Tuesday, 02 April 2019
Planting Starts in a Month of Two Halves
I think I might overuse the term "a month of two halves" but in the case of this March it has been very true weather wise. The first two weeks of March were wet and windy.
Rainfall March 2019
Up until the 18 March we didn't get a dry day. Some days it was only a little bit of drizzle, or a very light shower, but it rained in one form or another for the first 18 days of the month. Then nothing for the rest of the month, however there was enough rain in the first half of the month to make it the third wettest March in the last 10 years.
March Rainfall 2010 - 2019
That said, I think the windy weather for the first couple of weeks was worse than the rain. As areas of low pressure crossed the country, one after another, from west to east we were battered by strong winds every day. I think the two tables below give some idea of the scale of the windy weather with March 2019 third equal in my windiest months table.
All this meant that trips to the allotment went on hold, save for a couple of quick visits to harvest some fresh vegetables.
That said,
All that good progress we'd made in February seemed to be slipping away as we waited for the weather to improve. Eventually, the wind abated and the rain stopped, and the last couple of weeks of the month were pretty decent with a few warm sunny days. The 20th of the month took over as the warmest day of the year so far, when the temperature reached 20.3°C or 68.5°F. On the plot our plums and greengages started to flower.
As the last of the overwintering root vegetables were dug up, the first of this year's were planted. First early potatoes Rocket, Casablanca and Athlete have all been planted and we're hoping to make a comparison to see which of the varieties performs best for us. Rocket have been planted, almost as a sacrificial crop, in a bed cleared of weeds and brambles over winter so it will be interesting to see how they get on. We've also managed to plant our early brassicas, almost a month earlier than last year, so hopefully they'll be alright and won't suffer any nights that are too cold for them.
Early Brassicas, Cabbage - Regency, Cauliflower - Helsinki and Calabrese - Aquiles
Finally a word about the temperature through March. It's turned out to be a mild March coming in third place over the last 10 years.
March Temperatures 2010 - 2019
Despite a rather poor first couple of weeks to March, we've certainly not fallen behind in our allotment planting and sowing. I should admit to not doing all that much sowing in March anyway, preferring to do the bulk of our seed sowing in April when the temperatures are a little bit higher and the soil temperature a little more conducive to seed germination.