Another aspect of gardening that's always fascinated me is how weather interacts with the plants. So this has convinced me to measure and monitor the weather/ I made an investment and set up a weather station in the garden to track wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, heat index, dew point, wind chill, rainfall, air pressure, solar radiation, UV index, Evapotranspiration, leaf wetness, soil temperature, and soil moisture. And keep logs of this data. Have some photos of the instruments. I know it seems sophisticated. I got all this for under 1000$. Still expensive but not as bad as other models. Many less complex stations sell for under 100$. I find a weather station one of the most usefull tools in gardening. Main tower; wind, temperature, humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, Evapotranspiration. ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden ) Rain gauge. ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden ) UV sensor ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden ) Leaf wetness ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden ) Temperature/humidity ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden ) Tree temperature/humidity. ( photo / image / picture from FountainMan's Garden )
I can't do a thing about the weather, so I have to work with what I get. If I need to know if it's going to storm or turn bad, I just check to see if I have a headache. That's the best indicator of bad weather i have found. Sometimes my arm or my leg where they were broken years ago may twinge also. Nor would I have the time it takes to actually monitor the station. I'm too busy pulling weeds or some other such chore.
Living in Scotland there's no need for a weather station. Most days we're guaranteed rain. Doesn't matter if it's spring, summer or autumn but we do get a change in winter 'cause then we get snow!!
My husband likes gadgets like those too. He is a Storm Spotter with the local HAM radio club and has several instruments to use for that. But I am not into gadgets when I can get pretty much the same information without spending more than a few dollars and most are free. I have rain gauges even though they are not getting used all that much this year. I have two outdoor thermometers but I don't have to go outside to read them, one is projected on the ceiling of my craft room and the other has a readout on the windowsill. There is not enough moisture in the soil or most of the tree leaves to measure this year. If it is humid outside, I sweat....if it isn't then I don't. I know the barometric pressure is high because we have been under a High Pressure System almost all year, that's one reason we have no rain. I don't garden in the sun so UV index isn't as important, I know you can still get too much sun when you think you are shaded. I'm talking before the sun comes up over the roof of the house. When I spend hours running the sprinkler in the evening only to find that by the time I finish the second section, the first section is already dry and hard....then the evaporation rate is very high.
Yes it does. I personally find the weather stations the most important tools. Everything in the garden revolves around weather. And sometime our 5 sences can be somewhat inaccurate to things that can't be seen nore felt.
Awesome, I too am a ham (KF5KXT) I have my weather instruments placed in various spots. I find the humidity can be low without me fealing it. Unless it's muggy and humid, I personally can't tell the difference. When the humidity drops below 40%, I have to water. The Evapotranspiration also gets pretty high, time to water. Wind can also take a toll on the plants with weak stems. When temperatures are too high I have to shade some plants. I actually have 2 books about gardening around the weather. Really helpfull. Some people don't need a weather station, some like me do.
Welcome to the group, it's good to have another Ham around. My call is KE5EOT. Were you at the McKinney club meeting last night? I was the one with the well antenna'd little blue pickup.
When my rain gauge has 1/4" of dust in it, and when the grass crunches underfoot, it's hard to get excited about the weather.
