Spring Weather

[Roma]

Sun's shining again.  Some sunshine this morning then alternate showers of hail, sleet, rain and wet snow for the rest of the day.  More snow forecast for tonight and tomorrow. 

[Darren]

It is raining. You might think this unremarkable for NW England but this is the first rain our garden has seen since Easter Sunday. So pretty much a whole month. There has been odd showers in surrounding areas, including both our workplaces, but nothing at home.

I have been at home on holiday for two weeks and it was unbroken sunshine until today. Reckon I must have spent two whole days just watering....

[Steve Garvie]

Still no rain here in arid West Fife. 
It has been almost 5 weeks since we last had rain! I have a warm well-drained south-facing garden and so have been watering somewhere in the garden on a daily basis.

The desert metaphor has been brought to reality here as the ash lagoons from Longannet Power station have caused considerable problems for the residents of the coastal West Fife villages. These ash lagoons are extensive. Previously coal ash from the power station at Longannet was mixed with water and pumped to the lagoons which have a series of sprinklers around the periphery to keep the ash damp. With decommissioning of the power station the pumping of liquified ash has stopped but the extended dry period has caused the lagoons to completely dry out resulting in tons of fine ash becoming airborne. This ash has then settled on local homes and gardens. My greenhouses/frames have a thick covering of ash which has also impeded plant growth and killed many seedlings outright. On some days the visibility was reduced to 10 metres -almost an apocalyptic scene resembling that of a volcanic eruption. Apart from the damage to plants there is a real danger to one's health -particularly in individuals with pre-existing respiratory disease.

Here is a view up my garden to the woods behind and then a view down our garden to the side of the house -there should be a field/trees in the distance:




Below are images of a cold frame, the car roof and car sun-roof:






This problem was covered by the local newspapers but didn't reach the BBC or other major news outlets:  http://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/villages/15264932.Concern_continues_to_spread_as_ash_cloud_lingers_over_West_Fife_villages/?ref=rl&lp=2#

[Maggi Young]

Good grief, Steve, that's a major health hazard. Shocking indeed that it is being successfully "hidden" from general  publicity.

[Graham Catlow]

I was wondering what that was. I can see it rising on the wind from this side of the Forth. Fortunately (for us) there doesn't seem to be any heading in this direction.
First rain for weeks but so little so far that it hasn't made much difference to the ground. Having to water at least every other day.

[Steve Garvie]

Significant rainfall here today. At last the dust is being washed away.
This afternoon it is serious umbrella weather -blue umbrellas.

[Steve Garvie]

My modest-sized garden is on a south-facing slope. It is fairly sheltered to east & west by high fences/hedging whilst immediately to the north there is a steep sloping woooded hill. This has created a warm micro-climate and I tend to find my plants are ahead of others who garden in central Scotland. I can never remember it being too hot before but Friday 26th May produced the hottest temperaure I have ever experienced in this garden. The temperature in the open garden exposed to the sun rose to almost 31C. My unshaded greenhouse (used to grow winter-growing bulbs mainly) was unbearably hot. I have a number of shade frames which I use to grow himalayan plants, primulas, cypripedium, etc; the air temperature in these rose above 29C despite good shading. By the end of the day a number of plants were obviously very stressed -particularly himalayan primulas and some of the cypripedium. Only 3 days after this temperature peak the daytime highs dropped to 13C with rain & high humidity causing botrytis on the damaged leaves of some of primulas and cyps (also flower bud rot). Fortunately most of my plants have survived and those cyps grown in a specially constructed raised-bed "frame" seem to be quite unscathed despite air temperatures reaching 29C.

The Cyp raised bed (8ftx4ft) is made of wood & is lined by a thick waterproof plastic membrane and insulated on the inner surface with 2.5cm thick polystyrene sheets down to ground level. The bed is filled with sharp sand and contains a simple irrigation dripper system to keep the plunge damp when required. The raised bed is confined within a protective cage (an old school bicycle parking stand) to keep out cats, dogs and larger birds. The frame is covered with a polycarbonate roof which is shaded with 70% aluminet and there is a small fan which prevents hot air building up below the roof. This arrangement did not prevent air temperatures in excess of 27C but the sand plunge remained appreciably cooler as did the Cyp roots. I sprayed the plants in the mid-afternoon as temperatures peaked but on hindsight I think this caused problems with some of the spotted leaf Cyps as they have developed flower bud rot (I've removed the flower buds to prevent spread of the rot).

I suspect that hot days like this will become more frequent with global warming, does anyone have any special tips or advice as to what else can be done to protect susceptible plants from such heat?


-a collapsed "pot" of Omphalogramma vinciflorum (surprisingly it now appears to be recovering).


-air temperature (in), soil temperature (out) and air humidity (despite spraying!), in a primula shade frame.


-temperature (max, min and actual) in my Cyp frame.


-Aluminet shade netting (70%) -excludes direct sun, reflects a high proportion of infra-red but creates good diffuse light under-canopy.


-Covered Cyp. bed.


-sprayed water did litttle to cool the plants and subsequently encouraged some flower bud rot.

[Carolyn]

I use fleece secured with clothes pegs. When wet, the fleece keeps a nice humid atmosphere beneath it. One day of intense sunshine (UV level 7, unheard of in Scotland!) I was checking my mec seedlings and did not replace the fleece - result - sizzled mec seedlings. Next year I will be more careful!

[Steve Garvie]

I use fleece secured with clothes pegs. When wet, the fleece keeps a nice humid atmosphere beneath it. One day of intense sunshine (UV level 7, unheard of in Scotland!) I was checking my mec seedlings and did not replace the fleece - result - sizzled mec seedlings. Next year I will be more careful!

Thanks Carolyn.
Using fleece for evaporative cooling and maintaining humidity isn't something I had thought of. Well worth giving it a try.

[David Nicholson]

I thought this was June but it's March isn't it.... isn't it? Gales all day today and likely to be even worse as the evening goes on; torrential rain storms and 'normal' rain since the off today with the forecast showing rain for Ivybridge every day this week. Barometer is as low as I have ever seen it in June.

[ian mcdonald]

Cold, wet and windy here today as well. At least the garden doesn,t mind.

[David Nicholson]

I thought this was June but it's March isn't it.... isn't it? Gales all day today and likely to be even worse as the evening goes on; torrential rain storms and 'normal' rain since the off today with the forecast showing rain for Ivybridge every day this week. Barometer is as low as I have ever seen it in June.

........... and 34C mid-afternoon today after five very hot days with more to come.

[Maggi Young]

34 degrees C is  daft for the UK, even for you in the far south!

[Maggi Young]

It's Spring in the southern hemisphere - but they're still getting some cold spells - this photo is from the Kaydale Garden in Tasmania, where Lesley Crowden and her sister Amarlie  have  just seen this ....  even they admit it's pretty!