Can’t do much outside in this!

Well this weather has been awful even by Snowdonia standards. We just don’t seem to get a break from the storms and this latest one, Storm Desmond, took the prize. I don’t know who is coming up with these names, they don’t really seem suitable for a storm. Storm Thor or Storm Zeus, they sound like storms to cower from but Storm Desmond?

Name notwithstanding he dropped enough rain on us although the poor inhabitants of Cumbria who, like us, are on the west side of the UK had it much worse. We had at least 120mm of rain but according to the news they had 340mm, a UK record!

The winds have been strong to say the least although we have had worst gusts in the past, I don’t remember strong winds like these lasting for days on end. Usually a bad storm lasts a matter of hours, not days.

If this is what we get when the scientists reckon climate change global warming has added 1 degree to the temperature, what can we expect when it hits 2 degrees? As sea temperature rises so does the amount of water that evaporates, like steam from a saucepan, so we can certainly expect a lot more water dropping back from the sky.

Storms are powered by the energy in the system and temperature is a measure of that. So more powerful storms, lasting longer seems most likely as well. What a gift for our children and grandchildren we’re leaving.

Sunday (today) was supposed to be a break in the storm and the wind certainly dropped. I’m going a bit stir crazy so I thought to get a bit of time outside. I want to lay some more weed matting to extend the comfrey bed and to cover some of the new veg plot until I can bring it into use.

Last year I might have sprayed it off but with all the stuff about glyphosate I’m avoiding using it unless I’ve no real alternative. I don’t like looking at masses of plastic that ends up ripped and blowing everywhere, but this is a good quality, heavy weight weed mat and will be fine so long as properly fixed down.

I use copper staples along with 2 litre milk containers filled with sand to stop it blowing away. Very effective.

Anyway, I step out of the door and realise there is a stream flowing over the paving at the front of the house. The corner drain is blocked with leaves, so I clear that but there’s still a stream coming.

Although the rain has stopped, the soil is absolutely saturated and water is draining down the hill behind us. At the back of the house there’s a retaining wall and the ground level steps down about 4 feet. The water is running down, hitting the wall and soaking down where it is coming through a new channel at the bottom of the wall.

There is a drainage pipe but it must be blocked and the water has made itself a new route and it’s like a spring. Imagine a tap on full and that’s about how much is coming through.

I tried a bit of re-routing to no avail, hopefully it won’t soak into the house wall too much. There’s not much I can do in this. Ideally lay a drainage pipe but to re-direct but not in the rain. Just laying the matting wasn’t possible. The ground isn’t under water as such but has surface water flowing down over it.

Tomorrow we’re supposed to have some sunshine. That’s the good news. The bad news is 46mph winds to go with it!

Posted in Allotment Garden Diary
5 comments on “Can’t do much outside in this!
  1. Brian King says:

    I see that the EFSA is no longer saying that glyphosate can be carcinogenic!?

    I use it very sparingly as part of our site maintenance, but nowhere near any crops.

  2. I think that it is quite difficult to get a definitive conclusion on the safety of chemicals that have a long term effect. In the case of glyphosate this is very much the issue. I have come to the same conclusion; only use it when absolutely necessary.

  3. John Evans says:

    Just reading that Jeyes fluid can be used as winter fruit tree wash- does any one have a view on this?
    Many thanks

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