beds like you do, is it kind of like a mini version of crop rotation? Like one year you have the tomatoes in there, and then the next year you plant something else and go back and forth.

Epstein: Exactly. So I’ll leave them where they are this year, next year. And I didn’t have much disease at all because they haven’t been in this bed for five years. So this year I’m having a very disease-low year. Last year I had to very disease-high year because my tomatoes were in their third year in the same spot.

Siegel: We have a weather question coming in from Teresa in Tiverton, Rhode Island. She writes, under global warming, I’ve been hearing people complain that it feels muggy even on clear, cloudless days. Could it be a facet of global warming for New England to feel more muggy than ever in the past?

Epstein: Absolutely. So the data does show that our dew points on average are rising. So we’re seeing more days where the dew points are in the mid 60s to lower 70s. We I think had the second-longest streak of 70 degree dew points in July. We had, the first July on record where the average dew point, I hope I get this right, was 65 or higher. So this past July was, by some measures, depending on how you look at it, was the most humid July on record. And that is just going to continue. Warm air holds more water. More water means you feel more humid. And that’s the trend. And yes, indeed it is different than 30 years ago.

Siegel: Last time we spoke, Dave, we talked a little bit about the Perseid meteor shower, and a couple listeners have let us know that they went out to view it. Shout out to Peter in Lexington who wrote in last week with the tip of looking northeast for the best Perseid viewing. Did you end up getting to see the meteor shower, Dave?

Epstein: Yeah, I did not go out for the meteor shower this year. I have done it in years past. It just wasn’t something that was feasible. It’s also kind of late. I’m an early person, up at 4:30.

Siegel: Well, you know, one of the listeners who wrote to us saying that they did it said they actually regretted it the next day. They felt the early morning blues after.

Epstein: I think it would have been easier for me to get up at 3 in the morning and look at it at that point rather than stay up late, so.

Siegel: We have a beautiful day ahead. What should people be trying to do in the garden right now, Dave?

Epstein: Yeah, so yesterday I planted carrots. I put in some kohlrabi, I put in greens. I also put in beets. So, leafy greens and some of the shorter growing root vegetables can all be planted. Now, you could put spinach in. You can put radishes in. Daikon radishes should be planted now. They’ll be absolutely beautiful late September into early October before we get a hard frost. So those are things that can all go in the garden.

Siegel: That’s GBH meteorologist Dave Epstein. Dave, thanks so much.

Epstein: You’re welcome.

Siegel: And a reminder, if you have a question for Dave, you can send them to thewakeup@wgbh.org or text (617) 300-2008. 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.

Have a gardening or weather question for meteorologist Dave Epstein? Email us at  thewakeup@wgbh.org or text 617-300-2008.

I’ve grown tomatoes in the same raised bed for several years now. It’s my only outdoor space in a very small urban plot. This summer I’ve seem more signs of disease than ever, even losing a plant entirely early on. Do I really need to replace all the soil in the bed? Is there anything less expensive that can be done to ensure healthier plants next year? —Emily

Yes, tomatoes planted in the same soil year after year can be more susceptible to disease, Epstein said.

“It’s funny, I just moved my tomatoes from vegetable garden A to vegetable garden B this year for exactly this reason,” Epstein said. “If you keep planting tomatoes — or for that matter, any vegetables, but especially tomatoes — in the same spot in the same soil, you’re going to eventually get disease. And it’s really difficult.”

He suggested a few alternatives to replacing the soil: A process called soil fumigation, in which pesticides are applied to the soil to kill off any fungi. But if it’s done, it should be done carefully.

“It’s really not an easy thing,” Epstein said.

Another option: Planting another crop in the soil for a few years.

“Plant very heavy disease resistant plants,” Epstein said. “Take a year off from your tomatoes, move them into containers if you can. Maybe get them out of the raised bed and put them in some pots for a couple of years. You can also spray with an organic fungicide right from the beginning, as soon as you plant those things next year and continue doing it every six weeks or so, that should help. But I would try to get them out of that soil and let the soil breathe for a couple of years. I know it’s difficult, but that’s the problem.”

Will Tropical Storm Ernesto affect New England weather?

Tropical Storm Ernesto is in the Caribbean, bringing heavy rains to its northeastern islands as it approaches Puerto Rico. As of Tuesday morning, forecasters with the National Hurricane Center were expecting the storm to strengthen into a hurricane Thursday.

Ernesto does not have New England in its path, Epstein said, and we likely won’t feel its effects.

“It could bring some rip currents to the beach this weekend,” Epstein said. “It’s going to stay way too far offshore, but some of the waves could reach our shoreline.”

Under global warming I’ve been hearing people complain that it feels “muggy” even on clear cloudless days. Knowing that CO2 in the atmosphere drives warming, and that warming drives an increase in water vapor content, could it be a facet of global warming for New England to feel more “muggy” than in the past? —Theresa Krebs in Tiverton, Rhode Island.

Yes, Epstein said — a warming climate means more humid days.

As average temperatures rise, so do dew points, one of the measurements meteorologists use to track how humid the air is.

“We’re seeing more days where the dew points are in the mid-60s to lower 70s. We, I think, had the second-longest streak of 70 degree dew points in July,” Epstein said. “Warm air holds more water. More water means you feel more humid. And that’s the trend. And yes, indeed it is different than 30 years ago.”

What can I plant in the garden in August?

Epstein is spending mid-August planting carrots, kohlrabi and some leafy greens with shorter growing seasons, like spinach.

“Leafy greens and some of the shorter growing root vegetables can all be planted,” he said. “Daikon radishes should be planted now. They’ll be absolutely beautiful late September into early October before we get a hard frost.”