Have to Risk It Now

Monday was yet another windy day although we did have some sunny spells so out of the wind and in the sunshine it felt quite mild.

Despite holding off sowing seeds for as long as possible it’s now time for some of our plants to move out of the cosseted greenhouse environment and into the cold frame to start the hardening off process. Some of our onions made this move last week and today it was the turn of our broad beans “Witkeim Manita”. Broad beans are pretty hardy so I’m sure they’ll manage outside.

The plants look strong and healthy but now they’re outside they are more likely to fall victims to slugs and snails not to mention any damage from birds. The cold frame is netted so I’m hoping to have eliminated bird damage but you can never be 100% sure. Hopefully after hardening off for a week these broad beans will be planted out in the allotment. Then they really will be at the mercy of the elements.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Our First Redpoll

The weather over the weekend wasn't anything special. It was windy most of the time with a few sunny spells and very short April showers.

The star attraction this weekend was most certainly a couple of redpolls visiting our niger seed feeder in the garden. Not only was it the first time they've visited it’s the first time I've ever seen a redpoll.

As we were busy decorating most of the weekend it was a lucky coincidence that we were having a coffee break when we spotted two unusual visitors on our feeder. Cameras were trained on the pair straight away and then it took a little Googling to check that they really were indeed redpolls.

I did manage to get some video included below but with a strong wind the little redpoll was swinging about on the feeder and getting its feathers ruffled in the process. They seemed to enjoy their niger seed so perhaps they might return for more?

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

A Recovery of Sorts

The week has gradually got cooler since Wednesday. We didn't have much sunshine on Wednesday or Thursday but neither did we have any rain. Friday was the brightest of the 3 days but without doubt it felt the coldest in a strong westerly wind.

On the plot the other day I noticed that some of the winter brassicas devastated by the wood pigeons over winter might be making a bit of a recovery. 

This is one of our cauliflowers “Aalsmeer”, pictured at the beginning of April, which should be producing some big white curds in the next few weeks. I almost cleared away these cauliflowers and cabbages following the pigeon attacks over winter but on the grounds that I’d got nothing to replace them with and as they were planted through weed control fabric then the bed wasn't going to get full of weeds either so I decided not to bother. Since then we've harvested a couple of small savoys “Alaska” and now the cauliflowers might be staging a late recover.

The pigeons must have found tastier picking elsewhere and left our cauliflower to put on some nice new green leaves. After all it’s been through I don’t think it’s going to produce any prize winning cauliflowers but anything at this time of year is a real bonus. A few days of fine weather and we might just have something ready to harvest. 

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Some Blossom

It was another decent day on Tuesday with some pleasant sunny periods but a cool breeze set in late in the afternoon.

On the plot some of our plums and greengages are at last showing signs of coming into blossom. Better late than no blossom at all.

Above is the blossom on our Victoria plum tree which looks like it’s going to be the last of the plums and gages to open. It does have lots of blossom so perhaps we might be in for a good crop.

Our greengage Reinne Claude is going to be the first into flower and it too has lots of blossom. Time will tell if this will turn into those deliciously sweet fruits by the end of summer.

Update on Trigger

I’m afraid the news on “Trig” isn't good. He’s in intensive care waiting for expert opinion on his condition and the best course of treatment. An attempt over the weekend to convert him into bread was a major disaster. He simply refused to rise to the occasion despite being given a full 24 hours to demonstrate his abilities.  

So we can only dream about Trig producing something like this. I’m sure in time he will make a full recovery and go on to produce some wonderful sour dough bread.

I’m tempted to go back to square one and follow more closely the method used by Paul Hollywood rather than the method on the back of the packet of flour. Now to find some organic grapes.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

What’s This?

Monday continued the spell of good April weather that we've had over the last week.

We've noticed some rather strange goings on in our newly sown seeds, especially the one’s sown and placed under the indoor grow light. At first I thought our seeds were germinating but rather strange for seeds there was nothing green about the shoots.

