Author: admincatsg

Yes, you have to love central Texas weather. We’ve had lovely weather, and now we are getting our first cold snap. Earlier this week we had a high of 83 degrees. Today we had a high of 50, and we’re shooting for a low of 42.  But by Monday we will have a high of 51 and a low of 29. Tuesday will be slightly cooler.  Tuesday we will have a high of 48 and a low of 27. Wednesday night will warm up to all of 30.

So what does that mean? Well it means we’ve gotten all the way into autumn and will be approaching what counts for winter in central Texas. Will this be a colder winter, a warmer winter, or even a wetter winter.  Who knows. But one thing is for certain, we are well on our way to winter in Texas.

We got to a high of about 43 during the day, and a low of 41. That gave us a cold rain and wind. And yet, we are warming up slowly. Today should be in the low 50’s at least. That will be better than the 40’s we had for yesterday. By the weekend we may be back into the 60’s. We’ll see.

We have an honest to goodness cold front. Yesterday was a high of 87. This morning at 10AM we are all of 42 degrees. That is a cold front. We also managed to get some light rain with this cold front, so its now cold, wet, and windy outside. But it means we have our first real cold out there. Yes, this is how Austin weather rolls. You do learn to watch and listen for the weather projections. You never know when they will actually be right.

We had done some weeding the other day. I’m glad we go it done. We’ll see how many plants survive the weather today. I didn’t cover anything. We should actually stay cool all week. We won’t reach the low 60’s until Friday. And we may have rain, thunderstorms, or drizzle from today (Monday) thru Thursday. So we shall see how the weather goes. and how the garden handles it.

Yes weather is achangin’ here in Texas. We’re getting our first cold front this week. We got down to 58 one night already and today should only get to 77. How’s that for a change! The rest of the week will be similar temps, with highs of maybe 80. But next week we should get more of a cool down. Next Monday they are predicting 51 for a high, and 44 for a low. And of course more rain. We’ll see how that happens.

But it does mean that the leaves are starting to change a bit, they are starting to fall. I’ve begun noticing the changes in the garden. My asparagus is starting to get some yellow in it. That’s a good indication of the changes.

But I’m also noticing that some plants are starting to come up. Carrots I planted are coming up. The arugula has come up, but where we have had some, its also getting eaten. But overall we are seeing a change in the weather. That’s a welcome break from the baking heat we had.

It may not seem like much someplace else, but last week we had about 1-3/4 inches of rain. We have also now begun getting cooler weather. We’ve still been in the 80’s, but not as high into the 80’s. And tomorrow night, Wednesday we should get down to the low 60’s. The day after we’ll be lower temperatures – like Thursday might get to 76 as a high. Then for the rest of the week the evenings will be in the 60’s. And our daytime temperatures will be high 70’s with low 80’s as a possibility.

But right now we’ve had so much rain and great weather most of my seed has been coming up. My squash is beautiful and bountiful. I’ve even given some of my squash away. My bean plants are coming up and looking great. Some old lettuce seed is coming up gangbusters. The tomatoes are not looking so good, but I can live with that.

I did some weeding today. The wet and damp weather left it easier to pull out the weeds. The only down side is that I’m losing a bit of dirt from the beds. I really need to try and start a compost pile. That would do me well, but I’ve never set up a compost pile.

As is I’m thinking it might be time to pick up some soil for the beds. It may be time for a Home Depot run.

For over the past week we have been in rain, even if not every single day, we’ve had rain. Last week we had over 2-1/2 inches of rain. This week we’ve had almost 5 inches. Even though we’ve had just below 5 inches, I expect we may pass the 5 inch mark as its only 5pm as I write this, and we still expect more rain today.

I had put some seed in the grown, and we’ve had so much rain most of it is coming up already. I say most since I think some of the seed may have been old, and it doesn’t seem to be sprouting.

But we’ve also had warm weather. The coolest we’ve hit was 69 one night. Most of the days have made it in the 80’s. Last week we actually made it to 92, but this week its made a high of 86. Next week we might hit 90 one day, but most days it will be mid to high 80’s. But the nights will be in the low 70’s. That’s still good planting weather.

