September 2017
Friday 1st
6 to 18 to 11°C. 8.86kWh 1.9kW max. Mainly sunny though with a cold breeze.
Saturday 2nd
6 to 18 to 13°C. 10.9kWh 2kW max. Sunny all day.
Continued potting on the biennials, Canterbury Bell and Pansy, into 1.5L pots. Pat took the boys out for a walk in the morning and did some shredding in the afternoon.
Sunday 3rd
10 to 14 to 12°C. 2.18kWh 300W max. Dull and damp all day though the rain was never more than drizzle apart from a shower in the evening.
Cowan and Euan went back to join their parents this morning. Sarah and Ian have had a good walking and cycling holiday with quite good weather in North Wales. The boys have had a week of doing what they want, mainly reading books, playing computer games and going on daily walks with Pat.
Monday 4th
13 to 20 to 15°C. 4.34kWh 800W max. Mainly cloudy with a few glimpses of the sun. Feeling warm and very humid.
A good day to finish painting the garage walls. Pat did some more shredding. I have finished potting on the biennials; two of the pansies have already started to flower.
Tuesday 5th
15 to 18 to 13°C. 3.04kWh 1.1kW max. A very grey damp day with frequent showers of rain or drizzle apart from a short period in the late morning.
During the one dry spell I managed to fix a leaking gutter on the conservatory. It didn't take long before it was tested with more rain in the afternoon and evening.
Since the weather is not forecast to improve in the next few days I am planning some major redecorating of the bathroom, the two single bedrooms and perhaps the kitchen, landing and staircase. It is now 2 years since I smashed my hip and I am finally fit enough to start on these projects.
Wednesday 6th
12 to 16 to 12°C. 6.31kWh 1.5kW max. Some light rain overnight then a sunny morning followed by a cloudy afternoon with a cool breeze.
Started cutting back the new perennial bed. Only the rudbeckia are still flowering.
Thursday 7th
8 to 16 to 12°C. 3.63kWh 700W max. Mainly cloudy with some rain late in the afternoon and into the evening.
Finished cutting back and tidying the new perennial bed. Now I need to order some crocus. snowdropand other small spring bulbs to plant along the front and dig up some daffodil and narcissus bulbs from other parts of the garden to plant between the perennials.
Friday 8th
13 to 17 to 10°C. 6.51kWh 1.4kW max. Rained overnight with sunny intervals and and a few heavy showers during the day and into the evening.
I got soaked on my bike ride but had dried out again before I returned home.
Saturday 9th
9 to 15 to 10°C. 4.51kWh 1.4kW max. Sunny intervals with some very heavy showers.
Moved 300L of rainwater into the polytunnel; the tomatoes and peppers still need it. By the afternoon the several very heavy showers had refilled our stores to overflowing again. British weather, though very variable and unpredictable, is nevertheless benign. At this very moment a hurricane with winds in excess of 150mph and rain not much less than standing under a waterfall is rampaging its way across the Caribbean, flattening and flooding everything in its path. Another one, almost as powerful is following it and another natural disaster, an 8.1 earthquake has occurred just off the west coast of Mexico.
Started to take up the turf from the road verges. Once it is cleared we want to move a large number of daffodil bulbs from other parts of the garden into the soil and then place wildflower mats on top. These are the ones I have been growing using a 'roundabout' mixture with nothing more than 30cm high.
Sunday 10th
7 to 15 to 11°C. 3.47kWh 1.4kW max. Mainly cloudy with a few glimpses of the sun and a few spots of rain. A strong westerly breeze made it feel quite cool for early Autumn.
Continued to sort out the chrysanthemums and move the turf from the verges.
Monday 11th
11 to 16 to 11°C. 6.71kWh 1.6kW max. Sunny intervals interspaced by short blustery showers.
Tuesday 12th
9 to 16 to 10°C. 8.06kWh 1.8kW max. Very sunny morning but the strong NW breeze made it feel quite cool. Clouded over in the afternoon with some prolonged heavy showers in the evening. There is a warning of gales overnight and into the morning.
Took the runners off the late strawberries and planted them into 7cm pots.
Wednesday 13th
9 to 15 to 10°C. 7.97kWh 1.8kW max. Some wind and heavy rain showers overnight. A few chrysanthemum pots were blown over and some dead twigs blown off the trees but no real damage. Continued during the day with sunny intervals and a few short heavy showers.
Dug up the last of the potatoes Sarpo Axona late maincrop. A good yield from 1.5kg seed tubers would be 2 and half buckets full; we got nearly 4. A new variety to us which has large red tubers with thick skins so they should store well in bins on the north side of the house.
Thursday 14th
8 to 14 to 10°C. 6.31kWh 1.6kW max. A cold windy day with some sunny intervals but also many short but heavy showers.
