The really dreary weather - worried about plants

[Chris L]

Since we had the warm weather circa 24th June we don't seem to have had any prolonged nice weather at all.

There might have been an odd day here and there when it has been sunny for part of the day, but other than that it has (around here in Lancashire at least) been constantly cold, wet and overcast with dark clouds.

To some degree am worried what to do with my plants. They got watered around the end of June when the weather was nice because the forecast for the next ten days showed constant bright sunny weather. Then two days later the forecast changed and it has been miserable ever since.

The worry is that they are still damp and I think the last thing I want to do if we get some nice weather is to water them as I am certain they need to dry out properly.

It is forecasting Friday to be quite warm, but there is a massive low pressure forecast over Ireland so if that comes this way then Friday won't be hot - and then next week looks cloudy, wet and changeable too.

I am really getting a bit fed up with the weather at the moment.

[Tina]

Possible daft question but do you keep the doors open or closed, mine are closed as its very windy here but when you go in its nice n warm.
Is the lancashire weather really that bad & different from the rest of the UK, we can have storms & then later in the day some sun with the doors shut mine are still being regularly watered.

[Redjimp]

Following . Wondering the same in Manchester, my larger stuff hasn't dryed out properly for a month and I don't want to water my small pots which do need it because the humidity in the polytunnel will skyrocket ,I usually keep my doors open and the temp is struggling to get higher than 23C . I was planning on an outside bed this year as well but think it's getting a bit late to get stuff settled in now.

[Ross M]

I echo your thoughts Chris although what you describe sounds like an absolutely normal 'summer' here. In my experience the climate throughout the UK varies quite dramatically in places, especially when it comes to sunshine levels.

My response was going to be along the same lines as Tina's although I think it raises an interesting question. I used to think that closing the greenhouse up would help dry the plants out through an increase in temperature, even on an overcast summer day. Whilst I think that does help, I reckon a balance needs to be met with increased ventilation on a breezy day helping enourmously. Then there's the size of your greenhouse. Larger structures will generally be warmer, even with the windows and doors open so growers who are fortunate to have bigger greenhouses and in particular those in more southern parts of the UK will have less probelms with slow drying. Then of course there's things like the content of your compost, aspect of your greenhouse and type of staging you have (solid trays don't allow any air to circulate up between pots).

[Phil_SK]

Is the lancashire weather really that bad & different from the rest of the UK,

Yes! It's quite noticeable how many showers and bands of rain coming in from the west dump their rain in the west and then peter out as they cross the UK and for the last month the weather has been mostly from the west. Today is a case in point:

Darwen's about 4C cooler than MK today.

[RAYWOODBRIDGE]

No it has been very poor weather up here Tina, but as you say having the doors open or closed can make a huge difference.
I try to vent the greenhouses as much as possible, later in the day after they have got warm.
I was very lucky I missed out the early July watering because I thought the weather would be dull, so last weekend gave all the plants a good soak and I was pleased to see they took the water well.
I know it is an old saying Chris, " but if in doubt leave it out " is not a bad Maxime.

[Ross M]

Darwen's about 4C cooler than MK today.

I think the old adage of it being roughly one degree warmer for every degree you go south in latitude (about 70 miles as the crow flies) is often about right. Altitude and other factors obviously come into play too. And when it comes to seeing the sun, you only need to look at the live satellite pictures each day to see how the west and north of the UK are often shrouded in cloud whereas the rest is crystal clear.

[el48tel]

I'm in Leeds ... east of the hill. We've had very high humidity during the past month with gusty winds ... today especially. My last watering was early last week, and that was after the previous of a fortnight earlier. I had scheduled for today as the pots were dry and the weather was forecast as dry until the weekend so the pots could dry out. But it's the wrong seaweed again at the Met Office .... and we had rain early on ..... and the sky looks threatening a downpour. The watering is on hold until tomorrow(?). My GH RH is around 50% currently but that's a lot lower than it has been during the past few days .... and it's likely to be high as the day progresses if my sky reading is right.

[Chris L]

Possible daft question but do you keep the doors open or closed, mine are closed as its very windy here but when you go in its nice n warm.
Is the lancashire weather really that bad & different from the rest of the UK, we can have storms & then later in the day some sun with the doors shut mine are still being regularly watered.

I have been opening the door every day for a period, but if it is really raining it is closed. The loovres are open 24/7.

My greenhouse gets sun for most of the day (in summer) apart from about an hour between 8-9 when it might be partly shaded by the house.

I don't know about elsewhere in Lancashire, but we have big hill to the west of us and nothing much in the way of hills thereafter all the way west to the coast. I think I am right in thinking that if the wrong clouds blow in from the west the hill interupts them and causes them to dump all the water on us.

I suppose I could tip a few plants out to see how wet they actually are (if I can't tell by feel).

I think the telling thing for me is I've still yet to go out very early in the morning and feel warm without a coat on. It's like there is no warmth in the air at all yet. Yes, we've had warm/hot days but then it's all been lost with the rubbish weather again.

[Nick_G]

There's nothing you can do about the weather but there's plenty you can do about your potting mix.