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| Rondo |
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| Solaris |
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| Chardonnay |
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| Pinot Noir |
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| Albarino |
The pear and cherry trees are blooming weeks earlier than normal in Holland. I already wrote about the cherry blossoms peaking in Japan and Washington DC weeks earlier than expected.
France has experienced one of the mildest winters on record and that has vignerons worried. Some vineyards in France are preparing for frost, as the early budding may mean a prolonged risk of exposure of tender buds to frost damage.
I think our bud break will be about two weeks earlier this year than last. Today in the vineyard...
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| Solaris is farthest ahead |
I'm visiting the vineyard routinely now as the buds are starting to swell. Yesterday, St Patrick's Day, was warm and sunny but there was standing water throughout the vineyard and it's raining again today. Last year, bud break was recorded on 10 April. The year before, it took place on the 7th of April. Given that February was the warmest on record and the ninth consecutive warmest month globally, I'd say that bud break will come early this year. Let's hope we don't get a late frost and spring storm.
In the climate statement issued by Met Eireann, they noted that the winter of 2023/2024 was the eleventh consecutive season with above-average temperatures. December and February were mild and wet while January was cool and dry overall.
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| Global Mean Temperature Anomaly |
In France, vignerons are bracing for frost in April after a particularly mild winter. UK grape growers will soon have access to an app that will warn them of impending frost. Climate change is leading to buds bursting earlier, leaving them vulnerable to subsequent bouts of frost.
Cherry blossoms are blooming early from Tokyo to Washington, DC as climate change makes winters and springs warmer. It's wreaking havoc on the tourism industry drawn to the cherry blossom spectacle. The National Park Service announced PEAK BLOOM on Sunday, St Patrick's Day, a near record. But this is the fastest that the blossoms have gone through the five stages of the bloom cycle, and a warming climate has been a factor. Let's hope that the bloom cycle of our grapes is not similarly affected.
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| Chardonnay is looking good. |
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| Pinot Noir coming along |
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| Rondo is slow getting started this year. |
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| The fields are very wet. |
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| Global SSTs are heading off the charts |
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| The North Atlantic is staying particularly warm. |
Yesterday was a beautiful day, and I got a lot of work done in the garden. Salted the weeds on the patio, planted out the iris bulbs, did lots in the greenhouse and polytunnel, and checked on the vineyard. The buds are definitely swelling, with even some evidence on the Albarino but there they look very weak. I'm not holding much hope for the latter.
In Alex's dealings with the government regarding agricultural grants for the establishment of the vineyard, Teagasc informed him that he first had to apply for a herd number. A herd number you say? We weren't planning to keep any animals, yet surely enough, the form he filled in for a herd number listed grapes among the horticultural items that one could grow under a herd number.
The official reviewing the application set it aside because it didn't specify which animals we were planning to keep. When Alex finally tracked him down, he said, "Oh well, we weren't sure what to do with this as you didn't specify if you were planning to raise cattle or sheep."
Alex responded, "Neither, I checked none next to animals and checked grapevines in the other field."
Well then, it appears that we indeed have a herd of grapevines on our land. Nope, it doesn't show up in any lists of names for a grouping of grapes.
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| My new assistant, the feral orange tabby we call Ginger, who is making herself comfortable in the polytunnel. |
Alex has been saving cuttings from the vineyard winter cleanup and trying various ways of rooting them. A batch is outside, another batch came into the polytunnel after being kept in a fridge for a few weeks, and the third group is in the greenhouse. The polytunnel route seems to have been the most successful.
The rootstock appears to be doing the best and the Albarino the worst. Encouraging are the Pinot Noir and the Ross House white eating grape. The latter one is a cutting from a vine that is at least 50 years old and lives in the greenhouse at Ross. We can`t wait to establish it in the polytunnel.
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| Fields flooded all over Ireland. |
Met Eireann's Moore Park station reported the warmest February on record. Both the month’s highest and lowest air temperatures were also recorded at Moore Park. The lowest minimum was reported on February 12 with a temperature of -2.2°, while the highest maximum was reported on February 4 and 21 with a temperature of 14.7°.
The mean temperature was 6.4° at Knock Airport, Co. Mayo (2.2° above its LTA). All stations reported ground frost during the month. The number of days with ground frost ranged from two days at both Mace Head, Co. Galway and Belmullet, Co. Mayo to 20 days at Phoenix Park, Co. Dublin.
All mean air temperatures recorded at weather stations across the country were above average for the month, but only 7 stations reported record temperatures.
Met Éireann said that February 2024 was a wet and mild month with the majority of monthly rainfall totals above their 1981-2010 LTA. Monthly rainfall totals ranged from 64.9 mm (134% of its LTA) at Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin to 197.5 mm (156% of its LTA) at Newport, Co. Mayo. It rained every day in the leap month in Donegal, with 29 days of rain recorded at Malin Head. Malin Head also recorded the highest wind gust on February 29 with 106 km/h.
As the atmosphere heats up, it can hold more moisture, around 7% more per 1°C of warming. That has been causing flooding of much farmland in Ireland and GB. Fortunately, as our land is sloping, so we don't get much flooding, but the area between the shed and the vineyard is not even walkable. Very wet.
The Met Office’s recently published report indicates that England and Wales had their respective warmest Februarys on record in what was a wild and wet month for many. According to provisional Met Office statistics, this also marks the UK's second warmest February with an average temperature in England of 7.5°C, topping the previous record of 7°C set in 1990.
February also broke records elsewhere in the world. The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reported that parts of North and South America, northwest and southeast Africa, southeast and far eastern Asia, western Australia, and Europe all saw record-breaking temperatures, either daily or for the whole of the month. However, a large part of north-western Canada, central Asia, and from southern central Siberia to south-eastern China witnessed exceptional cold spells during the last week of the month. Thankfully, the WMO reported yesterday that El Niño has peaked and is now slowly weakening. But the models are not reliable as to the predictability of ENSO neutrality.
Global sea surface temperatures are also at a record high, a trend that has continued into March, with global SSTs reaching record levels and exceeding the highest temperatures set in August of last year.
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| SSTs are off the charts. |
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| We did have a few wintry days in February! |
Addendum note:
It's confirmed, February was the warmest Feb on record and the 9th consecutive warmest month. Also confirmed, caused by more absorbed solar radiation, most likely due to reduced sulfur in the air over the oceans and less reflective ice.
There has been some progress in the vineyard but not a lot as it's been cold this week. And very wet. My new pal Ginger kept me company most of the day.
Then Alex arrived with some friends from America and we went for a walk to the top of the hill. It was spectacular today. Success!
