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Post by reed on Mar 27, 2017 4:17:08 GMT -5
We got a little rain yesterday and cooled off a little. The day before was our first over 80 F and it had been pretty dry. All the gardens are in order, tilled up and the fences back up. Not much planted yet though other than some spring stuff, it feels like I'm way behind cause of how warm/hot it's been.
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Post by walt on Mar 27, 2017 16:14:34 GMT -5
I also got some rain yesterday and last night. Not much, but enough I won't have to water my garden for a few days.
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Post by mskrieger on Mar 29, 2017 13:43:46 GMT -5
it poured here last two days. Snow is still melting off. I hope to dig and plant part of the garden this weekend...if it's dry.
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Post by toomanyirons on Apr 5, 2017 9:27:47 GMT -5
An early spring here so yesterday I sowed lettuce, spinach, radishes. This is 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule. Was nice to fire up the tiller and get my hands dirty planting stuff again, nothing does a better job of chasing away the winter blues for me. Today I am going to plant some seed potatoes and onion plants. Both are risky as there still is plenty of time for hard frosts to kill them off or cripple them but they were inexpensive so worth the risk for the reward of some early fresh eating. I may sow some other stuff later this week, highs for Saturday and Sunday here are forecast in the low 70s. Those kinds of highs in early April are not good - too warm too early. Perennial flower and veggie plants will suffer for it by growing too fast too early. I have seen this before, a price is always paid for excessively unseasonably warm weather in springtime.
Some of the garlic was up in late February. That is much too early for here, earliest I have ever had garlic sprouts show above the soil surface. Luckily we had a mild March so the plants didn't freeze out.
Crocus, blood roots, squill are blooming, lots of perennial flower plants are coming up.
Harvested my first food plants, had baby nettle greens with dinner last evening along with fresh chopped chives and green garlic on my scalloped potatoes. Thus initiates the coming season of plenty.
More realistic, average temps in the low to mid 50s forecast for all next week, much preferred for this time of year.
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Post by steev on Apr 6, 2017 2:14:46 GMT -5
Been clear and warm; warmer than my preference for work, but things grow apace; predicted rain to return late tomorrow into Friday; inconvenient, work-wise, but otherwise good.
As it is said, "If you want to be a gambler, be a farmer/gardener". It's all an adventure, with no guaranteed return, subject to forces even greater than Wall Street or the !%, though they may be too self-involved to realize where their wealth really comes from; mere rapaciousness is simply not sustainable; eventually, all the prey has been taken, or it turns on the predators.
I'm betting on the latter possibility, if only because I have no inclination to go down easy. "It's a hard rain that's gonna fall.."
"Don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows".
I suppose I may be a tad stuck in the 60's, but there is no question that the climate is changing, apart from the spew from corporate whores and the data-deficient climate-change deniers.
I need to get corn planted; never done that before June; never planted tomatoes this early, but I'm toying with the idea.
I'm not sure I'm pleased with the prospect of a seven-month growing season, but one must adapt, por supuesto que si. Can this be dealt with? Si; se puede.
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Post by richardw on Apr 6, 2017 2:44:17 GMT -5
After two years of dry, the rain over the last few days has returned in force (50mm), so much so that shingle/rock extraction from my quarry will have to be postponed till next summer thanks to a rapidly rising water table. Thanks to stockpiling during summer, i'm able to keep stone laying during winter.
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Post by reed on Apr 6, 2017 3:44:24 GMT -5
Hit the low 80s again yesterday then a little bit of a storm. Windy this morning and cooler, didn't rain much. I suspect I can work the ground later today. Potatoes and peas are up, daffodils and lilacs in full bloom, their early growth didn't get frosted this year. Peaches are finished blooming, grapes are leafing out. All the earliest spring flowers are already finished. I will be planting most everything as soon as today if the ground is workable. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see 90 degrees before the end of of April.
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Post by jondear on Apr 6, 2017 5:04:36 GMT -5
Lilacs won't bloom here til the end of may 😑
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Post by reed on Apr 6, 2017 7:19:48 GMT -5
I actually have lilacs in various stages, one modern variety is about done, a couple more modern ones are now in full bloom. The modern ones have larger flower clusters and larger individual flowers but in my book they are just some bush that blooms.
My favorites are just getting started good. They are old white and purple varieties that I swiped from the abandoned yards on the state's hunting property. They have smaller clusters and smaller individual flowers but lots more of them and lots better fragrance.
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Post by mskrieger on Apr 6, 2017 11:40:34 GMT -5
My liliacs aren't blooming yet, and the buds look haggard. The warmth in February followed by the brutal cold and wintry mix of March might've zapped all the fruit trees. I see visible damage on my crabapple buds, half unfurled. The peaches will probably bloom but it could be a second year in a row with no fruit.
The garlic, daffodills and other allium type things look OK.
It's now raining, raining, raining. Most of the snow has melted except for the big piles at the sides of parkinglots and the northern side of buildings. Peas began to germinate a couple days ago...I hope all this rain doesn't drown them.
Over the weekend the sun is supposed to come out, and next week we might break 70 degrees! That would be lovely. But right now it's all just speculation.
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Post by gilbert on Apr 6, 2017 18:37:29 GMT -5
After a warm, dry March here in Denver with no snow, it hit 24 degrees and snowed here two days ago. All the trees were in flower, I assume there was some damage. There were hardly even any frosts in March! Now it is bouncing back into the 70 degree range.
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Post by steev on Apr 7, 2017 23:50:50 GMT -5
The last few days have been occasional showers, sometimes heavy, but brief; strong wind last night; lots of dead branches broken off.
No question that the drought has been broken, except one doesn't know what next year will (fail to?) bring.
Oh, well, I intend to plan for the worst, while hoping for "normal", as it used to be.
As I pointed out to one of my clients: Cali has had 100-year droughts; neither of us will see more than a few years of that, if it comes in our times.
Promote genetic diversity; breed to improve current/local utility; educate our heirs to value and promote that; more than that, we cannot do.
The greater ecosystem is largely beyond our control (I defer not a whit to the ostrich-brained climate-change deniers; it's happening, and it's largely our own damned fault), but we are humans, remarkably behaviorally agile primates, so we can modify our behavior to suit circumstances, whether of our causing or our Great Mother's processes.
I suspect the greatest challenge we face as a species is not how we deal with the climate, but with how we deal with ourselves; which is to say with those most negatively impacted by climate change, in conflict with those most currently privileged. Will we work to ensure the survival of all, or go to war, to protect the privileged?
The Americas, NZ, and Oz are somewhat insulated from these concerns, but ultimately not so much; the sooner we begin to grapple with these problems, the better off we will eventually be. As a general rule, a problem bottled up causes more damage, the longer it is denied.
Humans are no less a genetic diversity issue than tomatoes or corn; one could make a case for cultural diversity, as well, but I'll not burden anyone further.
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Post by richardw on Apr 8, 2017 0:32:27 GMT -5
Its really worrying that your as you call it a ostrich-brained climate-change denier of a leader is using his own personal beliefs and implementing them into law, its a sad indictment of a so called democratic system. i know i know, no political postings allowed.....
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Post by steev on Apr 8, 2017 0:36:12 GMT -5
I'll not go on about that malignant, narcissistic, paranoid, delusional bell-end; perish the thought.
Yes, no political listings allowed...
In any event, our Great Mother is bringing the SF Bay Area (and NorCal, in general) rain, at the moment. Within reason, it's a blessing.
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Post by richardw on Apr 8, 2017 2:22:54 GMT -5
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