Stunning weather

Since last Friday, we've had stunning weather: sunny, dry, calm and warm. Extraordinary really. We are getting a lot of outdoor work done but there's more to do, always. It's sad as Meike, Alex's mum, loved the good weather and it's been fine since she left us. Perhaps it's her way of making us feel better. 

Alex suggested we had bud break, but it's not really. It's a precursor and I really hope they hold off because we're to have a cold snap on Wednesday. Once again, everything will have taken off only to be stopped in its tracks and regressed.  Only the Albarino is dormant still, possibly dead. Very disappointed in that. 

Rondo

Solaris

Chardonnay

Pinot

Mini heatwave predicted for Ireland

Vitis 'Vanessa' in the poltunnel

Ireland will be hotter than Malaga this week with Met Eireann forecasting a spring scorcher.

The mercury is to reach 18C thanks to a big area of high pressure, which will dominate over the coming days. Highs of 18C mean Ireland will be hotter than the south of Spain, where Malaga is expecting highs of 15C-16C with rain. 

We'll be watching closely as bud break last year was 14 April but they seem to be a bit ahead of schedule this year. 

Meanwhile, bud break for Vanessa in the polytunnel was a couple of weeks ago. She's thriving. And the fulvic acid treatment of the soil and leaves of fungus susceptible plants has done wonders all around in the polytunnel. No leaf curl on the peach or the avocado! 

A study of plastic greenhouse soils has demonstrated for the first time that humic acid and fulvic acid have fungicidal activity against many phytopathogenic fungi. What a useful finding!

Another study found that treatment of soil and foliage with HAs strengthens the cell structure. 

And one other study showed that humic acid improved the yield and quality of continuous cropping peanuts because of improved physicochemical properties, enzymatic activities, and microbial diversity of soil.

Sunshine day

The view of Croagh Patrick from Kirstin and Michael's house where Alex's mum, Meike, spent the last month and passed yesterday is astounding on a good day. It was a spectacular weather day as we said our fare wells. We walked with the hearse down to the bridge over the creek. It was a lovely gesture. 

Back at home, the polytunnel reached 47C so we left the door open all afternoon. The crop of peas, lettuce and broccoli has kept us in veggies all winter long. What a treat. The new log hives are ready to accept visiting colonies of bees. The vacancy signs are up. 

The vineyard is still asleep but is starting to show signs of life. May the lifecycle begin anew. 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Well, the weather has been shite here as they say until mid-day when it cleared up and the parades were held, finally, in sunshine. There is little progress in the vineyard as the temps have been cold. 

Our lives are complicated as I've been helping Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland at the same time that my husband's mother is dying. Reconciling war and death are eating me up. It's hard to be positive about a vineyard in the interim. 

Meanwhile, Vitis Vanessa has woken up and is doing well in the polytunnel. As are the fruit trees - apple, peach and avocado. And Jenny the kiwi has started doing her thing. I've even started a peach and mango from seed and have bought a lemon and calamondin orange at Aldi. A bit of solace.

Now all I want is to be left alone to tend to my flock. 

Weather much improved

Well, it's a far cry from the stormy month of February. It's still cold at night but the sun is making everyone come out of their long slumber. The bees were all a buzz today, in huge numbers partaking of the heather. Everything is waking up. Plants, flowers, insects. And there's the distant sound of newborn lambs. 

I took the opportunity to clean up the vines a bit. I removed the remaining empty fruiting clusters. Straightened a few askance supports. Spread some more wood ash on the remaining rows. There is no evidence of life yet but I like tending to them, especially in this time of war declared by Russia on Ukraine. 

I've been helping Ukrainian refugees find homes here in the west of Ireland. I am just so emotional about it all. I can only say that I am having flashbacks to the stories of the kindness of strangers that saved my family during WWII. As a reporter said to me today, it's history repeating itself. You got that right. So periodically I withdraw into the garden to recharge before the next million-miles-an-hour marathon of logistical support for families with traumatised children. Putin is a monster. 

