A perfect sunny winter's day on the allotment

It has been a wall to wall sunny day on the allotment today, with a high of 5°C. A perfect day for putting the radio on and tidying up the allotment. The jobs included:

• Washing the green algae from the greenhouse panes
• Moving some old wood about
• Organising my 'hardening off' and Spring sowing area
• Recycle old plastic greenhouse frames into netting frames
• General tidy and sweep

New netting frames recycled from old greenhouse frames

Planted my greenhouse winter lettuce

Winter Gem lettuce

Arctic King lettuce

My Xmas present - thanks sis!

I've Joined the RSPB

Great tit on my plot

Got a phone call from the RSPB today asking if I would like to become a member. I didn't want to do the membership enrolment over the phone, so instead did it online.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/

Allotment Wildlife

I always try to consider the wildlife on my plot and so make sure I do things that are of benefit to them, for example:

• I don't use slug pellets
• I put out wild bird food
• I have weeds and plant some wildlife friendly plants (e.g. Buddleia, Nettles or Bramble)
• I have some untidy areas with grass, old wood and rotting stuff
• I have put a bird box
• I have made a pond and a drinking area for birds
• I have rats, ok I don't like them but don't poison them either and keep them restricted to the bottom of the plot through careful practices (e.g. shed protection and compost / seeds storage)
• I have a fox and hedgehogs that visits regularly
• I use barrier protect for crops, e.g. netting, polytunnels or don't mind a bit of damage

For wildlife friendly plants see: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/wildlifegarden/plants.aspx

Wild birds

Siskin (source: RSPB)

Let's hope all this effort will pay off next year with more birds, bees and wildlife, especially:

• Bluetit
• Bullfinch
• Goldfinch
• Siskin

Snowy December Plot

Well the very windy weather that was predicted did not materialise as the low pressure went further south over France. Instead we did get some snow and sleet on the northern flanks. Here are some pretty lotty in the snow pics.

Not quite cold enough to stick at 1°C

Snow makes the bleakness less gloomy

Small poly-tunnels protecting beans / peas from snow

Snowy clear plot

Herbs in snow

Covered ground

Rainbow chard in snow

Greenhouse, and yes in snow!

Snowy lotty scene

Chaotic weather, storms, drought and the AO index

What a difference a year makes - oh and we still have concerns over on-going drought conditions!

Icicle on bird feeder in Dec 2010

This time last year it was very cold and we had the 2nd coldest Decembers on record. This year we got the 2nd warmest autumn on record and December is turning into a very stormy, mild and chaotic weather month. Last week, exceptionally strong hurricane-like winds battered Scotland, some over 100MPH. Oh and we could still be in drought conditions.

See: Scotland battered by worst storm for 10 years
See: Drought warning for England

Early warning of big storms to hit Midlands next week..will post more in next blog if turns out correct! UPDATE: Not as severely windy but still windy.


Here is a long rang pressure map for next Friday over the UK. Tight isobars over Scotland, N. Ireland, North and N. Midlands, so strong winds likely from Northwest. Have read gusts of 50+MPH over Midlands and 70+MPH over Scotland.

Source: @StuOstro on Twitter

The Arctic Oscillation Index (AO)

If you are interested in forecasting UK weather patterns during winter, take a look at what the AO index is up to. See: AO Data / Graph

In the winter, UK weather patterns will be effected by the AO in the following ways:

• When the AO is positive we get warmer air sucked up from Equator and Atlantic, so more likely to get low pressure storms sent our way. Although more warm and chaotic, we could get brief heavy snow / sleet showers where the warm air meets cold and even snow lighting!!
• When AO is negative we get more blocking high pressure sitting over us and cold air dragged in from Arctic / northern Europe. Weather is sunnier but bitterly cold and dry.

See more: http://nsidc.org/arcticmet/patterns/arctic_oscillation.html

Source: @StuOstro on Twitter

StuOstro (twitter) has provided a useful graphic of the difference in AO for 2009/2010/2011.

Looking at the Dec average temps - you can perhaps see the effect of the AO:

• 2009 = -1.5°C (below average, 99th coldest on record)
• 2010 = -5.3°C (below average, 2nd coldest on record)
• 2011 =  currently +1°C (above average, but off a record breaking Nov of +3°C above average)

Early crops

As you can see from previous posts, my early peas, broad beans and onions are up and growing. This isn't a big problem as long as the weather stays mild over the winter, and I have covered them. However, we did get some overnight lows of -2°C and sleet/snow on friday.

December photos

Winter plot

+1°C daytime temp during cold snap

Thin ice on water butts

Early Peas in greenhouse (+5°C inside)

Winter cabbage

Winter lettuce

January start video

Happy New Year!

Well after the coldest year for 25 years and the coldest December for 120 years - I wonder what 2011 will bring.

Here's to the future!!!

Frozen Lotty @ Xmas!

Frozen shed

Snow covered

Ice

Quiet plot

Sad sprouts

Frozen solid

Snowy

Xmas vid!!

December's Here!!!

Ok - final month of my video series...will post asap (but been busy with redecorating etc..).

Main news is the snow and EXTREME cold - when I say EXTREME I do mean it. How's about -13!!!!

Anyway,  hope my onions will survive this.

Check out the graph:




Hadobs CET - smash that bottom line!!!
[Click to enlarge]

 

End of Feb 2010

February continued the very cold run - with well below average temps, lots of snow and ice!

It has been the coldest winter since 1979!

But, that didn't stop me from sowing and I have some seedlings coming along just fine:

• Indoors = Tomatoes have come up (Money Maker)
• Outdoors (greenhouse) = Cabbages / Broads / Peas

So all hail the plastic greenhouse!!! Will follow up this post with a vid very soon....

End of Jan 2010

As promised - a video and photo update.

Things done this this month:

• Bought loads of seeds - and Globe Artichoke
• Found some plastic box storage shelves lying about in an alley - utilised!
• Put loads of chicken poo on soil and dug in
• Planned & marked out new planting areas
• Put new roof on shed
• Made a new bed - recycling some bricks
• Finally bough a wheel-barrow
• Made a new water collection system / mended water barrel (thank god for 'no-nails')
• Planted peas (see sticks + small windows)
• Sowed some Leeks, Peas & Broad Beans in shed

All in all a fairly busy month that was mainly about physical building and digging jobs.

What to look out for in Feb:

• How the outdoor sown Peas will do (this winter has been quite harsh)
• Sow some more of the hardier stuff - Broad Beans, Peas & Leeks
• Have general weed, tidy, patch up & paint of the shed/plot

Here's to Feb 2010 - oh and enjoy the vid!