Our seeds are sown in peat free New Horizon Multi Purpose compost. We had decent results using this compost last year and if I remember correctly it got good reports in Beechgrove Garden trials. Early feeding of the young seedlings seemed to be the key for us. But this year we are getting these small fungi growing. You can see several in the picture above doing their best to hide among the vermiculite. They are very short lived perhaps around one day before the keel over and disappear. 

This is how they emerge from the compost, before the cap opens like a tiny mushroom, then they keel over and die. They don’t seem to be having any detrimental effects on the seed germination so I’m not too worried about them. It would be good to know what they are and why they are growing.

There doesn’t appear to be any problems with these dahlia seedlings Bishop’s Children which were sown in the New Horizon compost on 09 April 2013. At the moment I see no reason to change to another make of compost.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Rainfall or Dare I Say Lack of It!

Not a bad day again on Sunday. A reasonable amount of sunshine and around average temperatures and certainly not as chilly over night.

As I sowed our carrots and parsnips I did notice that the first few inches of soil are now quite dry. Our potatoes planted a little deeper where there is moisture will be fine but if it doesn't rain then the carrot and parsnip seeds sown on Saturday will certainly need watering to help them germinate.

As you can see the last month has been dry. Even the tallest blue lines don’t amount to much rain with values of around 5 mm. That amount soon disappears in the gale force winds. So after seeming to wait for weeks for the plot to dry out some watering might be required in April.

Of course this wasn't a problem last year in April as we had far too much rainfall with record amounts falling in various locations around the UK.

At the moment the rather dry month of this April is replacing the record breaking month last year, and it makes a real difference to the rolling 12 monthly rainfall, falling from the highest I've recorded of 142% back to 125% provided we have no more rainfall this month.

I wonder how long it will be before some authority suggests a hose pipe ban in their area.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Our Main Crop Potatoes Planted

After a very chilly start to Saturday it turned out to be a lovely sunny day and a mild afternoon. We made the most of the fine weather to plant our second early potatoes, carrots and parsnips.

I think that as far as planting and sowing goes on the plot we have now caught up to a more normal spring, however, that’s being at the expense of leaving lots of tidying up of last year’s bed so we've still got plenty to do. One the plot, We are still waiting for the first fruit blossom. I did notice a bumble bee buzzing around the gooseberry bushes yesterday so there are some pollinating insects around which is a good sign.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Hardening Off

The wind abated on Friday and, after some drizzly rain through the morning, the afternoon cleared up with plenty of sunshine. 

I made the most of the sunshine to get some more sowing done in the greenhouse.

Surprisingly as far as sowing goes in the greenhouse I've now caught up with last year’s sowings. Although most have been made a week or so later than last year I’m hopeful they’ll catch up. Most of the seeds sown have plenty of growing season left to produce a good crop they’ll just be a little later doing so.

With much more space needed in the greenhouse for today’s sowings it was time for our onions and shallots to move into the cold frame to harden off or become accustomed to cooler outdoor temperatures. After a week or so in the cold frame they will be planted out in the plot. The overnight low for their first night out was 0.4°C probably not the best of starts for them but greenhouse temperatures at the beginning of April were below 0°C so I’m sure they will be okay.

These onions sets and shallots have come on in leaps and bounds since the temperatures began to pick up a week or so ago. It’s now a question of keeping our ever hungry slugs and snails from munching their way through them. The top of the cold frame is netted for protection from birds who seem to enjoy emptying the cells  of their compost and seedlings.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Greenhouse Highs and Lows

The low is a consequence of the gale force winds which have been blowing for several days now. During a particularly fierce spell this morning a polycarbonate sheet was blown out from the greenhouse roof.

Fortunately the panel had become stuck among the apple trees on the path at the back of the greenhouse. On the downside it was in three pieces and not one. With some careful positioning of the pieces I've managed to make a temporary repair. Hopefully the wind will abate overnight as forecast. 

