Could we have some rain? It`s beyond a joke here-nothing is thriving after the longest spring drought I can remember.
And it`s windy-no point in putting my plants out for sale as the wind rips into them ruining perfect plants in minutes.
I`m not a happy bunny :'(
Its certainly dry, just 1.5mm on the 6th and thats it for the whole month of April, ground cracking already.
It did rain hard in next town the other day and here too but missed our garden and missed the allotments too! >:(
i live up north (durham) and we have only had one bit of rain in the whole of april and that was very brief ,our soil is normally very dry but it's like a desert now >:(
Do you think if we all did a rain dance it would help ;D ;D ;D.
Very dry in Cheshire too.
I've noticed that unusually dry springs are invariably followed by a summer of constant rain, so be careful what you wish for. I give it a couple of weeks before the British monsoon season starts, when I plan to seed my new lawn!
Dustbowl here too- when I passed Askham Bryan college yesterday evening they had the big water sprayers on. Rain forecast for Thurs but i'll believe it when I see it- think the last rain was April 2nd.
Nope it was the 5th down at Gatwick.
2006 34.6mm
2007 4.6mm
2008 68.3mm
2009 45.7mm
2010 19.8mm
2011 1.5mm
Ave 29.1mm for April! ;D
Same here, no rain for at least a month. In places on the site there are cracks so wide and deep you can put your hand into them. We don't normally get that bad until much later.
I do a rain dance every night before bed, but it doesn't appear to be helping!! Can't remember the last time we had anything wet :-\
Can't believe Askham are wasting water on their scratty lawns like that. Friend works for Yorkshire water & they're starting emergency planning apparently. Just in case.
Lots of my stuff still in pots from our recent move & I'm going to start losing plants if we don't get some rain soon. Reluctant to put many veg seeds in, I just can't keep them going. Water butts are running seriously low. Any sign of rain & I'm out there with as many buckets & pans as I can find! Husband is getting tired of me shouting at him for throwing any small amount of water down the drain! Saved the water from the broccoli yesterday. ::)
try the tap! ;D
Ha! Very cleverly decided that it would be much better to go on a water meter. We were on one in our old house & the rates for the new house were about four times the amount per month. Stuck some water butts out & thought we'd be fine if we were sensible. No one warned me it was never going to rain ever again ::) ;D
Stupid weather ::)
Can't even nick the neighbours cos they're on one too! I've still got one water butt with some in, but if we get to the end of that I'll have to just swallow the bill & use the tap. No alternative really. Poor plants. :(
never want a meter really. think on an island surrounded by water we should never be short with out annual rainfall, too many leaks are to blame and households use a lot let than agriculture and industry.
Only 1mm of rainfall on the house roof fills the butt! 45 gallons!
Quote from: Mrs Gumboot on May 02, 2011, 21:25:13
I do a rain dance every night before bed, but it doesn't appear to be helping!! Can't remember the last time we had anything wet :-\
Can't believe Askham are wasting water on their scratty lawns like that. Friend works for Yorkshire water & they're starting emergency planning apparently. Just in case.
Lots of my stuff still in pots from our recent move & I'm going to start losing plants if we don't get some rain soon. Reluctant to put many veg seeds in, I just can't keep them going. Water butts are running seriously low. Any sign of rain & I'm out there with as many buckets & pans as I can find! Husband is getting tired of me shouting at him for throwing any small amount of water down the drain! Saved the water from the broccoli yesterday. ::)
Our neighbour spent all afternoon power washing the drive the other day ::)
power washers dont actually use that much water as I have fed mine from a bucket!
Take ours pleeeeeease it has rained her almost constantly since last year.We have no crops in and just anklle deep mud on the plots.
We are still waiting for this year to begin.
XX Jeannine
Quote from: Mrs Gumboot on May 02, 2011, 21:47:11
Ha! Very cleverly decided that it would be much better to go on a water meter. We were on one in our old house & the rates for the new house were about four times the amount per month. .
Are you sure you don't have a leak?
