December Tomatoes

The cherry tomato plant doesn't seem to realize it's December.  We had a cold snap last week, and it got down below 40 three nights in a row.  I thought that would kill it, but it seems to be rebounding.  There are a few frosty patches that are probably cold damage, but the majority of the plant is fine.  I trimmed off the dead or dying parts, as I've been doing all year.  As you can see, that pretty much stripped the bottom half bare, but the newer parts of the vines just don't know when to quit.

There were some fully grown tomatoes on dead branches when I pruned them.  They were in various stages of ripening, from solid green to ready-to-eat.  Those are at the bottom of the photo.  I made a mixed jar of pickled tomatoes and got nearly a pint.

One thing I've never had to deal with before in a garden is weeds.  My vegetables never lasted long enough to worry about it.  With only the remaining green onions and tomatoes as competition, weeds are starting to take root.  I'll have to remember to pull them weekly during the winter, or it's going to be a mess in three months when I go to  plant something else.

I had also assumed that everything would die when I put soil in the empty pool, and did not fill it.  I'm not sure how much new soil I can add next year if the asparagus and tomato are still there.

This may sound like I'm complaining, but I'm simply trying to come to terms with the reality of a successful garden.  This has never happened before!