 

Inside the greenhouse things were much more positive. The cabbage, lettuce and Brussels sprouts sown last week have all germinated. Maybe something will grow on the allotment after all this year. It’s seemed such a slow start.

Our new apple tree - Baya Marissa - from Spalding Bulbs which was potted up and left in the greenhouse over winter and was just showing signs of life last week now has some leaves forming. 

Our Brown Turkey fig also has started into a growth spurt as if its trying to make up for lost time and this has some new tiny figlets starting to appear. Some figs this year would be an absolute treat. 

As well as all this our sweet peas and broad beans sown in modules in the greenhouse are also starting to germinate. Under our indoor growlight tomatoes and aubergines are germinating. The gardening season is now getting under way.

The details of all our sowing and germination times for the month can be found here.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

East to West

It was blowing a gale again for most of Wednesday but this time without any hint of sunshine. Although the temperature again remained on the mild side, it didn't feel that mild in the gale force wind. April is turning out to be a month of two halves with the first dominated by bitterly cold easterly winds and the second by gale force westerlies.

The gale force winds persisted Wednesday night into Thursday morning with the highest gust speed of the year so far 32mph being recorded at 07:20. It’s the highest since 04 January 2012 with 33mph. The most severe gust speed I've recorded was 36mph on 04 February 2011.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Finding Volunteers

Tuesday turned out to be our sunniest day so far with my weather station recording 9.4 hours of sunshine. However, to accompany the sunshine we had gale force winds which rather spoilt the benefit of the wonderful sunshine. It was mild again reaching 16.5°C in the afternoon.

We decided on a visit to the plot despite the gale force wind and spent another afternoon tidying up fruit beds and preparing other beds ready for sowing and planting. It definitely wasn't a day for sowing parsnips as the seeds would have blown all around the site. 

Interestingly digging over one of last year’s bed I found some would be volunteer potatoes. These were in good enough condition to save and bring home to use in the kitchen. 

Worthy of note as well is, although we’re now past the middle of April there isn’t any signs of these potatoes forming any shoots at all. I’m hoping the last few mild days will have the soil warming up and creating better conditions for sowing and planting.

Trigger Update

In a couple of days Trigger will be a week old and ready to make his first batch of bread. I’m hoping for good results after all this preparation. I’m going to have to find him a new home as he’s now filled his jar and there’s no space left for any more feeding.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Proper Allotmenting

The much milder weather continued on Monday with plenty of sunshine again. To be a little picky though it was very windy.

We couldn’t let they day go without making a start catching up on the plot. The first job was to get our early potatoes Swift and Vales Emerald planted. A bed for our maincrop potatoes and a bed for carrots and parsnips were tilled. Last year’s weed control fabric used on the carrot bed is in good condition and can be reused this year.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

An End To Winter?

At last it turned much milder over the weekend and we got rid of the cold easterly winds which have persisted for the last couple of months. Lets hope spring has sprung at long last. Sunday turned out to be easily the warmest day of the year so far with a temperature of 18.2°C. 

Our new pet “Trig” some sour dough starter is growing well after a few days of feeding. I reckon the process is going well as bubbles have formed in the starter now each time feeding takes place.

There was going to be a picture here but due to unforeseen circumstances all the pictures have been deleted from the camera.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

It’s Growing

Friday turned out to be a pretty awful day, cold and cloudy with some heavy rain shower in the evening.

In the autumn last year we received a new apple tree - Baya Marissa - from Spalding Bulbs which was potted up and left in the greenhouse over winter. The pot was wrapped in bubble wrap to protect the roots from frost. I've been concerned that the tree had shown no signs of coming into live but at last the buds are starting to swell showing that the little tree has survived through winter.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

A New Pet

After a much better day on Wednesday, Thursday was back to the more typical style for this year, cold and cloudy. Late in the afternoon we had a little light rainfall, the first precipitation of the month. We’re certainly being made to wait for some spring weather and a lift in the temperature.

