May Weather

The weather was warm and sunny, for the most part, but more unsettled than April and generally drier that usual - continuing the dry conditions that have been affecting the growing conditions since the middle of March.

Only 35mm of rain fell this month (Dublin Airport conditions 16km away), but we would normally expect to get in the region of 55mm. The mean temperature for the month was only slightly above normal at 10.8 degrees C. The mean soil temperature was about 1 degree higher at 13.8C and the total amount of solar radiation for the month (intensity of energy from the sun including overcast days) was about 15% higher than normal (53850 Joules/sqcm). All of these conditions affect the growth rate of the plants, and the limiting factor was the lack of water.

In the temperature charts above (extracted from the Met Éireann summary) the maximum temperature for Dublin area (blue line) ranged in the mid teens for most of the month, but the low temperature dropped significantly at the end of the month, creating frost conditions on the night of May 29! This was a very late frost, but fortunately the garden was unaffected, most likely due to the 'heat island' effect of the urban environment. Although the frost didn't cause any damage, these low temperatures could have set back the growth of many of the plants.

The top graphs shows that the Dublin area did not get a substantial rainfall for the whole month, with the most rain falling on the 26th and 27th. The bottom graph shows a couple of spells of strong sunshine!

Week 21 - General Photos

These photos were taken (by Bruce) at about 6pm before the class. Not everything is doing well, mainly because the conditions have been very dry lately, but some of the potatoes, peas and beans which were planted earlier in the season are doing well.

An overall photo of the garden looking towards the north, with the top end of beds 1-3 in the foreground. In the distance you can see the back wall and entrance of the garden which leads out onto the road and canal.

This photo is taken from the north-west corner of the garden looking back towards the terrace of houses. The garden is shaded by the trees in the neighboring garden - primarily to the east (left in the photo)- and especially by a 2 story mews house to the west, the shadow of which can be seen to the right of the photo.
A number of beds have not been dug and prepared yet. Beds 1, 2 and 3 will be planted with sweetcorn, squash (including courgettes) and climbing beans. Bed 4 will be planted with peas and dwarf beans. Bed 7 will be planted with swede and other winrter roots as well as some brassica transplants.

Week 21 - Bed 5

Early broad beans in the foreground and early potatoes covering the rest of the bed. Everything doing reasonably well.

Week 21 - Bed 6

Polycrop mix of potatoes, broad beans and peas looking a bit sparse but the plants will fill i.

Week 21 - Bed 8

The peas in the foreground are doing well, but the beetroot and chard at the end of the bed are not thriving. This is likely due to a combination of poor fertility of the garden, the lack of water and the warm temperature.

Week 21 - Bed 9

All of the brassica seedlings starting to show.

Week 21 - Bed 10

Bed 10 was planted as a polycrop containing carrots, parsnip, scorzonera, dill, parsley, several different lettuce varieties and two types of onions. This bed has really failed to take off yet. A lot of things sprouted but very little growth, probably due to the dry conditions, the poor soil in this area of the garden and the fact that this is the most overshadowed bed in the garden. We will probably dig up the entire bed and start again.

Week 21 - Bed 11

The onions, garlic and shallots at the north end of the bed are growing reasonably well with the empty area in the foreground containing recently sown fennel and parsley that has yet to come up.

Week 21 - Bed 12

The two short rows of leeks in the foreground, and 4 long rows sowed with carrots lettuce, parsnip, spinach and rocket. None of the seedlings are visible in this photo. The two darker brown lines to the left are drills of seeds covered with a peat based compost to prevent the soil from capping.

Week 20 - Bed 6 Planting

A few weeks ago we planted a polycrop bed combining potatoes and broad beans. We were going to add peas to the mix but did not have any seeds. This week we planted some peas in between the sprouting potatoes and broad beans:

• Rondo Dwarf Pea - a late maturing but heavy yielding double podded variety which grows to about 75cm high

Week 20 - Bed 11 Planting

The spring onions and early carrots had failed to germinate (probably due to the dry weather) so we cleared this section of the bed and planted:

• 2 short rows of Romanesco Fennel - late cropping variety with large round bulbs
• 2 short rows of Flat Leaf Parsley - a continental type of parsley with large green tasty flat leaves

Week 20 - Bed 12 Planting

The leeks, early carrots, spinach and rocket (arugula) have all sprouted and in the empty part of the bed we sowed:

• Halblange White Parsnip (.5 long row) - a thick, pointed, half length root variety, which does well in shallower soils
• Aruba Lettuce (.25 long row) - a very red, large headed variety which really stands out in garden
• Salad Bowl Lettuce (.25 long row) - a cut and come again variety with tender long green leaves from a large sprawling head
• Danvers Half Long Carrot (1 long row) - a broad shouldered, short, maincrop variety