To sow or not to sow tomorrow….

[Rhys]

Charles

I was wondering whether you have a view on whether to go ahead with April full moon sowings tomorrow, given that the weather forecast from Sunday to month’s end is for 9 – 10C by day and close to freezing by night. Obviously, I’m talking here about direct sowings into the soil, rather than in modules/blocks indoors.

My plan was for main crop potatoes (intending to proceed) and Exhibition potatoes in polyps bags (wondering whether to delay until 7th May); Sweet Candle carrots (unsure); Pablo Beetroot first sowing (unsure).

I have enough fleece to be able to cover everything I sow but wonder if the predicted cold spell should signal waiting a while to sow??

[charles]

Yes its annoying!! My potatoes are all in, while I am not sowing more beetroot until early May. Carrots should be alright though, just depending when you want to eat them.
Last autumn was the other way round with broad beans growing too fast before winter. Weather is perhaps the hardest part of gardening.

My concern is mainly about frost- and cold-sensitive plants so I am not sowing squash today, shall sow them early May instead. I have sown courgettes, cucumbers and now need to keep them warm in the greenhouse.

[Karen]

So glad this question was asked. Our weather here in Germany is also getting cooler for the week and next week too… from 0 (usually dropping to a few degrees below too) to 10 degrees.

My cucumbers have just germinated today after 3 days. Fortunately the courgettes and pumpkins haven´t yet!

I have been bringing my melon plants into a dark room in the nights as they have a hard time in single digits temperatures. I had them repotted a few weeks back so they aren’t terribly leggy anymore. Will likely bring the cucs into the dark room in the nights too.

[Karen]

Hey Charles,

You reckon it would help if I made a small fire going in the polytunnel in one of these garden fire bin incinerators or firebowls.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garden-Incinerator-Galvanised-Burning-Leaves/dp/B00C5HU5V0/ref=sr_1_1?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1461140758&sr=1-1&keywords=fire+drum

I have each of these. To possibly keep away frost? or to keep the temperatures about 5 degrees? i.e. in the nights?

[bluebell]

Karen I hope that you are joking! open fires in confined spaces can be very dangerous! Build up of carbon monoxide even if you just walked in to it could be enough to knock you out quite quickly.

However large water containers or tea light under a clay pot may raise the temperature a couple of degrees?

[Karen]

Hey Bluebell,

Nooooooooooooooooo…. not a huge fire… we will most likely use the firebowl and leave just some hot coals… not a big fire burning. Just some glow.

My husband´s father used to own a flower orchard and back then they did something similar to this as well as lighted candles in between the plants.

Our polytunnel is pretty high too… 6mx4.5mx3m

Thanks for the warning though.

[Rhys]

I did what you suggested Charles: put in the main crop potatoes, the Sweet Candle Carrots and put in some Sicilian radish as well. Left the beetroot seed packet unopened and fleeced everything over.

[charles]

Karen I think simpler to stick with your bring-in-at-night idea.
Its an annoying weather forecast because currently the north winds look set for at least two weeks, from about Friday (changes on new & full moons tend to stick)!
Some heat loving plants will struggle and we may need to do some resowing.

[Karen]

Heya Charles,

Yes, we decided to bring in all the warm loving plants instead into the dark room . And we also have this BioGreen Greenhouse heater that we might just use if it gets really into the minus temperatures. The cool tolerant plants are all fleeced and double fleeced over. Fingers crossed!

The crazy yo-yo weather is maddening! 🙁

[Karen]

Another quick question if anyone can help.

My cucumbers are peeking out from the compost. I am wondering if I should put them into the dark cool room, to stop them from emerging too quickly and getting leggy?

I can´t really remember if this helps. I do know that being kept in the dark causes plants to stop turning green and not too sure about the leggy bit.

[Rhys]

Interesting what you say about two weeks of cold Charles: it contradicts an expensive purchase I made which you would think would have modified older advice if it were that clear. You may well be right: I am with you about weather changes at new- and full moons persisting….

[charles]

hope I am wrong weather-wise
Karen – yes darkness makes plants leggy

[Karen]

I brought the cucumber into the cool dark room anyhow as I didn’t want them to emerge too quickly. They are sitting in the polytunnel now getting as much sun as possible.

I reckon I will leave them by the window sill tonight since it´s gonna be full moon and just hopefully they wont get too leggy. Worst case scenario, repot or plant deeper.

The weather is just insane!

[Rhys]

Karen

Weather happens. I went to work in a Swiss ski resort in the season 1989/90 and the weather that year was totally insane too. The November snow was washed away at all altitudes by a rainstorm the week before Christmas when it rained up to 3500m. January was sunny and mild and I played tennis in shorts as we could barely ski. We did a glacier tour in January with all the crevasses visible as there was no new snow to cover them up. One day in early February measured +23C at 1600m. Then in April it snowed down the 800m most nights and we were still ski-ing fantastic powder in the last week of the month. I skied as much powder as you might expect in a normal season, but none of it was before mid-February and most of it was after the start of March…….the exact opposite to a ‘traditional Alpine winter’….

Funnily enough, that’s when I first heard about the role of the moon on weather. That season, the adage ‘if the weather doesn’t change at the new moon, then it won’t change quickly’ was very accurate.

The most interesting lesson I learned was that junior employees in the ski hire shop ranted at me for hiring a tennis racket, but the owner at the end of the season said: ‘Rhys, it wasn’t your fault it was a bad season!’ Remaining philosophical in the face of unfavourable conditions is a good prerequisite to running a successful business…….

[Karen]

haha! Rhys. It so isn’t your fault. We have absolutely NO CONTROL whatsoever how the weather pans out. Just can only hope that it stays somewhat more predictable and not tooooooo erratic!

By gawd… tennis in February in the Alps! lol!

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