Oh, BTW, Vitis Vanessa is awake in the polytunnel, as is my peach tree. 

Vanessa

Peachy

MONTHLY VALUES FOR NEWPORT UP TO 03-MAR-2022

Total rainfall in millimetres for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	98.8	260.4	5.0										364.2
2021	225.6	147.6	141.1	45.6	113.5	64.1	59.7	155.6	137.0	265.7	183.3	186.6	1725.4
2020	139.5	342.8	178.2	25.5	54.7	164.5	187.9	137.9	153.4	228.0	206.6	232.7	2051.7
2019	146.8	115.0	228.5	100.7	112.5	76.6	82.7	228.9	175.5	160.7	148.1	220.6	1796.6
LTA	166.7	126.5	141.2	96.8	94.7	89.7	100.9	132.5	131.5	176.0	170.4	180.2	1607.1

Mean temperature in degrees Celsius for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	7.2	7.1	5.5										7.1
2021	5.0	6.7	7.9	9.0	10.4	13.3	17.5	16.4	15.2	11.9	9.3	7.6	10.9
2020	7.2	6.0	6.6	11.0	12.8	13.8	14.4	16.0	13.8	10.5	9.1	6.1	10.6
2019	6.9	8.4	7.9	10.2	11.7	13.1	16.3	15.5	13.7	10.3	7.1	7.1	10.7
LTA	6.1	6.1	7.3	9.0	11.5	13.8	15.4	15.4	13.5	10.8	8.3	6.5	10.3

Mean 10cm soil temperature for NEWPORT at 0900 UTC

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	6.2	6.2	n/a										6.2
2021	3.6	5.0	6.8	8.2	10.9	14.3	17.9	16.3	15.2	11.3	8.6	6.6	10.4
2020	5.7	4.7	5.4	9.7	13.0	14.8	14.9	16.3	13.7	9.5	8.0	5.1	10.1
2019	6.1	6.1	6.8	8.9	12.2	13.8	16.7	15.7	13.5	9.4	6.2	5.6	10.1
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Global Solar Radiation in Joules/cm² for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	6311	10756	2086										19153
2021	6620	13347	20370	45694	55690	45488	49455	40490	22413	16358	7235	3780	326940
2020	6263	10808	24545	46192	58476	43537	40215	40555	25558	18487	6319	5209	326164
2019	5378	10595	21306	37648	49884	49607	45395	37116	26460	17406	8167	4766	313728
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Potential Evapotranspiration (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	13.7	23.0	2.3										39.0
2021	7.6	22.9	30.7	62.9	76.3	70.7	87.8	67.5	38.3	25.1	14.1	14.6	518.5
2020	17.6	21.9	35.0	70.2	91.6	72.9	66.2	66.4	42.7	28.1	13.6	10.4	536.6
2019	13.4	21.5	35.4	60.4	79.0	78.2	79.5	62.9	42.8	29.2	14.8	14.3	531.4
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Evaporation (mm) for NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2022	17.9	32.4	3.3										53.6
2021	10.9	32.1	45.4	89.9	111.2	102.0	117.2	93.5	52.1	34.7	18.6	19.1	726.7
2020	22.4	31.9	51.8	98.9	130.8	104.8	94.3	92.7	59.1	38.8	18.1	13.6	757.2
2019	17.7	29.5	52.0	87.3	111.6	112.8	109.6	88.8	59.9	39.6	18.9	17.9	745.6
LTA	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

DEGREE DAYS BELOW 15.5 DEGREE CELSIUS FOR NEWPORT

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Total
2022	256	234	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2021	325	247	236	200	167	79	20	23	40	114	187	245	1883
2020	257	276	275	143	111	73	55	31	71	156	193	291	1935
2019	266	200	235	165	130	89	27	36	67	164	251	262	1892

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Notes on the Data

Evaporation and PE data are calculated using Penman/Monteith formulae.
The ‘LTA’ (referred to within a table) is average for the climatological long-term-average (LTA) reference period 1981-2010.
Data updated daily at Mid-day.