New Zealand Local Weather Forum
General Category => Members Lounge => NZLW Forum Blogs => Topic started by: JennyLeez on December 26, 2016, 01:20:29 PM
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It is Boxing Day. I love Boxing Day as it means there is a whole year before Christmas bowls back again.
I have no idea where this year has gone. It only seems a few weeks ago I posted I would be pleased to see 2016 roll around as all station's year rainfall would be correct again.
.... and yep you guessed it, I will be happy to see 2017 for the same reason :)
Cheers to all and I wish you all the bestest and greatest for 2017 :)
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History repeats itself, in this case, with the rainfall totals!
Have a great 2017, Jenny! :) 8)
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As you know I will be glad to see 2017 for different reason, wishing you a good new year
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Amazing Sunset in Wairoa tonight 15th January 2017.
(http://nzpws.net/nzwn/images/wairoa15-01-2017.jpg)
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Some very nice russet tones in that one, that's for sure!
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Thats such a pretty sunset all different pinks..
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I quite often watch docs on the Discovery Channel on Alaska. What a tough life they lead.
I was checking out their temps this morning and thought I would post a map of their current temps here.
How on earth do they survive in these conditions I have no idea. They tell me they are 'conditioned'. I take it that means they have very thick hides :)
(http://nzpws.net/nzwn/images/alaska.png)
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That is cold whether measured in degF or degC!! At around -40degF = -40degC!!
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I don't mind the cold as you can dress for it, but can't say I enjoy it for any length of time. We are a long way from Alaska or Canada's north but we do occasionally get close to -30°C http://www.komokaweather.com/mysql/top10.php or check out 2015 Feb http://www.komokaweather.com/weather/betel_datasummaryCU.php
January and February can be very cold and somewhat December and March but ours don't last as long as further north. On only very rare occasions would children not be permitted to go outside during school recess as they have proper boots, coats, hats and mittens. They have a great time especially if the sun is out. Tobogganing, skating, hockey, and skiing can all be done with proper attire and kids love to be outdoors. Hunting and fishing is also a good outdoor event in the winter for some but personally I don't like sitting by the fishing hole on the ice, even within a tent, waiting for some fish to take a nibble.
Once February is done then we have had enough and look forward to spring, or Spring Break vacation. It is the next 6 weeks or so that get people down when spring should be arriving and we get a few days of it then more winter type weather and wonder if spring will ever get here. Our May 2-4 long weekend is sort of the time for significant change when outdoor camping can be sort of fun (did I mention our brew comes in 4x6 packs and that weekend is one of the busiest for the brew stores and the Provincial parks' camping spaces all booked). Then summertime, and we reach the mid 30°C on the other side of the scale. Why can't we just have it the same all year round somewhere in between? but that would be boring - we love the 4 distinct seasons!
Enjoy,
Paul
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That is cold whether measured in degF or degC!! At around -40degF = -40degC!!
Well thats weird, how come they are the same? Shouldnt °F be more?
The Map attached above is in °C
Interesting read Paul, thank you.
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Google: "deg c deg f conversion" and enter -40 for degC
Now a change from freezing point of water to boiling point in Fahrenheit is:
32degF to 212degF = 180degF range
or same in degC as:
0degC to 100degC = 100degC
There for the equivalent ratio or range = 180/100 = 9/5
so that for every 5degC change of Celcius, you get 9degrees change in Fahrenheit.
Now a change of -40degC into Fahrenheit degrees is:
-40degC x 9/5 = 72degF change.
Now we know that at freezing point of water:
0degC = 32degF
Now apply the -40deg Celcius change to both sides of the equation ...
=> . . . . . . . is the same as
0degC - 40degC <=> 32degF -72degF
-40degC = -40degF QED! (quod errat demonstratum = Which was to be demonstrated or proven) LOL!!
Hey I am a Scientist and an Engineer...
Graeme
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It must be amazing to have a brain that can work things out like that all I can do is read knitting patterns and cake recipes, heavens to Betsy what I would do with a weather station I would need one that talked to me and even then I don't think I would understand it, I admire you engineers I really do especially the one I have here..
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I have edited it many times to make it easier to read and supposedly easier to follow... LOL! We also know how to make something simple appear quite complicated... haha!
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That's what we women do make something simple appear quite complicated ooops better be careful giving away secrets of womanhood here lol
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Hey I am a Scientist and an Engineer...
Gee and here I thought you were just a pretty face :D
I googles it before going back to work. Interesting and clearly explained above.
Thanks @TokWW (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=5) I had not realised the above.
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I have found a new plant to grow :)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/grew2.jpg)
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Is that what I think it is... >:D How old are those plants? There is/was an old guy around the corner from me who grew his own tobacco. They look very luxuriant crops.
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Straight away I was going to say "Tobacco" but it seems I got up too late today haha! There is another plant with very similar leaf structure and with tall flowering stems but I think it is noxious and grows in riverbeds and the like. I'm not sure if the one I was thinking of is poisonous or anything but that it just takes over an area and spreads quickly. Ato2 - do you recall that plant?
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There are a number of Nicotiana species growing here- they are Nightshade?. ..Some very large ones near me on council land, too. Woolly Nightshade- very attractive, stinks like kerosene, grows to a small tree, prolific seeder. If you have a photo of the one you are thinking of, I should be able to nail it, I think. Some species have naturalised from South America.
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The couple I left the flowers on grew to 9ft. I needed a ladder to remove the suckers and bag up the flowers for seeds.
Last week or so I have extended that garden out to allow for another row but leaving a mowing strip. Back breaking work. I need to turn the compost back in once more before planting.
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/plot1-row2.jpg)
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Nice one Jenn - a lot of back breaking work - well done! Yes deadly Nightshade comes to mind. I am way to far away from them at the moment, Tom, but I will try and find a typical photo in a search.
