The scary hoarfrost (radiation frost to all the scientist out there)!

Friday the 9th turned out to be warmer than predicted, so no problem with the blooms.  As of today, Tuesday the 13th, we now have pluots, asian plums, american plums and european plums in bloom.  The pears are close to bloom and most of the Ribes are close with a few varieties of gooseberries starting to bloom.  No problem with the Ribes, they can handle 24f to25f and have limited damage to bloom.  Plum blossoms can only handle temperatures down to 28f to 29f.  Once the fruit sets they can handle lower temperatures.  So I’m writing this blog at 11pm waiting for the low temp. and possible frost after midnight.  The temperatures are actually supposed to begin to rise after about 2am, so the critical period is 12am to 2pm.  So while having a cider and downloading some pictures from the digital camera, I wish some of the warmth from the pruning pile we burned on Sunday night would radiate off these pictures and out into the orchard.