Quote from: Mrs Gumboot on May 02, 2011, 21:47:11
Can't even nick the neighbours cos they're on one too! I've still got one water butt with some in, but if we get to the end of that I'll have to just swallow the bill & use the tap. No alternative really. Poor plants. :(
Not quite. There are alternatives in addition to the tap. Washing fruit and veg in a bowl rather the sink and using that. Putting the plug in the bath tub and then syphoning off shower water (better if a minimum of soap has been used). Seedlings must have fairly clean water, but established stuff is fine with grey water.
No rain here either and all the verges are brown. My rain water stores are almost gone too. And none in the 5 day forecast either. Who was it that said it rains all the time in Britain ???
It will rain, when I take holiday later! ::) better not!
Quote from: Andy H on May 03, 2011, 11:42:05
It will rain, when I take holiday later! ::) better not!
Tried that, been camping over a bank holiday and everything....
Well the OH arrived home from sailing soaking wet which wasn't much help, no rain here for 2 months and it's getting very dusty..my friend refuses to buy a parasol for her garden, she claims the moment she buys one it will rain...I am now resorting to begging and threating to hide her merlot... ;D
Quote from: Jeannine on May 03, 2011, 02:28:47
Take ours pleeeeeease it has rained her almost constantly since last year.We have no crops in and just anklle deep mud on the plots.
We are still waiting for this year to begin.
XX Jeannine
Just send some of that rain over here!
We have sun today!!!!!!!!!
Oh eck, we have sun today.... but only forecast for two days then rain for 11.
XX Jeannine
I save water from sink and bath too :)
We've got very dusty soil here as everywhere. We had some rain a few night ago though, which was great. But the wind is completely mad at the moment, strange objects are blowing round the streets, and a garden pond shaped like a shell has arrived in my back garden! (Where are the fish? ??? ;D)
The soil seems to dry faster in strong winds, even plants in containers. Can that be right? ???
wind will dry very quickly... Once the surface is dry from wind or sun then I guess it is sucking up or absorbing dampness from below, hence a mulch is always a good idea. I mow the grass and throw a deep layer on my beans when they are about a foot high.
Yes that must be it I suppose, but in containers, once the plants are mature, they don't leave any soil showing, so I wouldn't think to mulch. Maybe my plants need to be in bigger containers...
Have resorted to running the shower into a bucket while i wait for it to warm up'. Use the 'shower-with-the-plug' in method in the old house but have a shower cubicle in this one & have no wish to flood the hall ;D
Bit the bullet today & planted as many things as I could into the small bit I've got prepared. They're all far too close but will deal with that later. Installed a soaker hose, membrane & a layer of bark chip. Will have to run it off the tap but have finally come to the conclusion that it's going to be cheaper than replacing everything. ::)
Joy of joys we have three days of rain forecast & it will only take a small shower to recharge the butts. They drain half the main roof, the garage & car port.
Pigeonseed - plants always dry much much quicker in wind. If I remember correctly it's because the air around the plant can only hold so much water that the plant transpires. If it's windy that air is constantly renewed so there's more potential for the plant to lose water. Warm & windy is about the worst weather for plants, especially if they're only in small pots as the soil won't hold enough water. That's also why your washing dries quicker when it's windy.
Someone will probably come along in a minute & explain that much more scientifically ;D
Just checked weather for next couple of days and Manchester area( the butt if rain jokes) can expect rain today!! And quite a bit from Monday hopefully should be able to get things out and planted. On my third set of beans ready to go in last two died because of lack of water on the plot. I too have a water meter so have resorted to filling camping bottles up at work but all the hard work transporting to plot doesn't give much when you get there to water so hopefully the next 7 days will allow all our veg and flowers to make a decent start hopefully. ;)
It's raining in Wigan, not much but it means we don't have to water the outside stuff tomorrow ;D
It's raining here in Edinburgh too Mal, thank goodness. Lovely to see all the garden greening up! Although no doubt the weeds will be reinvigorated too!!! :o :o ::)
Quote from: grawrc on May 05, 2011, 19:26:11
It's raining here in Edinburgh too Mal, thank goodness. Lovely to see all the garden greening up! Although no doubt the weeds will be reinvigorated too!!! :o :o ::)
I don't care, ;D
it's still raining, yahoo, I know it means more slugs but we've been taking 15 galls every other day and Ray's back's gone again
I have been advised by GOD that you will all get some water (rain) this week end.
