Monday 08 May 2017
Allotment On Hold For A Few Days
We don't seem to be able to shake off this persistently cool dry weather with a cold north easterly breeze. The lack of rainfall means that our seeds and young plants in the allotment need regular watering. It's rather odd watering when the weather's cold and not very pleasant. We could do some more planting out as our new perennials are ready and waiting in the cold frame.
However, it's much easier to keep them watered at home than if they're planted out in the allotment so I'm planning to delay planting them for this week until we get some rain. If the current forecasts turn out to be correct that should be on Friday.
The graphic shows that if the forecast turns out to be correct we can expect some decent rainfall on Friday. The temperature is forecast to remain on the cool side so I think our perennials will be OK for another week.
On Sunday we visited Hodsock Priory to see the bluebells.
When we visited to see the snowdrop in February I thought that there were lots of snowdrops but I think that there's even more bluebells. The rest of the garden was open for us to have a nosy around too.
If you'd like to see more of the bluebells you might like to watch a video of our walk through the bluebells woods by clicking here.
Tuesday 09 May 2017
Coolest Day of a Cool Month
It's May and I should be reporting that it's warming up but May is so far turning out to be a cool month. Monday was the coolest day so far with the temperature reaching just 11.2°C or 52.2°F. It was cloudy too and on an afternoon visit to the plot to water our seeds it felt more like March.
Temperature Record for May 2017
I've included a video tour of our plot filmed on Monday.
Thursday 11 May 2017
Cold Spell Ends But Not The Dry Spell
Wednesday saw an end to the cool spell of weather brought about by a chilly north easterly breeze. With mostly clear blue skies all day long the temperature reached a very respectable 21.2°C or 70.2°F.
Temperature Record for 05-11 May 2017
The lack of rainfall is now getting some media attention. Some reports suggesting it's the driest spell in Yorkshire for around 20 years. Now my records don't go back that far but for us, in total, it's the driest winter and spring rainfall I've recorded.
Rainfall Comparisons for Winter & Spring 2010/11 & 2016/17
This winter was drier than 2010/11 as we had only 101.0mm (3.98in) of rainfall compared with 146.1mm (5.75in) in 2010/11. However, this spring has already been wetter than 2011 as we've had 52.4mm (2.06in) this year compared with 43.3mm (1.70in) in 2011. The total rainfall for winter and spring 2010/11 was 189.4mm (7.46in) compared with 153.4mm (6.04in), so far, for winter and spring 2016/17.
It looks as though we'll be doing more of this at the allotment.
.jpg?crc=3783507476)
Friday 12 May 2017
Frosted Potato Disaster
Everything seemed to be on the up. The weather had improved enormously from a few days ago and we set off in the afternoon to plant out some lupins in our revamped long, border bed. As it still hadn't rained we expected there would be plenty of watering to do to keep us busy.
Once we've emptied the car of all the necessary allotmenting tackle, the first thing we do is have a look around the plot to see how things are progressing. Only the first thing we noticed wasn't exactly progress it was more of a set back.
Main Crop Potato - "Cara"
Many of our potatoes have been caught by a late frost. As you can see they haven't just been caught around the edges of the leaves they've been damaged severely. I expect them to recover from minor frost damage but I can't remember them being damaged so badly before.
The potatoes in this bed escaped virtually without damage even though a bed close by had far more extensive damage. We'll have to wait and see if the badly damaged plants recover and produce a crop even if it's later than planned.
We did manage to get on and start planting up the renovated rose border. Our new lupins were moved from the cold frame at home into the new border. The soil is very dry so once we had dug a planting hole we filled it with water before planting the lupins.
Once planted they were given another good watering to settle them in. It looks like we might be watering them in for quite a while.
Saturday 13 May 2017
Rain Gauge Stays On Zero For May
A while ago it looked like Friday would be the day the dry spell broke. As it turned out for us it wasn't the case. Friday was a dull day and at times the cloud was heavy enough to produce a very light drizzle but it never amounted to enough to register on my rain gauge.
Temperature & Rainfall Record for Last 4 Weeks
The chart above shows the rainfall I've recorded over the last 4 weeks. We've had nothing at all so far in May and that blue in April amounts to a grand total of 12.2mm or 0.48in. Showers are forecast over the next few days so perhaps we'll be lucky enough to catch a few of them.
In our home greenhouse our peaches are starting to swell a little bit.
Peach - "Avalon Pride"
At least I know I'll have to keep watering the trees in the greenhouse.
Sunday 14 May 2017
It Rained But Not A Lot
In the early hours of Sunday morning we got our first rainfall of the month.
Temperature & Rainfall Records for May 2017
It was our first rainfall for 15 days which is unusual for us. However, it was only 2.8mm (0.11in) so it's unlikely that such a small amount will have done any more than dampen the top of the soil and we'll still be busy watering the allotment. There is more rain forecast for the coming week, so our watering duties might be coming to an end.
I started erecting our sweet pea supports on Saturday.
It will be made from our coppiced hazel branches. Pushing the sturdy poles into the ground was difficult. I was using a large dibber made from an old wooden spade handle to push into the ground to make a hole for the poles. However, as the ground is so dry the hole filled back up with dry soil as I was removing the dibber. Once all the uprights are erected they will be braced diagonally and horizontally to make the whole support more rigid. Our sweet peas are almost ready for planting out so it's a job I need to get finished. I don't think Sunday morning's rainfall will have made the ground any easier for erecting hazel poles.
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