Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi, n thanks for the welcomes. Should have kept my mouth shut though, winter is now well and truley here. Door almost blew off the chicken house yesterday and the galeforce northerly has blasted those poor mange tout flowers awayoff down to Ireland Ah well time to hole up for the winter and get on with making all those preserves. On the plus side that swimming pool I was telling you about has nearly doubled in size

Should be in Edinburgh at the moment but all flights cancelled Been sitting at the airport, but wind just increasing with gusts of 60-70 knots. Having another go at leaving on the 7.30 tomorrow morning, but now it looks like there might be a frost again Apparently winds to ease overnight and skies clearing, temperatures dropping fast.

Weird weather.

Did you lose anything in the wind CC? Now I am home again I see my Council £5 compost bin has lifted off the ground, blown over the wall and is now rolling around the field. Sheep don't know what to make of it. Looks like I'll have to go and get it back!

Is it telling you its time to turn your compost??!! May be an opportunity..

Turn the compost Annie ? - in this wind (90mph) I;ll be lucky if it is still there unfortunately!

What can I say? - severe flooding - up to 4 ft in some areas, roads washed away, drains unable to cope, recently sown fields being washed onto the A9 (Main route North from Perth) - that is where the water hasn't ripped up the tarmac, cars washed down drives and into buildings, loads of accidents, no public transport - railway tracks being undermined by floodwater, buses stopped at 7:30 this evening - rain now slowing but wind picking up - gusts to 90, averaging about 70 - 75 mph.
Police advice for the whole county of Easter Ross =- do not go out !!!!
Still, not all bad, at least my wellies got a wash !!

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Hi folks. I heard the weather reports and road reports on the radio. You have my sympathies. I hope there isn't too much damage and that you are all alright.

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Bright Blessings
Earthbabe
If at first you don't succeed, open a bottle of wine.

Hi, saw the flooding on the news, hope everyones ok and no-one lost anything! Wind here calmed down for the day but I can hear it picking up just now. Atleast we had a calm day to go out and check on everything. The only thing I lost was the lid of the council compost bin yeh they are just not built for the weather up here. Did you manage to catch your run away compost bin without any mishaps JA?

Got down to Edinburgh on Friday eventually! and back again last night. Bin still stuck down the bottom of the field so will have to get it back sometime today!
We must have had alot of rain over the weekend as the loch is so high the surrounding feld area has flooded. Thankfully no damage from the winds on Thursday, BUT we have another lot coming tomorrow - Severe Gale 9 again and WINTRY SHOWERS!! Snow on high ground apparently.

Brace yourselves again folks.

I heard the national weather report earlier too Jennie, and immediately thought of you and the other grapes in Scotland, I hope the weather isnt as severe as is forecast and no-one suffers any damage! Good luck for bracing yourselves and seeing it thought safetly!

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Blessings
Suzanne (aka Mrs Dobby)

'Garden naked - get some colour in your cheeks'!

The Dobby's Pumpkin Patch - a blogspot work in progress!
Last updated 5th November2008 - new piccies!

Just driven back from Inverness,snow on the hills and a few flakes in the air as I followed the gritter down the A9,is that the end of summer do you think.

Dunno Burnie

We had our first frost last night but the way the weather is nowadays anything can happen.
Skipper

We had wintry showers on Tuesday, but the gale didn't blow up as fierce as last week. Since then its just been extremely wet, everywhere is either flooded or waterlogged. Was hoping to get my tulips in this weekend, but I think they may just rot!

How has the polytunnel stood up to the high winds Jennie?

We have been lucky these last few days, still and cold. Been out trying to finish drains before the garden turns to mud.
Jennie, you have a poly tunnel? How does it hold up in Shetland? We bought one but didn't manage to put it up before the winter set in. Any advice for northern poly tunnel owners?

If you try putting it up now it may well turn into a poly kite!!!!

He he, free flight to europe though

Weathers been great again n I finally finished my drain, now I've just got beds to dig.

Really well Nicos - last weeks wind was from the NE, not a normal direction for a Shetland gale and I thankfully got a bit of shelter from the farm building next door. I noticed I now I have to lift the door up before it will open, so something must have shifted! I have learnt to take everything off the staging as it just rattles and wobbles and everything falls off.

CC - I spent a whole year with a small wind speed monitor working out the windiest parts of the small field next to our house. It was quite a joke that everytime the wind got up I could be seen wandering around the field holding up the monitor! But I think it was worth it as this is now my third winter. I have placed the tunnel on an east/west line (door facing west) so that the predominant strong winds from the SE and SW hit the sides. We don't very often get a straight easterly or westerly gale. The frame is also concreted in and I went for every bracing bar the company sold! Have a look at some of the polytunnel posts in Undercover Operations as a number of us in Scotland have discussed various elements of polytunnel growing in the past. Hope this helps.

PS First time I've done a multi-quote!

Cheers for the advise Jenny, my PT arrived here a couple of months ago, not the same spec. as yours, a 10x20 burry feet in the ground one, bought all the extras I could like you did. Hope it holds, will find out next winter I suppose.

Weather is like winter here again, we had a few nice days last week but back to the norm . Windy, wet but not really too bad, can still get out to do essential jobs. Keeps you cool while digging

The wind has never given up here. Been blowing F7/8 since last Tuesday. I really had hoped to get out today to do some tidying, but its hopeless even trying. All I managed was some watering in the greenhouse and a quick look in the polytunnel (rather noisy in the wind!). All the fields around us are still quite flooded and the loch is alot higher than usual. I noticed that three sheep have been stuck on a small island in the loch since last week - wonder if they have eaten themselves out of house and home yet? The car temp guage was showing 12 degrees today. Still unreal temperatures.

If it stays waterlogged and mild you could build a paddy field and grow some rice!!!

When our plot was waterlogged in the spring, it was sad to see so many dead worms.

After days and days of non stop gale force winds this afternoon was beautiful and we even had a sort of sunset over the loch. I've just come in from a meeting and stood sorting out the keys for the car and just couldn't believe the silence. It was beautiful. I walked over to the field and could hear the sheep chomping away on the grass it was sooooo quiet. I suppose you have to have gales to appreciate the calms. No sign of any northern lights (aurora borealis - no idea how you spell that) yet as its still 8 degrees at night.

I agree Jennie, the still after the storms just seems to make the world all the more beautiful. After weeks of not being able to stand up straight or lift your head because of the wind those calm moments are so much more valuble. Were the stranded sheep ok? I remember when I was wee, crofters having to take boats out in the sea to rescue sheep stranded by rising tides .

Yesterday was quite nice but come the evening the starlings were massing like something out of a hitchcock film, a sure sign of bad weather here and right enough its a howling gale outside now. Drains seem to be doing the job they were dug for but don't want to speak too soon, the proper rains are still to come.

We braced ourselves last night CC for another storm - forecast winds were up to 60mph from the NW and heavy rain. But I seemed to have slept through it all! I understand the boat coming up from Aberdeen had a terrible trip! This morning is very calm, bright and dry, but I think we are in the eye of the low at the moment and more strong winds forecast for tonight.

I think we may be in for a windy winter here in the north !