[Totty]

Not worth worrying about. We should be used to unsettled weather by now. Settled weather is not the norm for usin the uk.
 I've heard lots of people say that last year was a disaster for gardeners, and I'm sorry if I offend anyone but I think that's a bit of a cop out. Garden accordingly. Half the veg we grow does not flourish in red hot dry summers anyway. Wind is my biggest hate, cooler wet weather is no bad thing for the garden.

Totty

[maxibo]

You got the only 2 weeks of decent weather in Cornwall last year ... the Olympic fortnight as I remember.
We're famously mild down here, but not famously sunny and hot... in fact quite a lot wetter in Summer than the more continental South East, and more West Irish in climate.
Growing wise doesn't bother me so much in the medium term as I can adjust crops grown and how they are grown... a poly tunnel is on the list next year to augment the greenhouse. What does bother mehowever is the spiritual misery of overcast wet weather and it's effect on culture and life led.
The stream has slipped over recent years, but it might be temporary hopefully, and the Daily Mail know as much about anything as my cat.

It was actually. And the week after.  We're back again end of July - I'll try and bring the sun with me!  I agree with you about the spiritual misery that wet, overcast weather causes.  After the long dark winter months we look forward to some lighter, brighter days to lift our spirits and live life differently for a while before winter arrives again.  I do have to say that personally, I am not really that bothered by the weather.  It changes, it comes and goes.  Having travelled to some very hot countries, India for example, I am quite happy with our climate.  I am, however, also aware that I am in a privileged position that my family will not starve if we don't do well, growing wise.  It is, hopefully, a fruitful hobby, that I enjoy greatly and makes me a much happier person.

I shall use the Daily Mail to line our guinea pigs cage with, and let them pass comment on what they read  My cat prefers The Beano 

[Grubbypaws]

Realistically I`d welcome a wet few days - I haven`t needed to water much apart from seeds and transplants and it`s not a chore I relish.

Okay the garden is now nicely watered so the sun is welcome to come out again 

[al78]

Not worth worrying about. We should be used to unsettled weather by now. Settled weather is not the norm for usin the uk.
 I've heard lots of people say that last year was a disaster for gardeners, and I'm sorry if I offend anyone but I think that's a bit of a cop out. Garden accordingly. Half the veg we grow does not flourish in red hot dry summers anyway. Wind is my biggest hate, cooler wet weather is no bad thing for the garden.

Totty

The thing is we don't seem to get typical 'unsettled' weather any more, by which I mean short periods of rain followed by sun followed by rain i.e. high frequency variability. In the last few years the weather has tended to get stuck in a rut so instead we get weeks of dry weather followed by weeks of deluge. That is far from ideal conditions for trying to grow plants.

As for the cop out comment, have you forgotten just how bad the summer was last year? It was one of the wettest on record. The April to June period was one of the wettest on record, following on immediately from over a year of drought. There was a place in Staffordshire that in June recorded less than 50 hours of sunshine for the whole month!! That is comparable to an average December! It was an awful year for farmers, with crop yields 15-20% down. How exactly are you supposed to "garden accordingly" for that?

[The Golden Heap]

Ash before Oak your in for a soak
Oak before Ash your in for a splash

My Ash tree was in full bud long before a neighbouring oak!

[Annen]

"The thing is we don't seem to get typical 'unsettled' weather any more, by which I mean short periods of rain followed by sun followed by rain i.e. high frequency variability. In the last few years the weather has tended to get stuck in a rut so instead we get weeks of dry weather followed by weeks of deluge. That is far from ideal conditions for trying to grow plants.

As for the cop out comment, have you forgotten just how bad the summer was last year? It was one of the wettest on record. The April to June period was one of the wettest on record, following on immediately from over a year of drought. There was a place in Staffordshire that in June recorded less than 50 hours of sunshine for the whole month!! That is comparable to an average December! It was an awful year for farmers, with crop yields 15-20% down. How exactly are you supposed to "garden accordingly" for that?

I agree, if you knew what was going to happen you could "garden accordingly." And even if you did know there isn't many crops which will grow in 6 inches of standing water, which is what I had on half my plot last year!


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[fatcat1955]

Sun spot's dictate our weather, it take's 4 day's for sun spot activity to travel to earth. Hence no forecast longer than a 4 day one is worth listening to.

[mumofstig]

They do affect it but I'm not sure that the effect is quite as direct as that.

We've been in a cycle of low solar activity which is effecting the weather
http://planetearth.nerc.ac.uk/news/story.aspx?id=1073

[Totty]

The thing is we don't seem to get typical 'unsettled' weather any more, by which I mean short periods of rain followed by sun followed by rain i.e. high frequency variability. In the last few years the weather has tended to get stuck in a rut so instead we get weeks of dry weather followed by weeks of deluge. That is far from ideal conditions for trying to grow plants.

As for the cop out comment, have you forgotten just how bad the summer was last year? It was one of the wettest on record. The April to June period was one of the wettest on record, following on immediately from over a year of drought. There was a place in Staffordshire that in June recorded less than 50 hours of sunshine for the whole month!! That is comparable to an average December! It was an awful year for farmers, with crop yields 15-20%
down. How exactly are you supposed to "garden accordingly" for that?

What else can you do? Making sure your soil is in as good condition as possible is a start.
Drought or flood, good moisture retentive soil that drains well will give you a chance regardless of weather, unless you live on a flood plain.
I bet there are others out there that had good results last year too.
On the back of the "very poor weather", I won 18 firsts and 3 seconds at the mendip flower show, won all three trophys. Also won the Aster award for best vegatable garden for a council tenant in somerset and Wiltshire, and through winning those awards I got my dream job at ston easton park, as the vegatable gardener. I'm not trying to come across as being smarmy or big headed but that is fact.
Every year brings difficultys, we just have to deal with it.
I think the addition of raised beds and huge amounts of compost, manure and leafmold helped me last year.
And will every year weathers it's rain or shine.

Totty




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[Ashurstman]

My view of the Daily Mail is unrepeatable! I tend to view it as a comic for adults so don't believe anything it says on any subject! Apologies to fans of said organ

[Aunt Sally]

My view of the Daily Mail is unrepeatable! I tend to view it as a comic for adults so don't believe anything it says on any subject! Apologies to fans of said organ

wow...  What a sweeping statement.  Which publication do you prefer for the weather ?

[al78]

My view of the Daily Mail is unrepeatable! I tend to view it as a comic for adults so don't believe anything it says on any subject! Apologies to fans of said organ

wow...  What a sweeping statement.  Which publication do you prefer for the weather ?

If I want info or opinions on the weather, I would either go to the Met Office or have a look on the various weather forums which tend to be populated by professional meteorologists and enthusiastic amateurs.

I work in the field of meteorology and climate and it is dreadful the way papers like the Mail twist research findings to suit their agenda and deliberately mislead the public.

[Ashurstman]

I go to the Met office or the BBC weather site!

[barley]

it's Wimbledon soon so of course it's going to rain !!!

[Aunt Sally]

I work in the field of meteorology and climate and it is dreadful the way papers like the Mail twist research findings to suit their agenda and deliberately mislead the public.

Met office or BBC is where I look too.

I think all the newspapers twist most things