And I Thought Last Spring Was Cold
We have been stuck in this cold air aloft weather pattern for some time now. Actually February seemed warmer. It’s either raining, hailing, or snowing and if the sun does come out – it is weak. Like wintertime sun. As in wearing several shirts and a down vest outside to work in the sun, weak.
I remember whining about our cool wet spring last year. I guess it’s like complaining about wanting a new boss. A new boss may be a whole lot worse. Just to show you what 10°F lower for an extended period of time looks like. Here is a picture of my rhubarb taken on April 23, 2010.
April 23, 2010
Here are some shots of the same rhubarb patch taken yesterday, April 17, 2010. The calendar speaks of a weeks difference in time. The difference in growth rate looks more like a months worth. 😦
4/17/2010
The plants have no calendar to follow and fret about. They just react to temperature and light, and they take it all in stride. Which is what we have to do too.
Fitting into our environment is difficult sometimes. And seeing the bright side is hard when you’re itching to plant, and wanting to see things grow. Bright side here? At least all this rain is good for long-term grass growth, and my calving season doesn’t start until May. Hopefully it will be warmer by then… .
Throwback at Trapper Creek 
This has been the second crappy season for you up there in the North West where you’re usually further along than we are here in Kansas. Here’s hoping that things turn around soon and you’re enjoying some good warm sunny days. It’s so beautiful up there when the weather is good….of course it’s beautiful all the time but you just don’t get to see it when the clouds are hanging low and the rain is getting to you. Good luck!
Maura 😦
Wow…what a patch!
I was chatting with the hay farmer friend the other day. I was complaining that I have no grass (to his benefit…he sells me the hay you see : )..He was saying we are 3 weeks behind in the season. wow..no wonder I feel cranky still. I need some sun light and some pasture.
Happy belated Spring!
I too had compared pictures from last year to this year. Last year April 16th our first radish was big enough to eat. This year the seed leaves are up, and have been for a few weeks, but the plants haven’t moved from there. I figure we are about three weeks behind.
Funny though, the pictures of the rhubarb from last year doesn’t show the huge difference that your’s does.
This weeks weather is looking a bit more promising, well at this point anyway, but we all know how that can change:(
That is what we were thinking, about a month. Just made my first rhubarb pie last week. Used to be able to turn out the first one on my mother-in-law’s birthday, March 12th. Gathered nettles yesterday – about a month late. What do you think the apples, pears and cherries will be like this summer?
No rain here to speak of, and unseasonably warm. Maybe you’re getting our rain and we’re getting your extra 10 degrees F? I’d trade in a heartbeat!
Ah. So that explains why the kale is taking so long to grow, even though it’s in raised beds and we’re on the valley floor…
I’m one of those for whom change is about as welcome as a root canal. I don’t mind the seasonal change of nature, but the up-and-move-across-the-country change is miserable. I still miss my Pacific Northwest spring, especially when down here in the south we’ve already had our first two tornadoes and first 95° day. Very, very thankful this week is cooler. Wouldn’t mind my Michigan friend’s snow, either. The longer summer waits the happier I am!
I hear you on the colder temps. and today and tommorrow we’re forecasted to only have a high of 34F with accumlating snowfall of 3-5″ *sigh* On a positive note we did get composted manure and compost spread over the garden and some areas worked in, so we’ll be ready to plant our cool weather crops, hopefully by the end of the month.
Our rhubarb is just breakig through the ground and beginning to push up the mulch and the asparagus is not even peeking it’s crowns through the soild yet, still tucked away safe and sound under the blanket of mulch.
Thankfully we have our greenhouse to enjoy some early salad crops as well as share with our poultry.
Blessings for your week, praying it warms up for you, then we’ll have hope of it warming up too*wink*
I was just saying last week that it felt like February…
Oh thank goodness! I thought that was just MY rhubarb. Thanks for the pics. It makes me feel better that it is a regional thing not just a bad garden soil thing. Cheers from North Idaho!
It’s been VERY cool here also….and WET!
You are so very right…we have to just take it in stride. I am ready for it to warm up, though.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
Your rhubarb makes me think of my tomato situation last year. I had 500 plants in the ground, lots of green fruit but not a single ripe one. Then I heard the fellow from Territorial Seeds on Mike Darcy’s gardening show. They had 1,000 tomato plants in the ground and not a single ripe fruit. Kind of reasured me that not having ripe fruit was the weather after all, and not me.
At least your rhubarb comes back. It is generally too hot here although I’m trying again.
Mine is still under a snowdrift…..you’re WAY ahead of me 😉
Do you know how I can fix a problem with my rhubarb? I planted two starts a few years ago, and they have grown well except for the fact that once the leaves/stalks get to be of decent size, they flower immediately and I don’t get to harvest them! I’ve tried cutting the flower stalk as soon as it appears, but that never helps. Any ideas?
Are Northwest Springs Getting Worse?
http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/04/are-springs-getting-worse.html
I definitely echo Cliff’s take on this. It is colder, not so much that it is really cold, but that there is no reprieve with a spate of warm days and then nights. 😦