I haven’t posted for a while as I was hoping for some sort of change in our weather. I last posted regarding our cold start to July and how after the first couple of weeks it was the coldest July I’ve recorded in 10 years. Well, a week or so on and there hasn’t been any great change and we are still waiting for some warmer weather to arrive.
The actual values might not be too obvious but the bottom line is the average temperature this year is vying with 2012 for the coldest in ten years. After the first 21 days of 2012 the average temperature was 15.0°C (59.0°F) with this year slightly cooler at 14.8°C or 58.6°F. Our average July temperature over the last ten years is 17.4°C or 63.3°F.
Both daytime highs and nighttime lows are well below average for July and the result is that vegetables that prefer the weather a little bit more summer-like are struggling.
Our runner beans are struggling to grow up the canes and some of the plants are already starting to flower. I can only think that the cold weather is playing a part in slowing the growing process down. I suppose there is plenty of time for the runner beans to grow and produce a crop as they’ll continue growing right through to the start of some frosty nights.
Our courgettes and squashes are struggling a little bit too. They seem to have taken ages to produce a decent amount of top growth. The photo above is our best Crown Prince squash just producing its first flower. We’re just starting to pick our first small courgettes.
However, it’s not all bad news. Our carrots appear to be enjoying the cooler weather.
Under their environmesh duvet, to protect them from carrot fly, they have produced some lovely healthy tops so I’m optimistic that we’ll have some tasty roots underneath.
We’ve got some nice blackcurrants to pick and it would be so much nicer picking them if the weather would warm up a little bit and we got some pleasant sunshine.
Judging from the weather forecasts I think we’ll be picking them in temperatures more appropriate for spring rather than summer.
