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Post by steev on Jun 25, 2017 19:55:04 GMT -5
100F this farm weekend; temps dropped all the way to 70F last night.
There'd been a 5-6 acre fire 2 miles from the farm in the past week; not obvious how it started, being well off the road; the fire season is off to a worrying start in NorCal.
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Post by mskrieger on Jun 27, 2017 11:02:32 GMT -5
Been raining regularly for weeks, interspersed with nice sunny days and only a couple humid ones. The garden is very, very happy.
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Post by steev on Jun 29, 2017 22:36:34 GMT -5
It's been typical summer weather in the SF Bay Area; the heated Central Valley sucks marine air in, so we have early overcast and cool temps; such a relief from June's heat.
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Post by zeedman on Jun 30, 2017 15:39:17 GMT -5
Pretty much nothing but rain, at least every other day all June; we are way above normal. My area seems to be in the weather crosshairs this year, with stationary fronts that just hover over us for days. Only half of my garden got planted before the rain moved in, and at this point, I've given up on the other half. Nothing but a never-drying mud pit. Same thing happened in 2013, when my worst weeds were cattails and willow seedlings, if that tells you anything. Much of the seed I planted has rotted in the ground, and there is no time left to replant. I have transplants for many things as backups, but some of those will likely die waiting to get in the ground... and those that get planted are unlikely to reach maturity.
Hard to believe that just 4 years ago, they were concerned about the low water level in Lake Michigan. After several exceedingly wet seasons, the lake has now reached a near-record high. The local lakes - most of which are controlled by dams - are at or near flood stage. I hope that our summers return to normal, or I may need to take up gardening in pots (more than the 16 I already use).
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Post by jondear on Jul 1, 2017 18:23:21 GMT -5
We've had abnormal amounts of rain here in Maine this year as well.
My onions went in late, but are coming along well now, the orange grain corn too early - resulting in a massive fail... But I was in Arizona for two weeks when I should have been here planting. So instead, I put in a massive ( for me) carrot trial where the corn patch failed. At least I'll get something orange. 😜
However, the peas and brassicas are happy, happy, happy... And I planted lots of them...
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Post by zeedman on Jul 1, 2017 22:55:00 GMT -5
On the evening local news, they announced the rainfall totals for June: just under 8" in my area. DW & I put in all but a few of the remaining transplants today in the semi-dry areas, and replanted the corn. We revised the garden plan to put in more summer squash, snap beans, & sweet corn in place of the crops which failed. The long-term forecast finally shows a drying trend, but the low end of the garden (about 3000 square feet) is still so saturated that it is unlikely to dry out. I think that previous floods have washed out enough soil from that area that it will be marsh, unless I bring in enough topsoil to restore that area to its previous level.
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Post by philagardener on Jul 2, 2017 5:26:56 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that you lost a lot of soil. It was a difficult start this year for many of us but at least things seem to be improving on many fronts. My tomatoes are finally picking up - many years I have picked my first for the 4th of July, but this year I think I will be lucky to see anything before the end of the month.
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Post by richardw on Jul 5, 2017 14:26:14 GMT -5
The coldest frost of the winter so far this morning on -4.9C, and whats worse low cloud rolled in as the sun was starting to rise trapping the cold air in
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Post by reed on Jul 6, 2017 3:58:47 GMT -5
We're getting a little rain this morning, sure hope it keeps up for awhile. Had plans to water corn, beans and tomatoes today now maybe I won't have too. We are getting more serious about finding a new place with better access to water. Sure hate the idea of it all but it is getting where regular watering of the garden is a necessity. I need a pond and my ground doesn't have a place for one, or a creek and most go completely dry around here in summer anymore or a well and I'm on top of a hill, probably 500 ft to good water.
We still get plenty of rain if you just count the total over time, problem is it comes mostly in brief downpours, often spaced weeks apart. For now I guess I'll have just to get more tanks and improve my collection system.
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Post by steev on Jul 7, 2017 23:11:54 GMT -5
Today's three-day fish-wrap weather forecast for the three towns I use to interpolate the farm is all triple-digits; bugger! Looks like a nasty weekend. Oh, well; harvesting stone-fruit, I suppose; they'll be lovely, once I get cool enough to feel like eating.
Reed: sorry to hear you may need to move; that's never fun, though it might open great opportunities; can't terrace/berm to do the job where you are?
Much of the water in Cali is also seasonal, so far as creeks are concerned, and no rain at all 6 or 7 months of the year. As we say in Cali: "Wine is for drinking; water is for fighting over". Given that a quarter of the produce used in the USA is from Cali, you can see that the fight is increasingly bitter. SoCal is semi-desert, but there is lots of land for Big-Ag, provided they can get NorCal water; can't say I favor that; I'd rather see the money new water projects would cost put into returning Cali's public schools to being the finest in the country, as they were into the 60's, pre-Reagan.
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Post by richardw on Jul 10, 2017 0:12:53 GMT -5
Snow due tomorrow and suppose to keep up for two days, between 30cm and a metre is forecasted.
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Post by mskrieger on Jul 11, 2017 15:46:50 GMT -5
yes, we're having another wet week. Far different than recent years. My tomatoes, like @philagardeners, are far behind. And my peppers and eggplants are so small I have doubts we'll get a crop at all. But yes, the brassicas and peas are still going strong. This may be my first 'cabbage summer' as a gardener...
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Post by prairiegardens on Jul 11, 2017 20:02:23 GMT -5
Couple of hours from here got totally nailed with flooding rain AND hail yesterday, people canoeing in the streets. We got a good rain but nothing nearly so severe, needed the moisture because we'd had a heat wave all last week. The system still moving through but the worst looks like we will be on the edge, if affected at all other than a possible shower. Blessed relief from the heat though, finally got a good nights sleep.
Don't know if it's too late but as soon as it dries up enough going to plant a bunch of stuff, bush beans, Swiss chard, kale, baby carrots etc, if nothing else they'll give the weeds a run for their money. It was astonishing how much water can be collected off one relatively small roof, should almost be enough to do the garden the rest of the summer from just a couple of days of rain.
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Post by richardw on Jul 13, 2017 4:47:52 GMT -5
. It was astonishing how much water can be collected off one relatively small roof, should almost be enough to do the garden the rest of the summer from just a couple of days of rain. And here's me i just let the rainwater off the roof just run down onto the ground, mind you, what rain, dont get a lot these days anyway.
Much of NZ had snow over the last few days, managed to miss here thank goodness. |
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Post by reed on Jul 13, 2017 9:24:01 GMT -5
Turning awful hot here. Was 94 yesterday when I checked at about 7:30 PM. I imagine it was even worse earlier in the afternoon. It's 10 AM now and 87. My thermometer is under the tree shaded east porch so it isn't getting any solar gain. Supposed to be a little better over the weekend they say.
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