[Growster...]

Just talking to Comfortably (the Numb Branch if the family), about what happens to growing things in certain locations, I thought I'd add my two[pennorth...

Years ago, when we originally had 'Plot G', there was an elderly couple who tended their plot to perfection, just up from ours. They were always there, doing this and that, (he wore a tie, like Percy Thrower did) and of course, we all got talking one day.

He said that they'd chosen to retire to this village, because records showed that rainfall was way below average for the area, and that a generally dry time could be had by all.

We wondered about that, but have never actually proved him right or wrong, (well why should we, he and his wife were delightful people), but it's always got me thinking about researching the immediate (i.e. say a square mile), of a location, to see if the terrain layout  really does mean that rain either goes round the area, or just doesn't work here very well.

Comforts lives not that far from the sea, so, with my limited knowledge of geography, I'd expect the air to be salty, damp, nice and sunny (south coast remember), and as it's a  flat part of the region, a rather pleasant and positive location to grow things in, with such a big sky to stare at as well.

We certainly mss a lot of the rain here, and being on a hill, we don't get floods or pestilence (including frogs), but it's an interesting subject to consider, if one wants to grow stuff in places like Cornwall, which is near Spain, or places elsehwhere, which aren't...

[Comfortably Numb]

Hi Growster,

One of the main problems here is the almost constant wind 

One of my plot neighbours has just moved from one end of the site to the other just to take advantage of the partial screening from the wind.

[mumofstig]

Although inland, we seem to have a lot of wind here(and no it isn't due to beans!)
It funnels along the railway line, which was obviously built in a low area anyway 

The rain always seems to miss us - so I'm glad theres a few standpipes

My plot is near the top of the slope in the allotment site and the highest bed is very dry and catches everylast bit of sunshine........so it's brilliant for early crops, but very soon needs watering.

[jmc1949]

I live about a mile from the sea. Our main problem here is the wind from the Irish Sea. Your very lucky Growster, Mum and Comfort to have so little rain. Here in the northwest, although we had a short warm sunny spell in the spring, it seems to have had more than our fair share of rain. Infact lottie water charges per plot amount to less than £7 this year!!

[shokkyy]

I often feel that we're somewhat in the eye of the storm, in the area of sunny Swindon. Every single time they put out a severe weather warning for the area (e.g. today) it always goes around us to the west, often around to the east as well, but somehow manages to never do more than clip us with the very fringes of the weather front. It then makes a beeline for Gloucestershire and dumps every drop of rain/snow straight on them.

[Scotch Thistle]

We are in Hereford, and we often miss loads of bad rain (I think) because we live in the middle of a wide valley so are quite far away from hills that will tend to encourage rain to fall. I've always felt we get pretty good weather here compared to the surrounding area.

[DigIt]

It is no more than 3 miles between home and the allotment and yet the difference in climate is noticeable. We live on a hill, unfortunately its the first hill that the damp sea air meets with a southerly wind, so it is not unusual to be sat in a cloud and yet St Austell below where the allotment is can be bright and sunny. The converse can happen with sea mist rolling in over the town but we are in sunshine , not very often though  .

Wind wise we find at home we are sheltered because the prevailing wind is from the south west but we are just over the brow on the northward side and the strong winds blow over us. On the other hand the allotment (north facing) is prone to catching the wind.

Just down the road (about 6 miles) is Lostwithiel and that is a cold hole. Frost will be found there and nowhere else in the local vicinity and yet Par/St Blazey (in a similar valley) will only have a heavy dew.

On a general countrywide view, here in Cornwall, our climate is moderated by the sea, never exceptionally hot nor exceptionally cold, but on the wet side. Hey ho! 

[BabbyAnn]

I live just a mile from the allotment - in mid October when it was forecast frost, it was just cold and damp at home so I thought we had got away with it, but at the allotment all the tender plants such as squash were hit.  It wasn't a problem as the squash were ready for picking but it did surprise me.  It is usually the same in spring when the potatoes are pushing up - no frost at home but icy at the allotment.

I have 2 plots  - the one at the top of the hill this summer has been hard work during the drought, the one at the bottom of the hill has fared so much better and didn't need to be watered half as often.  During wet seasons (memories of a very wet 2007), I was wading ankle deep in water but the top plot was just wet.  I've since dug over the compacted soil on the bottom plot and erected raised beds so this problem shouldn't be so bad in future.