Graeme
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Ahh yes, Deadly Nightshade is the garden weed with the green berries turn deep purple.
Foxgloves was the name of the plant (well as I was told by Dad and he did Horticulture for 4 years), and yes they are poisonous - digitalis.
Hmmm, all of the photos just show the tall pretty flower stem but not the bulky leaves I knew.
This site here has pictures of them ... https://www.terrain.net.nz/friends-of-te-henui-group/weeds/foxglove-purple-digitalis-purpurea.html
But I remember more thicker foliage than that - more like Jenny's garden.
Its interesting doing research!!
G
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Sure is... I have lots of foxgloves that pop up from time to time. Woolly Nightshade grows rampant in places in Taranaki, especially council land. Like opposite my house, on a bank....
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and we start all over again but this year with much bigger gardens. Those things grew huge. 9 feet or there abouts. I needed a ladder to crop off the flowers.
I have a lot less lawn to mow now as I have dug up much of my back yard.......... well a little of my back yard :)
I have many trays like this all lined up in my workshop. Too cold to go outside. I wish Spring would hurry up :)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/october_13_2018.jpg)
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I think it should heat up pretty quickly from now. The Sun's elevation should take over in the heating stakes! I have about forty or so palm trees that I planted. One that is really reliable with annual flowering is the Chinese Windmill Palm- first week of October it is away.
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So how are my lettuce plants going?
They are doing just fine.
October saw slow growth with still lousy weather.
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/october_26_2018.jpg)
Early November was time to plant out. This was followed by wind and rain and I ended up having to replace many of the plants.
So we built a wind break fence.
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/nov1_2018.jpg)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/nov3_2018.jpg)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/nov4_2018.jpg)
I should never have painted that wind break fence as it was very apparent I needed to paint the back fence :)
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Mid December 2018
The weather has slightly warmed up and with weeks of sun in the morning and rain in the afternoon I have not had to use the sprinkler at all.
My lettuces are starting to take shape and I am spending my morning removing the laterals off my tomato plants and around 140 lettuce plants. This sure kills the back :)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december 6-12-2018.jpg)
The back fence got the better of me and has had one coat of watered down paint. Paint sure is expensive. My husband came out and asked me why I was painting the old tin for. I told him for a 'photo shoot' and with this he nodded his head and returned inside....lol
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december2 6-12-2018.jpg)
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Definite case of cruelty to back fences there :o
(well there was for a brief moment!)
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Hi Jenny,
are these somewhat the same?
Enjoy,
Paul
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HAHA @PaulMy (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/mlist/paulmy_954) - lettuce for the kitchen others are for medicinal use!! LOL! @JennyLeez (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/mlist/jennyleez_6) - what a huge back garden area ... what are you going to do when all the lettuces grow full at the same time? Oh and the side fence could do with some paint too ... LOL! :P
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18th December 2018
@PaulMy
Gee you would need a lot leaves to make a half decent salad from those plants.
No my lettuces are nothing like that :)
@TokWW (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/mlist/tokww_5)
what are you going to do when all the lettuces grow full at the same time
I will be very very busy....lol
No it is not so bad, they start to turn yellow from the bottom up slowly. I hasten this by picking, placing in dark and high temp (6 days).
Once yellow I hang them in high humidity and temp until brown (6 days). Needless to say I have a weather station in my Garage which is now not a garage :)
Once brown they are air dried for a couple of months and then boxed for 1 year. So these lettuces below are for my salads in the year 2020 :)
Look at the growth in 12 days. Thats what sun in the morning and rain in the afternoon does. They love it. The only draw back is I am spending a lot of time removing the laterals and it is back breaking :)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december1 18-12-2018.jpg)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december2 18-12-2018.jpg)
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18th December 2018[/size]
No it is not so bad, they start to turn yellow from the bottom up slowly. I hasten this by picking, placing in dark and high temp (6 days).
Once yellow I hang them in high humidity and temp until brown (6 days). Needless to say I have a weather station in my Garage which is now not a garage :)
Once brown they are air dried for a couple of months and then boxed for 1 year. So these lettuces below are for my salads in the year 2020 :)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december1 18-12-2018.jpg)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/december2 18-12-2018.jpg)
Isn't that the process for tobacco plants to dried tobacco for smoking - Aha! Now I get it, why @PaulMy (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=954) was sharing the other smoked product. All for personal use only! They are huge though!! (Dummy me!)
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.... took me a while to cotton on. PaulMy obviously knows his horticulture and picked up the variety of lettuce pretty quick!! ;).
Happy Xmas
TC
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@PaulMy (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=954) @TonyC (http://www.localweather.net.nz/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=78)
That type of lettuce is legal in Canada isnt it.
They need to do the same in New Zealand and then maybe these idiots would stop using that chemical stuff that is killing them.
Cheers
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I was not very clear; it is not let us grow but let us use... O:-)
Using it became legal in October and many small and large industrial growing and processing operations have sprung up. But the legal end-user distribution network hasn't kept pace yet.Jenny's garden would fit in well in that booming business.
Enjoy,
Paul
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After a week of temps in the low 30°C ( 86°F - 91.4°F ) and sprinklers going around the clock my lettuces are doing great.
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/january2_10-01-2019.jpg)
(http://wairoa.net/tobacco/january3_10-01-2019.jpg)
As you see they are planted ways to close together which in themselves does not matter. But it sure is a mission taking off the laterals and flower buds. I end up a sticky mess and in the shower once done. These leaves are sugar saturated.
My pride in this years grow is slowly turning to anguish with the daunting task of having to harvest it all :)
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Nice crop C:-)
And fence looks great!
Enjoy,
Paul
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What sort of lettuces are they iv never seen anything like it.
No rabbits where you live.