Not a bad October

For us, October hasn’t been a bad month weatherwise even though the last week was disappointingly damp. Generally, it’s been on the mild side with just a couple of chilly nights thrown in for good measure. It hasn’t been frosty enough to blacken our dahlias at the allotment and the job of lifting the tubers and storing them somewhere frost free remains one of our must do jobs at the plot.

With some decent weather through the first weeks of the month, we made good progress tidying up beds. We had enough rainfall through the first part of the month to convert our soil from its rock hard state, in September, to something much easier to dig although that might have all changed now following this week’s rain.

Temperature & Rainfall Records for October 2021

We'd have liked to get a bit more tidying up done than we have but I think we've done enough to allow us to make a good start next spring if the weather is reasonable. The beds that we will require for our early crops have all been cleared and dug over and should be ready for sowing and planting next spring.

We haven't managed a visit to the plot this week. On the drier days, we've chosen to taken Ruby on walks around Nostell Priory and Rothwell Park. It's noticeable on our walks that some of the trees are now beginning to show the best of their autumn colours.

Nostell Priory

Rothwell Park

 

October's Average Temperatures & Rainfall Data 2010 - 2021

As you can see from the tables above this October has finished in fourth place, over the last 12 years, for both temperatures and rainfall. It means it's been both slightly wetter with above average temperatures.

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

Nostell's cygnets are turning into swans

Our weather continues in an unremarkable state at the moment with very little to write about. We’ve had a drop of rain, enough for us to make a start digging over beds at the allotment, but certainly nothing exceptional. The chart below shows our rainfall for the last four weeks.

Temperature & Rainfall Records 15 September - 15 October 2021

Temperature-wise, October is heading the same way as September. It has been a mild start to the month but again nothing exceptional with no record-breaking hot days or cold days for October.

At the allotment, our main harvesting period has come to an end with lots of fruit and vegetables now stored safely at home in the freezer, greenhouse, garage, or summerhouse. 

At the allotment, we've made a start clearing beds of old spent summer crops and getting them dug over if possible.

With less time spent at the plot, we’ve ventured a little bit further afield for Ruby’s walks. Ruby had a walk around Clumber Park last week. Fortunately, we picked a decent day for our visit.

This week we had a trip to Temple Newsam. However, the weather wasn’t that great with drizzly spells of rain on and off through the afternoon. Not that a drop of rain puts Ruby off a walk. Certainly, some of the trees at Temple Newsam are beginning to take on an autumnal tinge.

On Thursday afternoon we took Ruby on a walk around Nostell Priory. We hadn't visited for a couple of weeks and I was expecting the trees to have taken on a more autumnal tinge than they had. These trees near the car park were beginning to turn.

The biggest surprise though was the cygnets. As we walked around the lake the cygnets were at the far side of the lake but it was obvious that they were beginning to turn from cygnet grey into swan white. We were lucky that as we watched from the lakeside a couple of the cygnets swam across the lake and began feeding very close to where we were standing.

I wonder what the next stage will be for the 4 young swans. Will all six swans continue to live on the lake or will the youngsters be forced to find a new home for themselves?

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

No Rain and No wind comes to an end

There’s not been much to say about the weather through August and September. All that has changed as we come to the end of September. For the last couple of months there’s been no unusually hot days or cold days to report as well as no windy weather or wet days.

 The allotment has become very dry with no rain to speak of since the end of July. Our cardoons have certainly suffered in the dry conditions.

Cardoons - September 2021

Our overwintering garlic and onions have needed watering regularly since they were planted a few weeks ago. The same is true of our sweet Williams for cut flowers next spring and our new strawberry plants which we hope will produce some strawberries for next summer.

Sweet Williams

However, the most obvious weather effect over the last few months has been the lack of low pressure systems that bring wet and windy weather.

Monthly average wind speeds 2011 - 2021

The table above shows the average wind speed for each month beginning in 2011. I’ve boxed out in red the last six months for which the average wind speeds for each month have all been below average.

There is no guarantee about anything when it comes to weather.

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

A mini September heatwave

September has started off warmer than August. However, the heatwave to start the month was short-lived like most of the hot weather this year. It gave us our hottest weather since the middle of July.

Temperature Records January - September 2021

On the 7th September, the temperature reached 29.4°C (84.9°F) equalling our 12 year September record high temperature. The previous occasion was on 13 September 2016. The spell of warm weather means that by the 13th of the month the average temperature of 17.2°C (63.0°F) is the highest I've recorded in the last 12 years. The previous highest was 17.1°C (62.8°F) in 2016

On Thursday we took Ruby for her regular walk around Nostell Priory.

There are now the first few signs that autumn is here. The summer flower meadows have been cut and baled ready for use through winter.

Nostell Priory wildflower meadow - 15 July 2021

Nostell Priory wildflower meadow - 09 September 2021

As we walked around the lake some of the trees are just beginning to show their autumn colours.

The forecast was for the hot weather to break down with heavy rain and thunderstorms. As usual for us, the rain and thunderstorms didn't materialise. Our last decent rainfall was at the end of July. The allotment is now very dry and any autumn digging is on hold until we get some rain. The forecast is for some rain on Tuesday afternoon but will it be correct. 

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

Meteorological autumn is here - what happened to summer?

Meteorological autumn has arrived but quite frankly it seems to have been here for a few weeks now. 

August was, without doubt, the poorest of the summer months finishing in eighth place out of the last 12 years. It also finished up as the driest over the same period.