Actually its such nice weather we can be planting:

under cover or indoors – lettuce, and spinach

plant outside – beans (bush snap), beets, broccoli, brussell sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, garlic, kale, leek, parsnip, and swiss chard.

I’ve already put some of these in. I’ve put in spinach, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, swiss chard, and beans. I think some of the lettuce that’s coming up is seed that didn’t sprout earlier. But the beans are coming up, they’re a few inches tall. Some of the spinach and possibly broccoli look like they may be sprouting. But I’ve bought some new seed to see if my problem is I’m trying to plant old seed.

Since I usually use seed and not purchased plants, and I just put it in the ground, I don’t put it in bedding trays, some of my little seedlings may not get off to the best start. I don’t sow using the best of methods. I tend to broadcast sow small seed. Things like beans and peas are such large seeds I tend to put a few together in the same hill or hole. This way if one doesn’t sprout, its likely some of the others will.

But the nice thing is the weather is great for fall planting. So if you are wondering if you should plant now, the answer is yup!

We’ve had lovely and average hot muggy humid Texas weather. Until yesterday. They’ve been saying we’ll get rain, but yesterday we got some. And with that rain, a slight cool down. Now for Texas a cool down means instead of being triple digits or the high 90’s, we’re in the low 90’s. So instead of being 97-99, we are down to 92, with a possible 87 tomorrow. WOW! Yes, that’s what a cool down can look like in this area. Crazy huh!

But the nice this is with this cool down we actually got just over 1/4 inch (per an outdoor rain gauge) yesterday. As for today we’ve had about 1/2 inch. Still not a lot of rain, but the yard will love it. I’m sure some other areas got more or less rain, but that’s what we’ve had here.

On the bright side, over the past few days I’ve put more seed in the ground. I’ve put in squash, zucchini, tomato, broccoli, beets, beans, and carrots. Now I recognize that some of my seed may be old, so I’ve put lots of seed down hoping at least some of it will sprout. We’ll see. I’ve also ordered some new seed.

Because of the heat we have, highs in the triple digits, and we had it for well over a week, I’ve been working in the yard pulling out dead plants. We’re having a problem with the watering system, so we’ve been having to water by hand. Its nice the weather is cooling down when you have to stand out in it to water plants. But with luck we’ll be able to get something growing and get some veggies later this year.

Wish me luck. With Texas weather being what it is, you never know what will happen. It could get back up to high 90’s all over again. But if it stays this cool, and we get rain for a few days, more things have a chance of surviving.

Autumn will arrive some day.

Texas has a heat wave

Per KXAN news the Austin area has been hot enough to rate the following:

• 45th 100º days so far this year (6th most on record since 1897)
• 9 consecutive days of 103°+ in Austin
• 11 consecutive days of 100º+ in Austin
• 3rd-hottest summer in Austin history

It looks like we may be in for more heat for at least the next week. Yay for Texas summers that never want to end.

Yes, I know other areas get lots of heat too. Phoenix gets hot as do other southwest areas. But it doesn’t make you feel better when you are living in it. It’s like knowing others are in the same boat, trying to keep from shriveling up in the heat. It doesn’t make the weather any cooler to live with.

KXAN-Austin Forecast

Today is our last day of expected 2 digit weather. HUH you ask. Well for the next week we are expecting 100 or above for temperatures. How’s that for hot. The low’s at night will be in the 70’s, but the days will be hot.

This is the what the weather bureau says we have on tap.

“…Afternoon heat index values will reach 105 to 108 degrees in some areas. possibly 109 or 110 in a few spots….”

One good thing is not high humidity. So at least it will be something passing as bearable. But still not great weather. But it is Texas summertime.

It was nice yesterday. It was cooler, as in we a hit 78, and got about 0.42 inches of rain. That may not seem like much, but at this point every little bit helps. And I’m sure the plants love it. We’ll see what the rest of the week brings.