jethro

You've got my vote. Nowt but a very, very slight dusting last year, and the year before oh and the year before that and guess what, the year before that too. Lived here for seven years (near Bath) and we've only ever had more than an inch twice, both gone within hours. I'm at 194 asl and we still get rain or at best sleet. Bah humbug! Praying for some tonight but I doubt it.

Sorry for the delay in replying but this is the first chance I've had since the holiday period. SF< I believe you misunderstood me or perhaps placed too much emphasis where none was intended. My actual point was light AS MUCH as temps plays a part. The discussion was about the unseasonal flowering of plants, the inference being that GW is shifting the the flowering times. This concerns me as it is yet another "fact" being heaped upon the pile of Incontrovertible Evidence when it simply is not true nor proven. On many occasions, you yourself have leapt upon other such stated facts albeit in a different sphere; and questioned their credibility. Horticulture is my sphere, therefore I question. Your grass will continue to grow in mild autumnal/winter weather, what it will not do is flower and set seed. There is a world of difference between growth and flowering. Climatic differences between latitudes&altitudes do alter the seasons but comparing Daffodils in bloom in the Scilly Isles to those in Aberdeen was not my point, nor is it valid science. Measuring seasonal data from one particular location year on year reveals the true picture. Light is an important factor in plant growth, professional growers exploit this; one seasonal example being Poinsettias. In the wild they flower when day and night are equal in length, they are brought into flower early, by about three months by the application and exclusion of LIGHT, not an increase in temperature. Raspberries in Scotland in October, reported in the press... Two points: Autumn fruiting raspberries bred by the Scots specifically for their climate and to exploit the greater market value when the glut of southern raspberries is over. Secondly; reported in the press... Piers Corbyn; need I say more.

Hate to be an anorak but....I agree entirely. Plant winter dormancy is governed by light as much as temperature; they begin to grow proper and bloom according to the hours of daylight. Regardless of how cold or warm it may be, they flower pretty much on cue and will continue to do so. The only major impact being if we have late spring frosts which hit blooms; even then the damage is caused not so much by the cold but by the rapid thaw induced by early morning sun.

I've got time on my hands over the hols, was trawling around the net checking out property prices in Canada - plan on moving out there soon; I found the story below. Apparently it happened a while ago but has only just been released. Any thoughts? http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...498&k=55306

My thoughts exactly GW, how can something in our solar system kick out so much energy and not have an impact upon our planet and climate. It makes me cross that so many people dismiss the Sun in the global warming debate; how can they? Of concern also, are the following predicted much quieter two Solar Cycles. My understanding is that Solar cycles really are fairly accurately predicted with a known pattern and cycle; 25 and 26 are estimated to be on a par with those in the Dalton Minima, how will this impact upon Earth? Time will tell but my prediction is there are a few surprises up the sleeve for those who believe they have this climate science cracked, me thinks it might come back and bite them on the bum.

SEARCH: use the box at the top right to search GQT For me; it makes sense that something which has such a large influence on our planet in the form of tidal activity, must in some way have other influences too. Just because we do not know or understand, doesn't mean it doesn't exist or cannot be true. Perhaps if as a race, we weren't so isolated from nature and all its' cycles we would be more aware. The majority spend most of their days indoors in an artificially heated/lit environment so is it any wonder the acceptance/knowledge of the vagaries of our natural climate/planet is being lost and or ignored. When people depended upon the world around them to feed and sustain their families, that knowledge was vital, it made the difference between life and death. I'm not saying let's all go back to living in the dark ages, I like the convenience of modern life, but I do think we lose or ignore hundreds of years worth of worldwide knowledge of our planet, climate and all its' influences at our peril. The Moon's got to be in there somewhere. I have never tried the following methods but lots of people swear by them. Dr Nick Kollerstrom has made a study of lunar planting and he talked to Eric Robson, the GQT chairman, about his research. Is there a scientific basis to support the lunar planting theory? # Biodynamic farmers have been using the lunar calendar for the last half century. It's now a world-wide movement and their results in yields and rhythm of growth are worth taking account of. # I believe that the moon affects all living things on earth, but I think it has a rather larger effect on plants than it does on us. Why does it work? This is a mystery that modern science has hardly begun to look at. For example, why has the woman's reproductive system got an average cycle of 29 to 30 days, which is the same length as the lunar month? I think it's important for us, at this stage, just to accept that there do seem to be results, and we don't yet understand the mechanism. How would you plan your planting? You follow the moon's passage around the constellations of the Zodiac. So you'd sow root crops such as carrots and potatoes when the moon's in front of one of the earth constellations, Taurus, Virgo or Capricorn - and that happens about every nine days in the growing seasons. John Harris, Head Gardener of Tresilian House Gardens, near Truro in Cornwall, swears by the technique and would never sow a seed without first checking the lunar calendar. Reporter Nina Davy talked to him about his gardening methods. How long have you been following a lunar planting regime? I started in the 1960s, but it's an ancient system. The Chinese, Greeks and Romans were guided by the moon. I find it very effective to time my sowing, planting and pruning by the moon. By applying fertiliser at the right time I can cut my fertiliser requirement by 50%. It's not folklore, it's practical knowledge that works. People call me the 'loony gardener' but I don't mind. How does gardening by the moon actually work # As well as controlling the tides the moon controls the moisture content in the soil. There are two periods: the waxing moon, which is the growing moon from new to full. That's when the moisture level in the soil is at it's highest and when you should do your planting. # the waning moon which is from full to last quarter. That's when the moisture content is at its lowest and there's less sap rising in your trees and shrubs so it's when you should do your pruning.