I've been watching Paul Hollywood’s series on bread making and the last episode, making sourdough bread, convinced me to have a go. So our new pet was born yesterday and is starting to grow. We haven’t decided on a name yet but I’m sure we’ll come up with something suitable. Its first feed will be late this afternoon.

Just in case you’re wondering and didn't see the programme Paul Hollywood suggested thinking of a sourdough start as a pet that needs regular feeding and looking after and goes on to produce starter dough - well forever. 

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

True Survivors

Wednesday was the best day we've had for ages with some long sunny spells and just a gentle breeze it felt almost warm. The temperature managed to reach 12.2°C making it the mildest day of the month.

I visited my friend Graham in the afternoon. He too grows some of his own vegetables and last year he grew some Winston potatoes. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to harvest all his Winston’s last autumn and a few roots had been left in the ground all winter. With an improvement in the weather this week Graham decided to clear away last year’s crop but much to his surprise the potatoes hadn't rotted away despite all the rain and snow.

Some potatoes had suffered from slug damage so were discarded but he was left this these potatoes from the couple of roots he dug up.

The potatoes scrubbed up really well and looked as good if not better than the ones on sale in the local supermarket. Graham reckoned that they tasted better too.

As Winston seed potatoes are sold as a first early variety I think it’s amazing that they've stood up to all that this winter has had to offer. It’s also interesting to note that the tubers haven’t made any new shoots yet even after being left in the ground to their own devices. This might well indicate that here in Yorkshire at least there won’t have been much benefit in planting potatoes before now as they've probably made no effort to grow in the cold ground.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Breaking for Home

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Tuesday was another cool day with, even with some late afternoon sunshine, the temperature didn't make it into double figures. The forecast for the weekend and beyond is for temperatures to lift although this might be at the expense of some rainfall.

Looking back through my sowing records for last year I don’t think I’m too far behind where I was last year. Our tomatoes, peppers and aubergines were all sown last year by now and so was some early cabbage. Our potatoes went into the ground about now. I’m not sure then that there’s any need to panic and there’s plenty of time to get everything sown and planted in time to produce a decent crop providing the temperatures do start to pick up as forecast for next weekend.

Anticipating that this change is going to take place I planted our tomatoes, peppers and aubergines today. They are now all under our indoor growlight. My plan is by the time these have germinated and are ready for transplanting it will be warm enough for them in the cold greenhouse. Along with these some Dahlias and Mimosa were sown and have joined the others under the growlight.

This is a full list of today's sowings and varieties.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Why I Need To Keep Records

After a couple of lovely sunny days is was much more cloudy today with any sun we did get being very hazy. As a result the temperature was a little lower  failing to make double figures.

Now as I remember last spring March was glorious, then come April things cooled down a lot and newly sown seeds and small seedlings didn't appreciate the conditions and refused to grow for a few weeks. Now this year seems to be the other way around and after a bitterly cold March temperatures have lifted in the first week of April. How do the first two weeks compare?

● Last year 2012 after 7 days the average temperature for the month was 6.6°C
● This year 2013 after 7 days the average temperatures for the month is 4.9°C

It doesn't look any better in picture format either.

So despite it feeling milder now April has arrived seeds and seedlings may well struggle to grow with temperatures still lower than last year.

Fortunately when we removed the pigeon protection netting off our winter brassicas these spring cabbages “Flowers of Spring” didn't get uncovered. This means they've survived the marauding wood pigeon attacks and should provide us with some useful greens in a few weeks time. I might give them a boost with some liquid seaweed food the next time we visit the plot.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Difficult to Believe

We spent another couple of hours at the allotment tidying up our fruit bushes and strawberry bed as well as weeding to prepare beds for digging. It’s odd working on the plot at the moment because the weather has made such a slow start to spring everything still seems to be in winter mode and it’s hard to fathom out what month we’re actually in.

On the plot this year nothing is making any effort to grow compared to last year when the pear blossom was out, the hawthorn was coming into leaf, and the redcurrants were in leaf. The grass was growing well looking lush and green and dandelions in the grass were flowering. 

