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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jan 12, 2014 2:55:26 GMT -5
What's your weather like this growing season? How is it affecting your crops?
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Post by philagardener on Jan 12, 2014 7:42:08 GMT -5
Greetings, all! Wild temperature swings continue outside of Philadelphia. Last week we went from 2F to 60F in just a few days. This morning the robins are singing their Spring songs. I've seen buds swelling on bushes and bulbs starting to emerge. The forecast is for seasonal cold to return by mid-week. My kales have taken a beating in the snow, ice and cold, and the greens and root crops in my low tunnel are in very poor shape. Too early to tell about Fall planted garlic, shallots, and potato onions. Luckily, I have some in reserve (was comparing Fall vs Spring starts.) I had a 4 ft Rosemary that may or may not make it through outside (again, rooted cuttings inside as a backup). It will be interesting to see where things go from here. Good luck to everyone for 2014!
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Post by billw on Jan 12, 2014 8:23:39 GMT -5
We had some freezing weather in late Nov/early Dec, but have resumed normal 40 degree lows / 45 degree highs. Greens are coming in everywhere. Lettuce and spinach are looking good. Just transplanted out some peas. Weeds are doing great as well. It is always tempting to plant more at this time of year with the mild weather, but odds are that we'll get just enough frosts through March to kill anything vulnerable.
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Post by richardw on Jan 12, 2014 13:30:14 GMT -5
The true summer heat hasn't arrived here yet though there are signs that SE coastal Australia are due for a heat wave in the coming days so we should get a bit of that hot air mass during the later part of this week,the temps so far this summer have neither been too hot or cold,mainly in 20's C deg with plenty of sunshine hours,so,still experiencing good growth rates thankfully.
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Post by raymondo on Jan 12, 2014 16:16:40 GMT -5
It's been warm and dry here. We had our hottest January day on record a week or so ago. Daytime temps hover around 30°C, unusual for here, but nights still dipping to around 10°C. The lack of rain has been and still is an issue. Seems we are back in drought with evaporation exceeding precipitation for eight months straight.
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Post by templeton on Jan 12, 2014 16:33:46 GMT -5
38=102 today, 42=108, 43=109,43, 43, 32, 36 predicted for the next week. Feels like black saturday all over again.fingers crosed for low winds and no fire bugs. But its been a cool, if dry spring and summer. I've added extra dipper tube to my garden beds this year, which is gulping through the tanks, but I've really noticed the improvement in growth from the extra water. On to town water fairly soon, I think, I can usually count on a summer thunderstorm or two to replenish my tanks, but can never rely on the timing- wrong lotto numbers this year, obviously.
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Post by blackox on Jan 12, 2014 17:57:56 GMT -5
It's been wet and in the mid 40's all day today.
Templeton, by black saturday are you referring to the bush fires? I was thinking that it was black september. But now that I think about it more, I think that was a terrorist group.
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Post by steev on Jan 12, 2014 22:20:58 GMT -5
There was drizzle in the Bay Area on Saturday, nothing useful; still dry on the farm.
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Post by templeton on Jan 13, 2014 6:21:01 GMT -5
It's been wet and in the mid 40's all day today. Templeton, by black saturday are you referring to the bush fires? I was thinking that it was black september. But now that I think about it more, I think that was a terrorist group. Yep, right on the money, B Ox. Black september - munich olympics Black saturday, bushfires. Does this naming of fire events take place elsewhere? Seems our media need to put a label on catastrophe, usually with some sort of emotive term attached. We had the black friday bushfires in '39, Ash Wednesday in 1983, but the big fires I remember from the early 60's when it rained ash for days until our Melbourne back lawn was white, didn't get a handle - probably not enough deaths. I remember going across the road into the orchard to watch houses explode in the Dandenong Ranges about 10 km away - at least thats what we convinced ourselves we were seeing. Hadn't thought about that for years... en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September_(group)en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Saturday_bushfiresBlack Saturday was just a rotten, stinking hot, filthy day... Sorry, too many fire stories for a chatty weather post.lighten up, Templeton
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jan 13, 2014 14:20:48 GMT -5
Around here, fires are named after the place where they started...
So we get things like the "Millville Fire", or the "Rock Creek Fire". One thing about Millville Canyon, is that it is right on the urban/wildland interface, so it catches fire about twice per decade. Thus we get the "Millville fire of 2013", or the "Last Time Millville Canyon Caught on Fire", or the "Millville Fire When I Was A Kid", etc. My daddy remembers the last time the family farm burned, but I'm too young. Smoky air and ash falls are common around here, but they travel a long ways so I've never felt threatened by a wildfire. Nevertheless, when I go into the wild country during dry weather, I keep a couple of escape routes in mind because fire can travel faster than I can drive on rutted roads...
We had rain last night... It fell on top of snow. It has been a really pleasant winter for me. Snowcover arrived a few months ago and is still here, but temperatures have been moderate (for this area).
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Post by rowan on Jan 13, 2014 17:51:47 GMT -5
Been getting 45C (113f) starting yesterday and continuing for the next week. Luckily I covered many of my beds with shadecloth covers but things are still frying. At least these temp didn't start in December like it did last year. I hate summer.
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Post by allyh on Jan 13, 2014 21:21:50 GMT -5
I'm not a big fan of our hot summers either. I was enjoying the milder summer we've had so far, and so was my garden. Only having a small veggie patch, I've managed to cover up most things so that they don't fry in the expected 43C (109F) heat today. It's already 38C outside - I'm sitting in an air conditioned office at present with no intention of leaving the building until its time to go home.
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Post by steev on Jan 13, 2014 22:19:44 GMT -5
46C is about what I expect, Summers on the farm; it's amazing how many plants really hate that, regardless of water; they just refuse to grow. July is mostly a wasted month, as a result. I typically log plenty of hammock-riding, working mostly <11 and >3, eating plenty of salty snacks and drinking LOTS of water.
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Post by richardw on Jan 15, 2014 4:01:34 GMT -5
Black Saturday was a day i remember swimming down at the river with a brown sky over head,every so often there would be an area of black smoke indicating a town had gone up in flames.
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Post by RpR on Jan 15, 2014 10:53:09 GMT -5
5 degrees F at 9:53 A.M.
After a blistering heat-wave in which temperatures actually got into the forties, we are back to normal temperatures.
About four inches of snow yesterday should slow down the frosts ability to go deeper in the ground during sub-zero weather.
Other wise it could be late planting this year.
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