David's Digest

As April draws to a close I note from my records that we've had about half of average rainfall for the month. For most of the month, here in Norfolk, we had no moisture at all. Last week we had a couple of short spells of rain but together they only added up to a few millimeters. Still, at least they freshened up the spring sown crops of sugar beet and peas. But I fear there's still a bit of nitrogen applied to autumn cereals that has yet to be washed down to the roots and its starting to show.

Last night we had another modest freshener of a shower with a couple more millimeters falling while we slept. And this morning, when I went out at 5.45am to frighten the pigeons off the peas, they were shining bright green against the dark, damp soil, as were the rows of seedling sugar beet in a neighbouring field. But they're going to need a lot more moisture than they've had so far if they are to become decent yielding crops.

Maybe they'll get it. I recently read an article by a top meteorologist who reckoned that after a dry April, in nine out of ten years, there followed a wet summer. If he's right our crops might benefit. But those who anticipated a barbecue summer (as forecast by another weather expert a few months ago) may be disappointed. Perhaps they should arrange some sort of cover for the glowing charcoal to avoid having their cook-outs snuffed out and hope that temperatures stay reasonably high.