Some Honeysuckles are winter flowering. I work outside all year round, I'm a gardener and to be honest, despite living in the mild South West I can see nothing particularly unusual/unseasonal around here. If plants are sprouting early in your neck of the woods then the worst possible thing that can happen when the temps eventually go down is the odd soft tip will get burnt by frost - they'll recover. Any bulbs which appear to be making earlier than usual growth will just go into suspended animation for a while until Spring arrives; manipulating temperature by the use of hot houses/fridges is how gardeners at flower shows such as Chelsea manage to get plants such as Lupins, Daffodils, Blubells etc all in flower at the same time. Plants are tough, resiliant things. Wild life is opportunistic, if situations are favourable then animals will continue to breed, sometimes producing one brood a year, other times two or three, dependant upon amongst other things, if food is available. Sadly Mother Nature is also a harsh beast, when the weather turns cold and kills off all the insect foodstuff then animals like hedgehogs further up the chain will die also. That, unfortunately is just the way it is, always has been and always will be. Late or extra broods/litters are always a gamble and like any gamble, the odds are stacked against.

WOW! You lucky, lucky person. One day I hope to see something like this. Thanks for posting the pics.

I know the net volume wouldn't change drastically, but wouldn't all that fresh water pouring into the ocean have a negative effect upon the Gulf Stream? I thought the big worry was the level of salinity.

The Centaurea is nothing to worry about, they'll keep on flowering until the frost stops them, although in your part of the world I guess that should have happened a while ago. More worrying is the Laurel, that's obviously very, very confused by the weather; it should flower in April. On the plus side, it will provide much needed food for any late flying bees.

Don't want to be picky but that's a photo of Viburnum x bodnantense - a winter flowering shrub, flowering right on cue.

Hi folks, I live in the South West (Wells, Somerset); what kind of synoptics would lead to decent snowcover here? I've been here for 9 years and with the exception of one dumping in early April 2000, the only snow we've had has been a dusting. Is this usual for this area? Comparitively speaking I'm on reasonably high ground for round here 192m asl. Easterlies run out of steam before they get here, as do NW's, everything else delivers rain. Any clues as to what to look for on charts?

How common is snow in April? If it does snow then, is it more likely to amount to substantial falls due to warmer temps? I ask because I live near Wells in Somerset, have done for 9 years and any snow seems to by-pass us or give just a dusting with the exception of one year when we got a decent covering - approx 6inches; this was 4th April 2000. It was wonderful to wake up to, but we were moving house that day, the removal van had quite a problem reaching us. Sadly it had all gone by mid-afternoon. Don't remember it being forecast either, one of those surprise/marginal events perhaps?

Thanks for posting this, I'd missed it. Certainly interesting stuff. I can't really be bothered with the tit-for-tat over which scientist is right/wrong etc, nor do I have enough time to do much research but my gut instinct says it's not all our fault; nor is the outcome in our control. It's reassuring to know I'm not the only one and big questions on the validity of the research are being asked in the mainstream press. As an aside...I'm sure I read somewhere that one minutes energy output of the sun=all the energy used by mankind globally for a whole year. If that's true then how come the variences in solar output are dismissed by all and sundry? Surely even minor changes would be so huge that they must have an effect on our climate? When I get time, I'll trawl around and see if I can find the article again to post a link.

Perhaps, but according to the National Energy Foundation Australia come second to the USA in terms of CO2 emissions. Followed by Norway...

How about the opposite? GW could lead to our winters getting colder/snowier, lots of people miss or haven't experienced an old style winter, the gulf stream diminishing or shutting down could appear very attractive if that's what you want. Or, the arguement of; until the super powers like USA and Australia play ball and reduce emissions there isn't any point in me turning off a light bulb/it can't be all that bad because the USA and Australia don't take it seriously. Religion? God has a grand scheme, it'll be ok in the end.

As above, welcome back!

I live near Wells in Somerset, this year I saw at least a dozen or more fields of Sunflowers. Hardly large scale change but something new around here. Definately preferable to field after field of Rape.

At the risk of sounding like a complete loon, way out beyond the boundaries of fringe.... Historically the global climate has had it's ups and downs, temperature wise but they have been steady increases/decreases; it's only in fairly recent years that there has been a sharp increase. It's also only in fairly recent years/same time span of the change that the world has had nuclear capability. To date there have been approx 2000 nuclear detonations of varying size (wikipedia). Is there any way the two could be connected? We know large volcano eruptions have an impact upon weather. Is that the men in white coats I see out the corner of my eye.....

Joy!! A like minded person, at last. I raised similar issues, albeit in I think the wrong thread - we can't afford not to tackle AGW.

Got any spare ones?

Thanks for posting the link, new to this game. So it's not just me then who's confused? Thank goodness. Anyone who can debunk this, point me in the direction where I can validate it myself? Is it tripe, hogwash or is it true?

Those are some of the questions.

Hi Dawlish, thanks for reply. The left/right/blue/red/green/purple with pink spots polictical stuff is I'm afraid filtered out wholesale by myself. Some things are so important they should transcend politics, my belief is this is one of them. I moved this into another more climate based thread - we can't afford not to tackle AGW - still not sure that's the right place... Anyway, I've explained my position further in there, if you could have a read and let me know your thoughts, I'd be grateful. Thanks