Not a day for working outside so made a start on the winter DIY projects, starting with stripping the wallpaper in the bathroom so I can hang lining paper in preparation for painting it instead. I hope to redecorate the two smaller bedrooms as well.
Friday 15th
8 to 14 to 10°C. 6.35kWh 1.5kW max. Sunny intervals with only a few spots of rain but the northerly wind made it feel very chilly.
Saturday 16th
7 to14 to 9°C. 5.25kWh 1.9kW max. Sunny intervals with a very cold northerly wind and a few light showers.
Finished stripping the bathroom, repaired the plaster and started covering the walls with thick lining paper.
Sunday 17th
6 TO 15 TO 11°c 3.46kWh 1.4kW max. Mainly cloudy, still with a northerly wind but only a few short showers.
I have nearly finished hanging the lining paper in the bathroom.
Monday 18th
8 to 14 to 11°C. 4.47kWh 1.3kW max. Another cold day with heavy showers.
Finished covering the bathroom with lining paper and started painting the walls I did yesterday with special bathroom quality emulsion paint.
Tuesday 19th
6 to 17 to 11°C. 6.74kWh 1.8kW max. Cold foggy start folllowed by some long spells of sunshine and feeling warmer now the wind has moved to the SW.
Finished painting the bathroom walls and then removed and potted on the early strawberry runners. This year there have been more runners than ever before, far more than I need, so a lot will be thrown away. I am assuming the damp summer is the cause for this.
Wednesday 20th
11 to 18 to 14°C. 2.68kWh 700W max. Dark cloudy day with some spots of drizzle during the day with some rain in the evening. Feeling warm and muggy now that the breeze has moved to the south.
Thursday 21st
14 to 16 to 9°C. 1.79kWh 700W max. Cloudy with a few spots of drizzle and a southerly breeze.
Started sawing up the wood we have cut and stacked over the last few months. There should be enough to keep the log stove going over the winter.
Friday 22nd
3 to 15 to 14°C. 6.43kWh 1.4kW max. Cool clear start and remained clear and sunny till early afternoon. Some light rain in the evening
Sawed some more firewood
Saturday 23rd
13 to 17 to 14°C. 2.45kWh 600W max. A mostly cloudy day, only coming sunny late in the afternoon. But feeling much milder in the light south easterly breeze.
Went for our annual 'flu vaccination in the morning.
Started replacing the summer bedding with pots of winter pansies which are now flowering. The dahlias are still flowering but when they stop there are plenty of chrysanthemums to replace them. Hopefully we might also have some wallflowers flowering in the autumn before starting again in the spring.
Sunday 24th
10 to 19 to 15°C. 3.56kWh 800W max. A mainly cloudy day but feeling quite warm in the sourtherly breeze. Started raining around 5pm and was still raining quite heavily at 11pm.
Moved some more turf and weeds off the verge in the morning before the traffic became too busy. In the afternoon Pat did some more shredding and I continued to move the pots of summer flowering plants, replacing them with pansies.
Monday 25th
14 to 15 to 13°C. 1.18kWh 200W max. Rained hard most of the night and into the morning, around 35mm in total, and stayed very dull and drizzly for the rest of the day; I can't remember a darker day, even in winter.
Continued replacing the summer flowering plants, moving in some pots of chrysanthemums which have now started flowering.
Tuesday 26th
14 to 17 to 13°C. 3.03kWh 1.4kW max. Another dull and cloudy day apart from a short period of sunshine just before midday.
Pat started clearing the squash plants out of the polytunnel; there are no more fruits likely to grow and ripen before colder weather sets in. I continued to sort out the pots of autumn|winter flowers including more repotting and training of the taller chrysanthemums which have just started to think about flowering.
Wednesday 27th
13 to 17 to 13°C. 2.01kWh 400W max. Another dull day with heavy grey clouds. It didn't start raining till late in the afternoon but then continued steadily late into the evening.
The overwintering onion sets, Radar, Electric, Snowball and Senshui Yellow, came today so I spent most of the afternoon planting them into 7cm square pots. I shall leave these to grow in the polytunnel all winter rather than as advised last year in a cold frame where they were too damp and cold.
Thursday 28th
9 to 18 to 12°C. 7.6kWh 1.8kW max. Damp foggy start but soon cleared to hazy sunshine which lasted most of the day.
Continued moving and training the chrysanthemums.
Friday 29th
13 to 16 to 10°C. 5.07kWh 1.8kW max. Some rain overnight and earlt morning clearing to sunny spells till latge afternoon. Very windy at times.
The wind has stripped a lot of leaves off the ash trees and we are being bombarded by acorns from the oak tree near the polytunnel. More wind is forecast for the next two days, the remnants of two hurricanes which devastated the Caribbean but are now only force 8 gales now they have crossed the Atlantic.
Saturday 30th
9 to 13 to 12°C. Wet with light rain in the morning and heavier rain in the afternoon and evening but not as windy as forecast.
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