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I feel these cold conditions would have mattered less had we not have had the balmy, warm weather patterns for most of March. This prompted a lot of early growth in trees and perennials with tender buds and foliage.
Having followed area weather conditions closely during the past week, It seems there is light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Yesterday (Apr. 9) gave us a little hope with an overnight low of only 32F, and a whopping 43F daytime high! From reading other DG posts, watching the weather channel and local news reports it seems like this cold snap affected almost every state east of the Rocky Mountains. And locally several records were either tied or broken! Weather.com showed stats for April 9 with a record high of 81F in 1967 and a record low of 16F in 1982 for the date. Official stats for local temperatures yesterday were "official high" 43F and "official low" of 32F. However, by my "unofficial" thermometer, I only saw 41F & 28F respectively.
I am encouraged by today's forecast (currently 25F at 7:00 AM) which promises a whopping 50F high today. It is beginning to break daylight, and a heavy frost covers the entire landscape as I write. So maybe today will be a prelude to better weather days ahead.
Four major fruit crops are grown in this region; apples, peaches, cherries and grapes which no doubt will be severely impacted by all the cold. Grain farmers have no problems since crops for these won't be planted until later this month into May.
Entries and Updates
Apr 10, 2007
One of the projects I am involved with is hybridizing (only as a hobby) irises. Last year I made several SDB crosses, and planted the resulting seeds in October of 2006. To my dread these seedlings began germinating before this cold spell, and I felt these would be lost due to their tenderness and tiny size. Out of one row of seeds about 10-15% had sprouted and were above the soil line by as much as 1/2"; and some were only showing tiny tips above ground. Yesterday in late afternoon before dark I decided to examine these seedlings to see just how much damage had occurred. To my surprise they "appeared" to have survived. So once again I am somewhat cautiously optimistic. These are very tiny seedlings, with some barely 1/2" in height. For my Journal I am posting a picture for the record. If I'm around next year this time, I'll have something to compare with.
Apr 10, 2007
I went out with the camera at 8:00 this morning to document what things looked like at 24F. If nothing else, it will be something for me to remember when (and if) another cold spell comes along. As I age in years, it seems like there is not much 'new' to learn in gardening; But just when it seems like I "know" everything, something unexpected comes along. And I believe this will be a learning experience that hopefully I won't forget soon. To sum it all up "none of us are too 'old' to learn from life's experiences". And I know for anybody involved seriously in agriculture/horticulture, weather should (and must) always be an important factor. I plan to make this topic a part of my Journal for future reference.
This picture was shot shortly after 8:00 AM today when the temperature was at 24F.
Apr 10, 2007
This clump of triumph tulips was lying on the ground in 24 degree weather this morning. Surprisingly, after the sun came out and the air warmed up it began to stand more upright. In an odd way the frost was almost like a modern artistic sculpture.
