I can't believe this weather!!!

[A&A]

Same for us. We're at N43.30 and it's been a balmy 20C over the last couple of days. That said, we had our first frost in October so everything is a bit backwards this year. The calendula are still flowering heavily & thus making their way into our salads still, the borage has finally finished and gone into compost. Everything else looks very autumnal, spectacular leaf colours everywhere - it's becoming my favourite time of year.

[Thomzo]

That said, we had our first frost in October so everything is a bit backwards this year.

You're in Italy and you've had a frost? All we've had here is a "bit on the cold side". The world is turning upside down not backwards.

Zoe

[A&A]

Yup, frost isn't too common for us in October - it happens but it's unusual. We live on the edge of the Appenine mountains and we're over 1000ft above sea level - so perhaps it's not quite so surprising. Don't forget a portion of the Alps are in Italy too and they've got snow now ;)

[Millymollymandy]

We usually have our first frosts in September (albeit not heavy ones) so they were late this year in October. Having said that it's not gone below zero yet and I've still got a tomato outside flowering and the fruit is slowly swelling and ripening!

[A&A]

Ahh you've done pretty well to still have tomatoes outside. Everyone here lost their outdoor ones in the first frost which went just below zero. It hammered the tobacco crop as well which was mid-harvest - caught all the farmers on the hop!

[Millymollymandy]

Bad news for the tobacco farmers - obviously you don't normally have such hard frosts at that time or they'd get the crops in earlier!

I had harvested all the other tomatoes green and brought them inside to ripen but just left that plant because it still had some tiny fruit not worth bothering about - not knowing they'd actually get bigger and ripen (it is a cherry though!).

[Green Aura]

Christmas tomatoes

[Millymollymandy]

Ha ha I might just manage it mightn't I? I keep watching the forecast and if it's still forecasted to be mild for another 10 days or so, but when there are frosts forecast I'll cut off the trusses of green ones then I should hopefully get a ripe one for Xmas! Now if they were red (they're yellow cherries) they'd have made interesting Crimbo decorations!