Posted: Monday 7 January 2013
by Adam Pasco
Given that extreme weather is something we might have to get used to, what can we learn from 2012?
As if you needed me to tell you, 2012 was wet! Official figures from the Met Office have now confirmed what we gardeners probably already knew, that 2012 was the wettest ever in England, and the second wettest across the whole of the UK by only a tiny margin. That was the year 2000 when 6.6mm more rain fell, reaching a total of 1337.3mm.
April and June were particularly wet months (the wettest since records began in 1910), with a massive impact on our ability to garden. Many will have given up gardening altogether, while others like me endured, albeit in the words of baking queen Mary Berry with a very 'soggy bottom'.
So, given that extreme weather is something we might have to get used to, what can we learn from 2012? For me, the relentless rain made it impossible to sow seeds directly outside in the garden. The ground was just too wet, making it difficult to prepare the surface soil to sow into. Any small seeds I did endeavour to sow got washed away, wasting time, effort and money.
The alternative was to sow plants in pots and modular trays in the greenhouse or on window sills. This allowed plants to be sown at the right time under cover, raising robust young seedlings for planting out later. In fact, regular showers actually helped when planting out, watering in plants naturally.
However, I did put cloches to good use to provide extra protection from battering rain until some delicate seedlings were established. The main plants that suffered were sweetcorn, with every seedling being bent in half by wind and rain. In the end I had to tie each plant individually to a short cane.
I'll use the same contingency plans during 2013, raising plants under cover in line with my Seed Sowing Masterplan. Do you have one? If not prepare it now, including sowing details from all the seed packets you buy in a seed diary.
Let me know what lessons you've learned from 2012, and how your gardening will change in the year ahead.
See more comments...
