Re: [gardeners] Rain!!
Catharine Vinson (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Thu, 25 Jun 1998 21:31:33 +0000
Kay wrote:
> *AND* it's not supposed to rain more than a couple of
> times between May and September here. Mediterranean climate and
> all that.
I think we all agree that all of us are experiencing truly wierd weather.
At the risk of sounding even loonier than I usually sound, I will pass on
a comment made by a commercial grower friend of mine that I am beginning
to think may not be so off-the-wall.
Anyway, we were having lunch last week and the grower and her husband both
said that greenhouse crops are just not acting "right" this season. I have
heard the same type of remark from several growers. While you can't
control the environment in a greenhouse 100%, it is a lot more stable from
season to season than field growing conditions. Growers stay in business
by being able to count on consistent results from their crops year after
year. If you are growing tomatoes for sale to nurseries, you gotta know
that if you plant on date X that on date Y, they will be ready for market.
Etc. Etc.
This isn't happening this year. Some crops are maturing way too soon. Some
are languishing. Availability lists are a nightmare to prepare. Odd
diseases. Plants that just don't look "right." I've heard these sorts of
comments from many growers.
Well, this one grower friend has a theory. Simpy put (hah!), she and her
husband think it's the result of solar flares. The proverbial sun spots.
They say they are convinced there is a correlation and asked if I knew if
anybody had documented the "evidence" that would back 'em up. Heck I
dunno, but I said I'd ask. Anybody "into" electromagnetic field theory or
do I need to call agents from X-files for my friends <bg> ?
Catharine