Thursday, 02 March 2017
February 2017 Dull and Mild
February finished up dull and mild. For the first time in the seven years I've been keeping records the temperature didn't fall below 0°C or 32°F during the month. Of those seven years only 2011 was milder with an average temperature of 6.6°C (43.9°F) compared to 6.4°C (43.5°F) this year.
Ossett Average February Temperatures 2010-2017
As you can see three of the average February temperatures out of seven years have been more or less the same around the 6.4°C (43.5°F) so nothing unusual about this year's value.
Using solar radiation values as a measure of brightness we haven't done very well with this year finishing up sixth out of seven years. Rainfall for the month has been very slightly above average with 47.2mm (1.86in) against an average of 43.6mm or 1.72in.
I've now got to resist the temptation of sowing seeds too early as we head into March. If we get some nice sunny days it's difficult to resist the temptations of getting off to an early start. The exceptions to this will be leeks, broad beans, onion sets and early potatoes in bags. We're hoping to get these sown and planted over the next few days. They will be left to germinate and grow on in our cold greenhouse before moving outside into the cold frames before eventually being planted out on the allotment.
Saturday, 04 March 2017
Sowing & Planting
March got off to a bright but rather chilly start but since then it's turned dull and damp.
Temperature, Solar Radiation & Rainfall 01-03 March 2016
Thursday was bright and sunny, if a rather chilly March day. In the greenhouse it felt pleasantly mild as the sunshine lifted the temperature inside at the least. We decided to make a start on sowing and planting some broad beans, onion sets, shallots and a bag of early Casablanca potatoes.
We always sow our broad beans in modules and plant them out as plants in the allotment. We've done this for many years now and had good results so I see no reason to change our method.
Our onion and shallot sets are planted in a similar manner. However, the left over onion and shallot sets will be planted directly into the plot later in the season.
We haven't tried to grow early potatoes in bags for a couple of years now. I'm not sure why as we've had some success in the past. We're planning at least one bag growing at home, initially in the greenhouse, before it moves outside by the cold frames as space in the greenhouse is needed for more tender crops.
I'd like to get a couple of bags planted up in the plot greenhouse too if I can get round to it.
We made a video of our sowing and planting done on Thursday.
Sunday, 05 March 2017
Wouldn't You Know It
Saturday turned out to be a lovely sunny March day and with only a gentle breeze it felt mild in the sunshine. It tempted us down to the plot. We've had a fairly dry winter and that has meant that the soil had remained workable and we've managed to renovate some areas of the plot. However, now sowing and planting time is upon us the weather's decided to turn a bit wetter.
Temperature & Rainfall 02 February - 04 March 2017
As we walked on our grass paths there was a rather unpleasant squelching noise. The result of the recent rainfall is that the soil is too wet to cultivate and we'll need a spell of dry weather before we can get any beds prepared. Our well trodden path to the shed is now not much more than a muddy and slippery path rather than a grass path. I've started tipping some wood chippings onto it to make it a bit easier and safer to walk on.
I found a couple of old unused concrete paving stones and incorporated them into the newly laid wood chips. I'll cover the rest of the muddy path on our next visit. Well that's the plan. I'm sure grass will soon grow through the chippings once some better weather arrives.
We did do a little bit of harvesting to keep us supplied for a few days. Our parsnips have been very good this year. Saturday's specimens were dug out of very muddy soil and need a good wash before they were ready for the kitchen.
Parsnip - Gladiator
I shouldn't complain about the weather too much though. It is only early March after all. Here's a photo of our daffodils on 04 March this year.
04 March 2017
This is how they were suffering last year on the same day.
04 March 2016
Unfortunately the forecast for the next week doesn't look like that spell of drier weather is on its way just yet.
Monday, 06 March 2017
A New Wildlife "Pond"
After a bright start to the day on Sunday it soon clouded over with rain starting around lunchtime and continued into the evening.
It never rained all that heavily but falling onto already soggy ground won't have helped the soil on the allotment dry out.
When we visited last Saturday the ground was already soggy and rather than try to do any cultivating I decided to sort out a new wildlife area.
We've been planning to incorporate some sort of wildlife area just outside our plot greenhouse in this grassy and neglected spot.
We thought a little pond might be a good idea to give the birds somewhere to drink. We'd be able to watch them from our shed patio as we drank our afternoon coffees. It all needed sorting out and last Saturday I decided to get started. The video below shows the "construction.
Tuesday, 07 March 2017
Daffs In Full Swing
Monday was a lovely March day with some long sunny spells and no rainfall. Luckily we missed any showers that were forecast. In our small front garden the daffodils are at their best.
I've finished editing a video of our other activity on the plot from our visit on Saturday.
Disclaimer
This weather site is operated as an amateur weather station site and should not be used as official data. I make every effort to ensure my data is as accurate as possible but I cannot guarantee that the data meets the requirements of the Meteorological Office or other professional weather monitoring organisations.
©M Garrett 2016