August Temperature & Rainfall 2010-2021

I was surprised, last week when the UK Met Office said that we’d had a good summer well up the table of warmest summers. I’d have said that we’d had a pretty poor summer so I was surprised to find that, based on average temperatures from my weather station, this summer ranks third out of the last 12 summers. Perhaps average temperature isn’t always the best way of telling whether we’ve had a good summer or not.

August would have had a lower average temperature if it hadn’t been for a run of above average nighttime temperatures. Generally, daytime temperatures were around average or below and we didn’t have any “hot “ days at all, with the month’s highest temperature only managing 24.3°C degrees.

Allotment wise, with fruit and vegetables, as usual it has been a bit of a hit and miss season. Most of our tree fruit suffered badly from the cold weather in April and May with late season frosts damaging the apple, pear and plum crops. However, we've had one of our best potato crops for a good number of years. 

Casablanca Potatoes - 02 July 2021

Our early pot-grown potatoes were a disaster this year but all the ones grown on the allotment produced excellent crops. This year for some reason our potatoes avoided any wireworm damage and had very minimal damage from slugs. After a poor year last year, with one bed of onions failing completely, this year's crop has been excellent with lots of good-sized onions.

Onions - Hercules, Centurian & Sturon

We also had an excellent crop of garlic for the first time in many years. Our first sowing of peas failed completely, once again probably due to the cold weather in April and May but later sowings have been much more successful. 

Now we are into autumn we would normally be thinking about harvesting our apples and pears but we've very few of either to harvest this year.

It's certainly time to start getting beds cleared of their summer crops so that they can be dug over before any really bad weather sets in. The more clearing and preparing we can do through autumn and early winter the better prepared we will be for the start of the next growing season.

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

A Broad Bean Experiment

The last week hasn’t been anything special weather-wise for the middle of August. It’s been cloudy with temperatures hovering around average. However, we haven’t had any rain which is good in some respects, allowing us to get out and about, but the allotment could do with some good rain.

Temperature & Rainfall Records 01-15 August 2021

We are trying some autumn cropping broad beans again this year. Last year I bought some plants but they didn’t arrive until the end of August and they never managed to get established before the weather turned very autumnal. The plants were on the leggy side when they arrived which didn’t help. 

Last year's broad beans were planted on 20 August 2020

So this year I decided to try growing the same variety from seed. The variety is Luz de Otono. I sowed them on 3rd July almost as soon as suggested on the seed packet. They germinated well and were growing outside in the cold frame at home.

Plants were grown at home in 2021

They were planted out in the allotment a few weeks ago now, and having got established are beginning to flower. Last year at this time we were still waiting for the plants to be delivered, so this year’s plants are a few weeks in front, but will it be enough.

Beginning to flower on 15th August 2021

As it happens one of our plot neighbours has sown some normal broad beans, probably around the same time as our autumn cropping broad beans were sown. This will be an interesting comparison to see if either crop goes on to produce some beans.

Normal broad bean seeds sown to crop in autumn

There’s a video below showing both broad beans in each plot in the middle of August.

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

A cool start to August

August has started off on the cool side with plenty of showers thrown in for good measure. On the 3rd August, the overnight temperature fell to 7.6°C, the lowest early August temperature I’ve recorded in 12 years. In fact, since our mini heatwave finished in July our daytime temperatures have generally been below expected for around midsummer and this is the coolest start to August since 2010.

Temperature & Rainfall Records 09 July to 09 August 2021

The showery nature of the weather means it seems like we’ve had more rain than my rain gauge has measured. Although we’ve had showers nearly every day, so far this month our total rainfall is 15.6mm which can be considered around average for the first week and a bit of the month.

We have a stack of jobs beginning to pile up at the allotment. There are beds that now need clearing of their summer crops and potatoes to be lifted. The grass paths haven’t been strimmed for several weeks now and are very unkempt. It’s going to take a good afternoon’s work, perhaps even longer, to get them tidied up. I’m not too keen on strimming wet grass as it sticks to everything.

Some beds need clearing so the ground can be prepared for more planting. One bed needs digging over ready for some dwarf French beans to be planted out. These were sown in pots at home several weeks ago and will soon be ready for planting out. We’ve also got to prepare a bed for some sweet Williams which like the French beans were sown a few weeks ago.

Sweet Williams ready for planting out

I’m in the process of lifting some Apache and Osprey potatoes from one bed and hopefully this bed will then be prepared for a crop of overwintering onions.

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

July - A wet month with a drought

July has been an odd month. It started off on the cool and wet side before turning dry and hot. 

Through the middle of the month we had our heatwave with 7 consecutive days above 25°C and this coincided with 13 days without any rain.

Temperature & Rainfall Records 01 - 30 July 2021

This combination was enough to dry out the ground, and certainly the allotment and garden were in need of some wet weather. The drought was broken by thunderstorms, which arrived on the 27th of the month bringing some much welcome rainfall.

I was expecting the ground at the allotment to have had enough rain to make it much easier for digging, but I was surprised at just how dry the ground remains when I lifted some Casablanca potatoes on Saturday the last day of July. I did manage to dig over the bed ready for planting out some late cropping French beans plants.

For the records here's how this July compared with those since 2010.

July average temperatures and rainfall 2010-2021

In summary then, a wet month with above average temperatures and a drought in the middle. I've included a video showing how dry our ground was when I lifted our Casablanca potatoes.

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