We are into the first few days of May and we still haven’t had a 20°C (68°F) day this year. Our mildest day of the year occurred way back in March when the temperature reached 17.7°C (63.9°F) on the 17th of the month. It’s relatively unusual for us not to have reached 20°C (68°F) by the end of April.
April finished in 9th equal in average temperature over the last 14 years just a little below average. It also included a few frosty early mornings which slowed down both seed germination and seedlings growing on once they were transplanted.
Rainfall for the month has been around average with just over 45 mm (1.8in) of rain this month. The outcome is that the ground at the allotment is in good condition for both digging and planting out seedlings.
Surprisingly, we seem to have had plenty of dry Aprils so that 45mm (1.8in) of rainfall, which isn’t a large amount makes this April the fourth wettest since 2010.
However, that doesn’t mean to say the weather has been all that bad and we have managed to make some progress at the allotment. On the positive side, all our potatoes are now planted, and luckily they haven’t stuck their heads above soil level, and so haven’t been caught by any of this week’s frosts. Plants in the greenhouse have survived the frosty nights but are taking their time at growing away quickly.
Hopefully, it’s now going to be a little bit milder and I’ll be sowing more tender seeds, such as squashes, courgettes, and cucumbers as well as runner beans, French beans and sweetcorn.
