Time is on Their Side
Doesn’t it seem like you never have enough time to get things done. Wouldn’t it be kind of nice to have more time on your hands?
Well, gardeners in the United Kingdom now have more time to grow their plants each year — thanks to Europe’s unique geography, varying ocean conditions and climate change.
According to the Meteorological Office (the United Kingdom’s national weather service), the growing season in England is now a full month longer than it was back in 1990.
The Met Office reports that the plant growing season — which begins and ends when the daily temperature remains above 41°F and there are no five-day periods when the temperature drops below 41°F — averaged 280 days between 2006 and 2015. That’s 29 more days of growing compared to 1990.
Meteorologists in the U.K. have been keeping daily temperature records back to 1772 — the year with the longest growing season (336 days) was 2014, while the shortest growing season (181 days) occurred twice, in 1782 and 1859.
“Between 1861 and 1890, the average growing season by this measure was 244 days, and measuring the same period a century later, the average growing season had extended by just over a week,” said Dr. Mark McCarthy, manager of the National Climate Information Center, a part of the Meteorological Office. “For the most recent 10 years between 2006 and 2015, the average growing season has been 29 days longer at 280 days when compared with the period between 1961 and 1990.”
“The North Atlantic Oscillation has a major influence on the winter weather of Europe and North America … When the North Atlantic Oscillation is positive, then our winters are dominated by weather from the west, bringing more frequent wind and rain and fewer frost days; this adds to the warming due to climate change and can produce record-breaking weather,” said Adam Scaife of the Met Office.
I wonder if the gardeners in England even realize that they have this additional time on their side and are taking advantage of it?
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