The forecast for the coming week doesn't look to have much to offer in the way of warmer weather. That milder spell of weather can’t come quick enough to get spring finally under way and put an end to winter which has gone on for ever this year.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Made It At Last!

We were treated to double digit temperatures on Saturday as the thermometer hit 11°C. As the sun was shining too this tempted us down to the plot for the first time in over a month. The first thing to strike me was that the plot clearly hadn't missed us since the last time we visited. The grass and weeds aren't growing and the fruit trees which would normally be in flower now are only just showing some signs of growth.

The first job was to see if the bed dug over last autumn would be in a good enough condition to plant some early potatoes.

After removing a few weeds and tidying up the edging the bed looks ready for planting up. Whilst the soil looks dry on top it is fairly wet underneath. On to another bed where I wanted to clear a few weeds. This was too claggy to clear the soil off the weed roots so I decided to leave this bed for a few more days to dry out.

I decided to have a look and see if we still had any carrots worth harvesting.

These are Flakkee which have survived winter pretty well. About 50% were assigned straight to the compost heap having either rotted and turned mushy over winter or been damaged by slugs. The carrots above will get the taste test on Sunday but the parsnip below definitely won’t.

We had a few parsnips left in the ground but these were only fit for the compost heap having succumbed to the dreaded canker over winter. 

We still have some leeks left that have over wintered. The best looking of these is a variety called Blue Solaise which when I harvested and cleaned off a few outer leaves looked pretty good. Our over wintering brassicas haven’t recovered from the wood pigeon massacre but in the debris there’s still one or two cabbages worth cutting. This winter savoy Alaska is only small but doesn't look too bad and is a treat at this time of year with a scarcity of fresh vegetables to gather from the plot.

As for planting the potatoes I think I’ll leave it for another week. The soil can’t be very warm and over night Saturday into Sunday produced another frost with the temperature down to -2.4°C.

I know I harvested these a little early but I hope Daphne won't mind me adding this to Daphne's Harvest Monday.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

A Final Thought on March

Friday continued the trend of plenty of sunshine but a cold north to north easterly breeze making it feel cold.

As a final thought on a cold March lets assume that once the temperature gets above 10°C plants have a fighting chance of growing and that once the temperature falls below 3°C they find the going a little bit tough. 

Firstly comparing hours above 10°C for 2012 & 2013:

• In 2012 recorded hours above 10°C was 239
• In 2013 recorded hours above 10°C was    0

Secondly comparing hours below 3°C for 2012 & 2013

• In 2012 recorded hours below 3°C was 37
• In 2013 recorded hours below 3°C was 426

These figures probably go a long way to explaining why our plants are slow into growth this year. As we approach the end of the first week in April our warmest day of the year is still 29 January when the temperature reached 13.7°C. Since then double digit temperatures haven’t existed. Roll on spring.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Making a Start

Thursday was another sunny day but the cold temperatures persisted with a maximum of 7.6°C well below the expected average for early April.

In the sunshine though it’s pleasantly warm in the greenhouse, warm enough to tempt me to sow some broad beans Witkeim Manita and our usual selection of leeks Blue Solaise, Giant Winter and Prizetaker. These have all been left in our cold greenhouse to germinate. Details of this month’s sowing are on our web page here. 

Although our greenhouse gets warm during the day the temperature falls away rapidly in the evening. Our grape vine Himrod is stubbornly refusing to show any signs of starting into growth this year. Last year we had some good shoots at the beginning of April but this year not even any signs of buds forming.

Last year at this time we hit a pretty cold spell and after a very mild March. Everything seemed to stop growing for a number of weeks even in the greenhouse so hopefully some milder weather will give this years plants a boost at just the right time. 

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Busy Frogs

Wednesday was a lovely sunny day with lots of sunshine but the temperature still didn't quite manage to make it into double figures with a high of 9.1°C.