When we have high winds (usually from the west), part of the top plot is sheltered by trees along one side 2 plots down and protected by houses/fencing along the other side, whereas the bottom plot is much worse as the wind is funnelled against a 2 storey building that runs alongside the site and up against the plot.  Many a plotholder has found their shed knocked over by the sheer force of the wind, and my neighbour's greenhouse has several panes of glass missing. 

But when it comes down to amount of sunlight, the bottom plot gets it all day but the top plot is partially shaded from mid day by a neighbour's fruit trees (one of the reasons why I object to fruit trees being planted so close to boundaries - tenants come and go, but the trees just get bigger)

I'm giving up one of the plots at the end of this year and it's been a hard decision to choose which one - there were pros and cons for both, but I think the drought this year was the clincher.  That, and the best garlic crop ever! 

[Growster...]

Now these are all very interesting posts!

Even where our patches and plots are, is actually a shallow valley, and we seem to avoid the direct wind that Comfots and Mums get. OK, we get the ocasional flurry, but no horizontal gardening in my experience.

I remember seeing a whole area of allotments which had 3' high fences around all of them, and thought that was unfortunate to look at (too much rusty metal etc),  but maybe a better way to garden.

Wouldn't it be interesting (and impossible), if all this 'micro' information was fed into the weather stations, 'weighting' the general information they use, and then calculated in the big, general data, to refine the forecasts? If all these posts were multiplied across the country, there would be so much more detail, and definitely improved accuracy as well!

But don't worry, there's no hurricane coming this way...;0)

[Comfortably Numb]

Now these are all very interesting posts!

Even where our patches and plots are, is actually a shallow valley, and we seem to avoid the direct wind that Comfots and Mums get. OK, we get the ocasional flurry, but no horizontal gardening in my experience.

I remember seeing a whole area of allotments which had 3' high fences around all of them, and thought that was unfortunate to look at (too much rusty metal etc),  but maybe a better way to garden.

Wouldn't it be interesting (and impossible), if all this 'micro' information was fed into the weather stations, 'weighting' the general information they use, and then calculated in the big, general data, to refine the forecasts? If all these posts were multiplied across the country, there would be so much more detail, and definitely improved accuracy as well!

But don't worry, there's no hurricane coming this way...;0)

Morning Growster,

When that hurricane hit in '87, I was working as a milkman in Sevenoaks, Kent. I lived in a dairy owned house at the time, so getting to work was no problem for me. Amazingly, all of the milkmen got into work that morning, but none of us got back out to deliver anything until the afternoon!
It was very scary standing outside in the dark, watching trees crashing down all around the area.

[New shoot]

My plot is only about a mile or so from my house, but whereas I live down near the river in Reading, my plot is on a hillside and fairly exposed.  I can just have a bit of mist at home, but the plot is covered with frost when I get there and everyone who lives around it is scraping their windscreens.

Catches me out sometimes with crops    I have to remember to fleece much earlier on the plot than at home 

[Growster...]

Morning Comforts!

Sevenoaks really got a bashing didn't it, all but one of the famous trees came down didn't they?

I went to the golf club a couple of years later, and they'd been absolutely devasated, and still moaned about it all!

We've got a miniature microclimate in one small area at 'The Turrets'. It's between a south facing white conservatory, and a 5' solid brick wall. The gap is about 5', and is perfect for outside tomatoes.

[LilacSandy]

No microclimate here in Northampton but must be one of the driest spots in England especially this year.  Our site is on a hill with clay at the top and sand at the bottom, I am thankfull that I am at the top so my soil holds the moisture well but it it still backbreaking in the summer lugging water to my crops. 

We are not allowed to attach pipes to the water butts but I am lucky that I have a trough at the end of one of my plots, however with too full plots to water it is hard work, I have purchased two plastic butts this year to store rain water at the top of the plot but this would not last very long if the conditions are the same next year as this.

[lmpd]

When we moved to Somerset from Peterborough, I had every intention of setting up butts to collect water from roof of the house - so far this has been so unnecessary as the rain seems to come in from the Atlantic and then dump its load straight on the Mendips!!!

[Janeymiddlewife]

I often feel that we're somewhat in the eye of the storm, in the area of sunny Swindon. Every single time they put out a severe weather warning for the area (e.g. today) it always goes around us to the west, often around to the east as well, but somehow manages to never do more than clip us with the very fringes of the weather front. It then makes a beeline for Gloucestershire and dumps every drop of rain/snow straight on them.

or......................it carries on up the M4, dumps on the downs around lambourne then dries out by the time it reaches Reading. The allotment site is fairly flat, but is higher up than Reading, so tends to get frosts a bit earlier than in town