Now it looks like summer

All those lovely sunny evenings, with no fog made me wonder if we'd get into our usual summer pattern.

Last night, I nearly had to turn on the navigation gps (fondly referred to as Laurie) in order to find my way home. The bands of fog were rolling in thick dark swirls. Which is interesting to watch from the driveway as they power over the hill to cool the sweltering silicon valleyites, but not much fun to drive through. I've only observed fogs like this in San Francisco and Pacifica (keeper of the fog). I was always amused that it could be sunny everywhere, but Pacifica remained socked in. Although I also noticed when the rest of the Bay Area was fogged in and dreary, Pacifica was bright and sunny. This sometimes is the case with Elkhorn, especially on our hillside; we are sunny while others are fogged in. When the high pressure system is over us and the Valley is baking, you can see Moss Landing and the ocean quite clearly. When we have the usual summer pattern, and the fog burns off, it's hit and miss whether or not you can see the ocean. Sometimes, it's amusing to look out and not be able to see Moss Landing for the thick fog that settles over it. Then you turn and you can't see the little neighborhood shop at the bottom of the road. Depending on the time of day and wind patterns, it might recede once more and give you a glimpse of the ocean, or it can swirl right over and sock you into it's cold wet layers.

So, if you grow tomatoes or any other warm season plant, you can imagine the difficulty of the situation. I was talking to a friend who mentioned how Pam Pierce, author of Golden Gate Gardening, seemed to have such a despairing outlook on warm season vegetables. I agree, it can be frustrating to the point of despair, but I feel sure that there is a tomato plant that can muster through such difficulties. They grow palm trees in Virginia Beach, VA - so why not tomatoes in Sunset zone 17?