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of the frogspawn in our pond. I’m certain now that our frogs are a little late this year as over the last couple of days lots more frogspawn has appeared. It’s a little difficult to know which clump I noticed first now but here’s my latest picture.

One of the few benefits of the cold start to spring is that our Hellebores seem to have been flowering for ages. These on our back border are now starting to look a little past their best but have put on an excellent display despite all the frost and snow.  

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Those Responsible

Yesterday I posted some pictures of the frog spawn in our pond. When I took those pictures there was a distinct lack of any frogs on view. That’s a little bit unusual for our frogs as they’re normally up for having their pictures taken.

As you can see that changed today. As I headed up to the greenhouse I spotted this little chap or chappess sitting by some frog spawn.

I moved round the pond to get a better view expecting to hear that sploshing sound of a frog heading for cover. It didn't and I thought he or she had the rather smug look of a job well done.

Later as I passed the pond the frogs were underwater. I don’t think I wish to know what was going on down there. Please excuse the rather blurry picture as the water is around 24 inches deep at this point. I had no intention of snorkelling to get a better picture. 

Can you count how many frogs there are in this melee?

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Frog Spawn

I’m not really sure whether I've just missed this event or our garden frogs are a little late with their frog spawn because of the cold weather.

We see frog spawn every year in our pond but never manage to see any tadpoles or baby frogs. We always assume that the fish eat the frog spawn although at the moment the level of fish activity is almost non existent. I’m assuming the fish are remaining low in the water waiting for it to warm up a little. The frogs have laid their spawn in a very vulnerable position as its very close to where the blackbirds enjoy bathing. We’ll have to see what happens.

There’s still a little bit of snow from last week hanging about in the garden. A little bit more melts each day. This conifer by the pond will soon be snow free. 

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Holiday Visits

I did create a couple of videos of two National Trust Properties we visited on holiday last week in Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Just in case you haven't found these on my Facebook page or YouTube channel then here they are below.

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett

Winter Extended To The End Of March

March has finally come to an end but there’s still no sign of spring as far as the weather is concerned. This year March has been colder than both January and February and they were cold months with below average temperatures too. We've also had more nights with temperatures below freezing in March which I wouldn't expect. The year’s summary so far  is in the table below.

I suppose there will be discussion in the media about this being the coldest March since 1962. Comparing my temperatures for Ossett with the Met Offices Central England Temperature record dating back to 1772 then this March takes over in 7th place and the coldest March since 1883. This isn’t a truly like for like comparison but it’s the best I can do.

I've added a chart below showing the average temperatures for the years in question and at the end of the day we are talking about fractions of a degree centigrade difference between the coldest March temperatures in the chart. 

Clicking on the chart will open it up in a full size view to see how all the records converge around a temperature of 2.5°C to 2.8°C. March 2013 in Ossett takes up 7th position in this rather unenviable spring table.

There now seems to be some tweets among meteorologists suggesting that temperatures may lift into double figures around the middle of April. The forecasts so many days in advance are always a little bit hit and miss so I’m hoping the milder weather will arrive sooner rather than later. We've now gone through the whole months of February and March without having a temperature of 10.0°C for more than one hour. Our warmest day is still the 29 January when we managed a scorching 13.7°C.

Adding to the March miseries for the gardener, the month turned out wetter than average with 50.4mm of rainfall against an expected average of 41.9mm. That leaves the garden to dry out and warm up before any serious planting begins.

What a difference a year makes with March 2012 producing a maximum temperature of 21.9°C compared to just 9.9°C this year. Last March I recorded 148.9 hours of sunshine compared with 44.3 hours this year. In March last year we had just one night where the temperature fell to below zero centigrade compared to 14 nights this year. To complete this dismal picture we had 13.0mm of rain last year and 50.4 mm this year.

There’s no wonder it’s a slow start to the gardening year. Let’s hope for better weather in April

Original post from A Gardener's Weather Diary http://ossettweather.blogspot.co.uk/ author M Garrett