Is it me or is it a funny old season?

[Tee Gee]

Had a good look at some of the stuff I have on the go at the moment and most of it seems to be very slow growing.

Now I try and convince myself it is still April and I usually plant much of my stuff out in late May to early June so there is plenty of time yet.

I also had a look outdoors and get the feeling that I shouldn't worry as it will all be ready when I need it.

I say this because I still have loads of Daffodils in bloom, the Tulips are just coming into flower and the blossom is a bit late. OK the onamental cherry is in full bloom but the Pears and Apples are not, so I guess it is a ate season.

As some of you may remember I use my spring flowers as a sort of barometer so I guess this still hold true.

Here are a few pictures judge for yourselves!

The Tomatoes are not the least bit leggy as you can see here:



The Sweet Peppers are just starting to move on now:



These are a few bedding plants I have on the go:





The view from my greenhouse doorway:



The Shrubbery:



The Heather bed:



Feel free to comment and compare as I would like to hear if any of you have similar thoughts...Tg

[Tee Gee]

[BarriedaleNick]

I feel the same - it seems like a slow old start to the year and it feels like it has been too cold for much to get going.  However looking at average temps we haven't been that far off so maybe I am just being impatient.

[ancellsfarmer]

I wonder if this is exceptional, or the new "norm"? How can one decide? How many years does one take to find the average? Which factors in the environment lead to change? Can we believe the doom mongers/ change deny-ers, or meterologists at all? Perhaps its just the huffy breath of all those extra citizens we find we are required to share

[Deb P]

Your tomatoes look pretty similar to mine, but my chillies and peppers are more advanced, which I would put down to using a plug in heat mat for the first time. I was given one as a Christmas present, and so far I'm quite impressed! I've used it inside a four tier mini greenhouse inside my normal greenhouse which I think has helped keep the temperature even as the greenhouse is just kept frost free.
Outside my tulips have been flowering for weeks in the post by the house, the others are just colouring up, two pots of parrot tulip are in full flower but the daffs are over and done with.....
I have germinated my beans and courgettes, but won't be planting them out until mid May with protection......it is a bit of a mixed year!

[galina]

Yes it is!  We had daffs flowering in the next street to us in December and now ours are still going strong.  That's 5 months of daffs, normally we have at best 5 weeks.

Earlier in the new year it seemed like we had got away without much of a winter.  But now actually things are late.  The forsythia is only just now in full flower (a month late), rhubarb is definitely late (but we are finally picking the first half size sticks).  Just about every other year at this time the daffs are over - not this year. 

More than anything, it doesn't feel quite right.  I know this sounds a bit weird, but I can't put it any other way.  We are still getting fairly sharp frosts too.  I had a few plants burnt in the greenhouse, but I think they will recover.  It was touch and go, although this was in the very sheltered greenhouse with the warmest microclimate. 

We have plum trees in flower, but the pear trees which normally flower at the same time, haven't started yet.  Not even the Asian pear.  Apples are not even close yet.  The wild plum has been flowering for absolute ages. 

Tulips have just started flowering, again very late, but the grape hyacinths have started at around normal time.  The iris is in bud, probably will open next week.   

[ACE]

When you think of the warm winter up to xmas, when I was still harvesting celery, it must follow that the early spring will linger a bit longer, I have reasonable temps but with a constant overcast sky I am putting the slowness down to bad light levels. In the days of 'encouraging' or holding back our show plants, 99% was down to correcting the shading or leaving the grow lights on, heat did not really matter apart from a few exotics.

I know somebody who is playing around with hydroponics and even with the liquids being up to temperature the cuttings root very quickly, but  it is the light that is triggering foliage growth.

[markfield rover]

Tee Gee I feel quite reassured now as mine look like yours.

[artichoke]

I judge the season by the appearance of my asparagus. Some years I can get a reasonable first treat picked by now, but this year one tiny spear is almost invisible, and the cold at night has turned it purple. And that's my early row of Gijnlim. I rather hope Backlim is still well underground because I have a lot of weeding and feeding to do..... Next Monday will be May when it is often well up, but I don't think it will happen this year.

[Tee Gee]

Tee Gee I feel quite reassured now as mine look like yours.

Comments like this and the others reassures me also, so thanks to you all for replying...Tg

[Paulines7]

My seedlings are much about the same as yours Tee Gee.  Your tomato plants look a bit more advanced than mine though, when did you start yours off?  I was very tempted to buy some from the garden centre a few days ago as theirs were bigger, but the price put me off.  They were £2 each!  Choice was very limited too and there was nothing special to tempt me. 

I still have quite a few seedlings indoors, but they are not doing as well as those in my unheated greenhouse.  I may move them to the greenhouse shortly to see if they catch up.  I will put fleece over them as they still look fragile and we could still have a frost.  It's so cold outside still, even in the south of England.   

All our daffs and narcissi are out in bloom now and plenty of blossoms too. 

[Tee Gee]

Your tomato plants look a bit more advanced than mine though, when did you start yours off?

An extract from my Data Base Diary:

13/02/2016   Wk6    Tomato    Sowed 12 Sub Arctic,12 Craigella,12 Outdoor Girl,12 Black Russian,12 Nectar
13/02/2016   Wk6    Tomato   Sowed 9 Heinz,16 Alicante,12 Tasha,20 Feurta,20 Plum,20 Vanessa,50 M/Maker,50 G/Delight


My Peppers went in:

13/02/2016   Wk6   Sweet Pepper   Sowed 24 Red California,28 Tesco Yellow,7 £shop Calif Wonder,31 Kings Calif Wonder

[caroline7758]

The weeds don't seem to be any slower!