Last night was the first night this year that we didn't put the central heating on.

We have a fair amount of garden stuff to do so need the next few days to be rain free. What are our chances Moley?

Less than 50/50 in London and The South East to be honest Sunshine. Here are my thoughts for the next few days in our region.

WEDNESDAY: We are off to a good start with it remaining mostly dry, a bit breezy, but warm.
Yesterday reached 20.4c in Northolt, and today could see similar temperatures.

THURSDAY: Cloud increasing with showers likely for many of us, daytime temperatures falling to around 15-17c.

FRIDAY: Should remain dry with sunny spells, but daytime temperatures showing a further fall with maximums of 10-14c.

SATURDAY: This looks like being the real turning point for us as colder air from the north progresses further south. Maximum temperatures likely to be about 8-10c, but feeling much colder with a strong north easterly breeze. Heavy and at times thundery showers are a distinct possibility. All in all it threatens to be a very unpleasant day.

SUNDAY: Hopefully drier, but chilly with a strong easterly breeze and maximum temperatures in the region of 7-10c.

More to follow.........Moley

Not summer bedding plants I hope Kremm ??

Long story which I won't bore you all with, but I used to be a keen gardener and for my sins I gained an NVQ in Amenity Horticulture a few years ago. You wouldn't think so to see the state of my garden now, but thats down to health problems, enough of that though.

In years gone by I would join the mad rush down to the Garden Centres around Easter time in the hope of having a spectacular display of Spring and Summer flowering borders and tubs that would last through until Autumn.

What has been noticeable this year though is that the extended cold spell has delayed the Spring growth by several weeks. Soil temperatures which are essential to plant growth and seed germination are lagging well behind, and this is particularly the case in The South East.

One relatively cheap way to combat that is to cover an area of soil you want to cultivate with black bin liners. Better still if you can also apply a layer of mulch on top. The warmth of the sun will do the rest.

For any plants susceptible to frost damage a temporary cover of some sort is adviseable. For shrubs such as magnolia/camelia etc just protecting the buds with something as simple as a carrier bag will work. For those shrubs the most damaging time is early morning.

For summer bedding plants, if you have planted them already ( too early in my opinion ) a light garden fleece will help protect them.

Hope this information helps.

Moley

Ta

She been propagating some seeds indoors and planted the small 1" shoots out. I think bin bags overnight.

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Lets be careful out there !

The 'bin bag'/mulch suggestion was more about warming the soil before planting seedlings or tender plants outside Kremm. I wouldn't recommend planting any tender plants/seedlings outside much before mid May in the best of years to be honest, and even then its always best to gradually 'harden them off' under a cloche of some sort.

The soil temperatures are well below average this year, though it does depend on the soil type. Clay based soils ( typical in the London area ) are much slower to warm up than sand based soils ( usually found in the west of our region...Berkshire/Hampshire for example ).

Another noteable feature this year is how cold the surface sea temperatures ( SST's ) are around our coasts compared to the 30 year average, and that is already affecting the weather for coastal regions in The South East.

The North Sea and English Channel SST's are about 2-3c below average, and temperatures on the coast are being pegged well back as a result. Today was a good example. 19-21c ( 68-70f )
where the sun came out a few miles inland, but some coastal areas were shrouded in low cloud and fog and the temperatures struggled to reach 8-10c ( 48-50f ).

I need to get a life !!

Moley

I'm delighted with the warmer weather. We're dismantling a wooden shed and it was full of stuff so we've been outside a lot this week.

Next week we're having our windows and doors replaced so we need good weather on Tuesday and Wednesday too - what do you think our chances are Moley?

Behave please Sunshine, Im struggling enough to predict the next few days, let alone next week !!

Lets put it this way. I usually try and interpret what the main computer models are showing a week ahead. There are 4 that I usually watch, and tonight they totally disagree with each other about the outlook for the next 7 days. I might as well flip a coin to be honest.

The best I can offer at this stage is that next week will be a mixture of sunshine and showers, and after a chilly weekend, temperatures should rise a little. Typical Spring weather in other words.

Moley

It's due to start raining the second your windows are out followed by a gale.

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Lets be careful out there !

Don't listen to him Sunshine! It won't happen. Just remember he's from 'up north'!

Wot's a window ?

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Lets be careful out there !