Is the summer really good this year?

[Shearwater Missile]

The first part of last year the weather was pretty good I seem to recall. It went downhill from September onwards, just when we`d booked a holiday for Wales and we had to come home early because of flooding. Swings and roundabouts as has been said already. I just hope the people who suffered all the flooding earlier are doing OK as they seem to be long forgotten already amidst everything else.

 

[ColinJ]

I don't know if it's psychological or whether I just haven't been used to the sun, but being out in 22 degreesC yesterday felt unbearable. I've been under 44C in Australia and it surely didn't feel twice as hot!

It doesn't work like that! Temperatures are really relative to absolute zero which IIRC is at about -273C, so 44C is roughly only 7.5% hotter; it's just that we are very sensitive to temperature so it feels like a bigger increase than that.

 

[mudsticks]

What are your opinions on the fourth agricultural revolution?
AI and robotics.
I have put a small amount into the small robot company via crowdcube.
They are going to start of with black grass in wheat. Killing them electro mechanically. Tom finds them Dick electrocutes them. Not sure why Tom has to find them other than savings Dicks batteries running out. Just answered my own question.
Tom and Dick are

I ran a whole conference session on just such a topic at the beginning of the year.. I'll dig out the transcript if I can find it.

But basically it plays further into the hands of industrial ag, increases chances of land grabbing - particularly of hitherto marginal land - it tends to exclude new entrants - encourages consolidation of land ownership - restricts diversity of cropping - impairs land justice - puts skilled manual labour out of work - further marginalises those who are not tech savvy or those without investment capital.

Upside yes it can reduce the use of heavy machinery, and some agrichemicals in the short term.

But also encourages technologies such as GM, and gene editing, which further restricts food sovreignity.

One of my panellists was however advocating (and fabricating) open source designed robotics and automation.

It's as ever a case of who owns it, who profits, who loses..

It's complicated.

I saw a film of your 'black grass electocutor' interesting whizz bang technology which some do love.

Black grass is a menace.

Last year I killed off a large patch by allowing it to grow through a crop of lodged ryecorn.. It effectively brought the roots above ground level.

I was then able to clear off a large area with a simple spring-tining.

The organic matter itself then still available once flailed and thoroughly composted as a soil amendment..

But that's a very low tech methodology that means no one can sell me anything.
I can even save my. Own ryecorn seed.

And when others know the technique they can replicate it..

Where's the fun in that??

 

[Drago]

The first part of last year the weather was pretty good I seem to recall. It went downhill from September onwards...

Yes, I have heard of this. Apparently scientists call it "autumn." Remarkable.

 

[gbb]

R4 today discussed , not at great length but the jist of it was ...our very wet winter was caused by the jetstream holding it there and now, the jetstream has moved, holding the dry weather here.
Global warming was inevitably mooted but with the usual proviso, theres no evidence to prove this.

Sometimes even I get cynical about global warming, I just wished they'd come off the fence, one way or the other.

 

[gbb]

I ran a whole conference session on just such a topic at the beginning of the year.. I'll dig out the transcript if I can find it.

But basically it plays further into the hands of industrial ag, increases chances of land grabbing - particularly of hitherto marginal land - it tends to exclude new entrants - encourages consolidation of land ownership - restricts diversity of cropping - impairs land justice - puts skilled manual labour out of work - further marginalises those who are not tech savvy or those without investment capital.

Upside yes it can reduce the use of heavy machinery, and some agrichemicals in the short term.

But also encourages technologies such as GM, and gene editing, which further restricts food sovreignity.

One of my panellists was however advocating (and fabricating) open source designed robotics and automation.

It's as ever a case of who owns it, who profits, who loses..

It's complicated.

I saw a film of your 'black grass electocutor' interesting whizz bang technology which some do love.

Black grass is a menace.

Last year I killed off a large patch by allowing it to grow through a crop of lodged ryecorn.. It effectively brought the roots above ground level.

I was then able to clear off a large area with a simple spring-tining.

The organic matter itself then still available once flailed and thoroughly composted as a soil amendment..

But that's a very low tech methodology that means no one can sell me anything.
I can even save my. Own ryecorn seed.

And when others know the technique they can replicate it..

Where's the fun in that??

Our former packhouse was on the edge of the Fens, fields right next to it. One year they had a nice crop of wheat or something on it, then one day, a tractor turned up and sprayed the lot, which subsequently died. It was left like that for maybe 2 years, maybe more, seemed odd.
I asked our local potato farmer , why would they have done that ?
Black grass in all probability he said, bugger to deal with.

 

[Mike_P]

There have been far more easterly winds than normal so the amount of rain clouds have been very limited but the wind is changing to a westerly tomorrow and locally thereafter a 10 degree drop in temperature and rain, the only seemingly wholly dry day after tomorrow is forecast to be Saturday and that with 17mph winds, might be an outing for the the ebike which managed less than 9 miles in May.

 

[Notafettler]

Annoying Friday got up took dog for her morning walk. Weather overcast threatening rain. Got home sunny then rained, then sunny then rained, then sunny then lightning flash and massive hailstorm. Got tomato plants in probably unnecessary. Went out once it stopped leaves on borlotti beans, chard, perpetual spinach, lettuce, celtuse and worse of all newly planted out cumber plant full of holes. Hopefully they will all recover. 5 degree c tomorrow night taking no risks fleeces out.
Felt better when I fetched some firewood I had spotted the day before. Five 4ish mile rides on my electric bike with trailer, stopping 3 or 4 times on each ride to let the dog run around the fields. I was a little bit tired but the dog wasn't.

 

[Notafettler]

Well? No comments on the "slight" change in weather conditions? I know when the weathers bad. The dog gets bored sitting in the rain when I am outside, instead she goes in the house and lays on my bed, in the full knowledge that's she is not allowed to. Just caught her, miserable weather out. I will light the fire when I get back from my soaking.

 

[mudsticks]

I am super pleased with the rain..

More please

 

[ColinJ]

I am super pleased with the rain..

More please

We've got some spare rain here that you can have!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sometimes even I get cynical about global warming, I just wished they'd come off the fence, one way or the other.

Global warming or greenhouse effect is what they called it back in the 1970s. now days it is more commonly agreed as climate change. One of the wettest winters on record followed by the driest Spring on record. That’s sounds very much like climate change which means what were once extreme rare weather events will become increasingly common.

 

[oldwheels]

I completely last last October's holiday due to flooding. The camp sites I wanted to go to had to close as they were under water or the grass areas were too soft. First time that has happened to me so I suppose it had to catch up with me sometime.

 

[Globalti]

I'm enjoying the cooler wetter weather as it's stopping my new neighbours from partying in the garden.

 

[gbb]

Global warming or greenhouse effect is what they called it back in the 1970s. now days it is more commonly agreed as climate change. One of the wettest winters on record followed by the driest Spring on record. That’s sounds very much like climate change which means what were once extreme rare weather events will become increasingly common.

Yeah, sorry, I get that but it's my nature not to speculate...a good thing, sometimes a bad thing to have as a personal trait. I hate speculation, in all sorts of discussions, it's pointless. In all probability, global warming is accelerated by mans hand, but equally we know nature has changed over the eons, what's to say this isnt a mostly natural phenomenon.
And there you go , I indulged in a speculation, something I will likely never know the answer fo...and therefore, pointless .