July weather

So July ended with the same rainfall as last year but 1.6 degrees cooler. Note that August 1, in one day, we had almost as much rain as we had the entire month of July. That's caused the grapes to swell rather quickly and they are noticeably bigger today than on Saturday. 

Meanwhile, Cathal Keane has arrived to begin work on the construction of the trellis structure that will support the remaining vines as they mature. Today, he is digging the holes for the uprights -- telephone poles discarded as they are replaced in our area. Tomorrow, they begin cementing in the poles in the holes. It's a big job. 

Monthly values for NEWPORT up to 01-aug-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	67.8	84.0	107.0	148.0	59.2	47.5					872.7
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	8.0	9.9	12.6	13.8	15.9	15.0					10.7
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	6.3	9.3	13.2	14.8	16.8	n/a					10.4
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	33399	40555	51569	47246	48439	393					238668
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	47.2	60.6	77.7	76.0	80.4	1.2					379.8
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	66.5	86.8	114.5	109.2	111.1	1.6					540.0
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	235	171	97	63	30	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.

Open data

Cumulative Rainfall Graphs

Temperature Departures from LTA

All done! For now.

Albarino, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Solaris in that order

This morning I finished tying up the last few vines. It's looking very civilised and tidy now. Actually looks like a proper vineyard. I will continue to prune back and remove some leaves to help the grapes mature. 

Once again, there was rain in the forecast that did not materialise. At least we got some yesterday. 

I was using a device that sometimes works to tie up the vines. But I do not like it. It puts plastic into the environment, wastes a great deal of that plastic and makes it take a lot longer to complete a job. The unit pulls out a swathe of plastic tape, you slide it over the vine and wire, then clamp down and it staples and cuts the plastic tape -- sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't staple, sometimes it doesn't cut, and sometimes it gets stuck inside the tool. Very frustrating. And the tool often gets stuck on the vine if it's thicker. I wasted so much tape that I had to order more. 

What I also ordered were all kinds of things for securing viney growth, like stretch mesh tape, special cable ties and a new supposedly much-improved device. We'll see. My past use of nylon stocking strips was not as effective in the vineyard because they decompose every year, and I need them to last for several years until the vines are strong enough to stand on their own. 

Anyway, happy last day of July. I must say, the weather was much improved over June. I heard today that they are beginning to harvest Chardonnay grapes in Portugal, the earliest they've ever matured by far. The heat waves on the Continent have been brutal.