Once again we missed any showers that were about. It was the sort of day that always
threatened showers and indeed some drops of rain fell in the afternoon. It’s what
passes as rain here these days, just a trace of dampness in the air but not enough
to register on the rain gauge which means less than 0.2mm.
I’ve grabbed my web cam images, stored by Weather Underground, at noon for most days
in May. Some days don’t have images I’m not sure why.
One of my set tasks this year was to tidy up behind the greenhouse to try to make
better use of the space. I’ve managed to finish this off now so we have a new little
area to grow some extra crops. The area behind the greenhouse is sheltered from the
worst of the westerly wind and is a veritable sun trap at times so some normally
tender crops might grow well in this sheltered spot.
We used to have raspberry canes growing on the fence which were removed a few years
ago after producing tasty crops for many years. They were being smothered out by
ivy growing through the fence from our neighbour. The ivy is impossible to remove
as it’s rooted into the fence. On the grounds that it’s good for the birds producing
lots of berries for them in winter the ivy just gets cut back each summer in a vain
attempt to keep it in check. It seems that the raspberries are not that easy to remove
either and suckers are continually appearing in some cases well away from their original
location. I noticed that some of the canes have some ripe berries. These I suppose
are raspberry weeds. I’ll have to pick these before our blackbirds spot them.
More growing space
Raspberry weeds
Thursday, 9 June 2011
A thunder shower
We managed a couple of showers on Wednesday. One in particular at lunch time was
short and spectacular. Thunder and lighting was accompanied by heavy rain. The peak
rain intensity was 39.4mm/hr and 2.8mm fell in the shower which by my calculations
means it lasted about 4 minutes.
It would have been nice for it to have lasted a little longer but I suppose every
little helps. I think it was a fairly localised shower so it could be that our plot
which is a few miles away got more or worse still less rain.
The lack of rainfall has meant much less slug damage to our hosta leaves than normal.
It’s good not to have lots of holey leaves and to assist I haven’t given the plants
very much water. Gardening always seems to be a set of compromises.
By the end of Wednesday our rainfall for the day was 4.0mm which at least left the
soil looking damp on top although I don’t think it will have penetrated far into
the ground.
The forecast for the next few days is for the showery weather to continue. There
is little sign of the blazing June as highlighted in the press a few weeks ago.
Thunder storm moves off
Hosta leaves after shower
Friday, 10 June 2011
How green is your grass?
Thursday was another dry day with any showers that were about giving us a miss. Maximum daily temperatures reach the high teens most days rather than the dizzy heights of 20°C or more that we might expect in June.
This is our best patch of lawn. I re seeded some bare patches a few weeks ago and have watered the newly sown seed to keep it moist to help it germinate. I’ve now got a small dark green patch of lawn which has received some water and the rest of the lawn is brown more resembling its state at the end of a long hot and dry summer.
Asking around on the plot this afternoon the thundery shower which we had at home yesterday also fell on the plot but it was impossible to tell as the top of the soil was dry with no sign of moisture below. I heard a potato farmer discussing the introduction of drought measures which would prevent him irrigating crops hence he expected a much reduced harvest. I guess my potatoes will have a reduced yield as so far they’ve had almost no rain since they were planted at the beginning of April.
Saturday, 11 June 2011
Cool and damp
Friday was rather miserable only brightening up in the evening to give a bright cool end to the day. Most of the day was damp rather than wet as we had a couple of short light showers together with some drizzle at times. Once again the rain will have no affect on the garden as the amount was just 0.4mm.
It wasn’t particularly warm either with the temperature just about managing to reach a maximum of 14°C. Last year we were just beginning the best part of summer as it was common for the day time temperatures to exceed 20°C each day. That’s not expected to happen this year.
The average temperature for Friday was just 10.3°C making it the coldest day since May 13th.
These runner beans are in desperate need of planting out as they are really starting to out grow their small modular cells. That’s going to be tomorrow’s job down on the plot along with some sweet corn, courgettes and squash plants. No doubt there will be some weeding to do and then there'll be plenty of watering to do.
Early evening was the best part of the day
Runner bean plants ready for transplanting
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Cold nights
At least it was warmer through the day on Saturday but we are having a series of particularly cold nights for June. Overnight temperatures for the last couple of nights were 5.7°C and 5.2°C and last night Saturday night into Sunday morning the temperature fell to just 4.7°C. All 3 nights are colder than any June night time temperatures from last year.
On the plot we planted out runner beans, sweet corn, squash and courgettes. I’m not sure these tender crops will appreciate such cold nights.
Our runner beans were planted in holes which had been filled with water and then after planting given a drink to settle them in.
The far wigwam is Enorma, then Painted Lady with Lady Di in the foreground.
Sweet corn variety Sweet Nugget was planted in the same bed as our courgettes, All Green Bush and Jemmer. The ground is bone dry and all the planting holes were first filled with water to give the transplants a fighting chance in this prolonged dry spell of weather.
Our crop of plot greenhouse tomatoes are growing well and looking much better than last year’s crop. Some of the plants are just coming into flower which they never got round to doing last year. Next job will be start feeding them.
Minimum temperature 4.7°C
Transplanted runner beans
Sweet corn & courgettes planted
Plot tomatoes
Monday, 13 June 2011
At last a wet day!
Sunday was our wettest day since 26th February this year when we had 11.4mm of rain. Sunday didn’t quite manage that amount but we did have 8.0mm spread throughout the afternoon and evening.
A bright sunny but cold start to the day ended around mid morning when it clouded over before it began to rain at 13:00 and continued to rain steadily until 21:00.
I’m hoping this will be enough rainfall to seep into the soil and give crops like potatoes some much needed water.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Grub up
Monday was mostly dull and cloudy. Much of the morning and early afternoon promised more rain but it held off unfortunately.
The unsettled nature of the weather resulted in more work sorting out our border at home. This is one of those quick jobs that turns into a rather mammoth one. As it wasn’t too hot I thought it would be a good day to dig out or grub up our Fatsia root. What a job! After digging around the root, in really dry soil which kept filling the excavation back in I concluded it need a pick axe to get the job done. A combination of pick axing and sawing through the major roots eventually resulted in the root giving way.
When re-planting this area we will need to consider very carefully the requirements of the plants as despite yesterday’s rain the ground was very dry.
Some branches were removed from our crab apple tree (Malus Profusion) to hopefully allow a little more light and rain to reach the border.
There was then just the little matter of cutting up all the pruning's and debris so that it can be composted.