It depends on how good you have been behaving on how much you will get.
If you wish to get extra supplies please send me cash in a plain envelope and I will do what I can.............
No harm in trying is there?
Quote from: pigeonseed on May 03, 2011, 19:50:49
strange objects are blowing round the streets, and a garden pond shaped like a shell has arrived in my back garden! (Where are the fish? ??? ;D)
Bonus! And a freebie !
Quite a bit of nice soft rain last night. None of this nasty flash thunderstorm malarky that they're forecasting.
Jeannine I only hope you have a couple of days of sun to compensate! It's only fair!
PH - you are a bad girl!
There are grey clouds on the western horizon :D Pleeze oh pleeze keep on coming. We have desert conditions here, we really do. I don't want PH thinking I'm a bad gel, and I don't want to send her money....... :'(
Dark grey cloud overhead. Anyone know a good rain dance?
Cancel the dance, I need to build an ark quick!
Just started raining here. 1st rain in 2 months. Just started a weeks holiday. ::) ::)
Quote from: taurus on May 06, 2011, 22:42:12
Just started raining here. 1st rain in 2 months. Just started a weeks holiday. ::) ::)
Could you take more holidays please Taurus ? ::)
1.8mm this morning at Gatwick ;D
1st rain since apr 5th
A bit of rain here too at last. Took ages until any went into the water butts, the roof tiles held on to the moisture for a long time. Just been outside and tipped about 100mil out of a muck bucket in the garden. Not a lot, but better than nothing.
Sun is out again now. We need more urgently and the shower water has been recycled too.
Ahhh..day is grey and dull and its raining!!!! ;D ;D Lovely.. ;D
Had some night rain for the last 3 nights so it could be worse. That was teh first for a month, more or less, except a shower here and there. Funnily enough despite it all the crop is growing excellently, and I already have strawberries... I did some hand watering but not religiously, just once or twice a week.
Farmers round my way are starting to get desperate though.
Wooo!! Rain!!!
Never been so glad to get wet! Three or four good showers & more forecast for this aft. Checked butts this morning & all three nice & full. Only problem was that the running repairs to number three to level it up have made it worse. Bent the base & it was leaning on a crazy angle. Spent fifteen minutes trying to re-level it this morning, only now it's harder cos the base is bent. Goodness only knows whether I've made it better or worse. Moral of the story is if you haven't got time to think about what you're doing, leave it for later. ::)
Have had to empty it all into old bins & buckets to sort it out. Happily this now means that I've got an empty water butt to catch this afternoon's forecast rain. Silver lining and everything ;D
Looking at a seed tray I left outside for precisely this purpose I reckon we had somewhere between 3/4 of an inch and an inch in my bit of Swindon't..... Onions (and weeds) and sweetcorn on the plot seem much happier for it, at home the fruit i planted out, especially the cherry trees and the strawberries have perked up a fair bit. Hopefully the ground will still be feeling the benefits next week when I'm due to dig the other two veg beds in teh garden.....
chrisc
flamin' great hailstones in Wigan at the moment ::)
Dear gods, now it has started and it doesn't know when to stop. ???
Yeay, rain at last, we had half an inch on Friday night and then a further 3/4 inch (measured in rain gauge) on Saturday in north Hampshire. I am not sure if it's my imagination but it seems everything has doubled in size in a couple of days. My mother, who was staying with us for the weekend, was very sorry to go back to Essex and find no rain at all there yet.
and we have your sun for a few days..
XX Jeannine
That seems a fair swap, Jeannine! Hope you are enjoying the sunshine and it stays with you for a nice long time now. :)
Quote from: Morris on May 09, 2011, 21:09:39
Yeay, rain at last, we had half an inch on Friday night and then a further 3/4 inch (measured in rain gauge) on Saturday in north Hampshire. I am not sure if it's my imagination but it seems everything has doubled in size in a couple of days. My mother, who was staying with us for the weekend, was very sorry to go back to Essex and find no rain at all there yet.
I'm imagining things have put on some height and bulk in the last few days too ;D