When I was uploading my allotment piccies the other evening, I glanced back at my allotment photos for June 2009 and was astonished at how far advanced plants were this time last year. I was picking courgettes, my onions were ready, masses of strawberries and raspberries and fab, fat iceberg style lettuce. My courgettes this year are still only little plants thanks to the cold snap we had a few weeks back where a hard frost wiped a lot of them out....my raspberry canes are smothered in immature fruit, but they are a long way off yet, yes, strawbs are coming, but again, I reakon it will be another few weeks before we can comfortably say we are in a glut, and my onions are no way near ready for harvesting completely. The long cold winter and continuous heavy snow in December and January has really slowed spring down. I wonder if the cold weather reduced the pests?
It's the same thing here, EJ. I am reckoning that it's about three weeks later this year than last. I guess it will all come, but it seems to be taking forever.
We were about 2 weeks ahead this year until this week. Cold temperatures seemed to have slowed everything down and we have a cool, wet weekend ahead.
I just remember the relentless rains we had here last year that slowed everything down. This year has been very dry and hotter than usual. Growth & blooms seem about "normal" this year but I'm not sure I know what normal is anymore!
