Nothing is "wrong" with the weather. This is the weather. The rabbits devoured your squash plants. You must water your plants to keep them alive. If they die down, they are dead.

The weathers always unpredictable but seems moreso these days, more extreme and windy I think.

as tomrabbits, you need to secure your veg patch, a chicken wire fence withthe wire downdeep in thesoil and bent to run under the soil around the outside perimiter
there ar vaious deterrents shuch as sprays , chlli powde and flakes etc..
we had a lot of trouble some years ago, then a family of stoats moved in!.........

What is wrong with the weather you ask... it is called climate change and is down to us humans who are putting far too much CO2 into the atmosphere. The time to start seedlings is in the spring not the height of summer, overwintering them could well be a challenge. Runner beans are always the last to produce a crop and, if you live in the northern part of the UK, you may well find you can't grow them at all - we certainly can't. Gardening, and particularly veg. growing, is different year on year. What works and grows one year will not necessarily do so the next.

Whilst I believe, by which I mean know based on the observable data, in Climate Change; and deniers of this are analogous to those who rejected Darwin in the nineteenth century based solely on faith and ignorance; our terrible weather in the UK is mostly down to the inadvisability of placing one's country on the edge of a huge ocean with fast moving and changeable weather systems.

Still, at least the winters are getting milder even if we rarely see the sun in summer.

I've lived here in New York my whole life. I don't observe any significant changes in the weather - winter is still cold and snowy, summers are still baking hot. Some years more or less then others. I see cycles.

Why do some people have to say "I have lived in X for Y years and I can't see any climate change.," or variations on that theme?

Looking out your window is not as accurate as estimating mean global from thousands upon thousands of international weather stations for decade after decade, and using the latest computer modeling to then get a sense of which way the climate is moving globally.

Some find this hard to accept.

Buddlejagar: The reason I say for x years is to guage the weather from a fixed point (New York in my case) with all other variables being constant (altitude, longitude, geography, etc) over a long duration of time.

In the over 29 years of living in New York, I have not noticed any significant change in climate. The weather is rather predictable. I do see cycles.
I don't just "Look out the window." I LIVE in New York.

Estimating mean global is meaningless and useless data. You are ignoring far too many variable to prescribe anything solely on weather or climate (volcanic eruptions). We live on a Dynamic Earth.

Moon grower's advice on seeds I agree with... as for the weather here in the UK this spring/summer, its the Jet Stream - its much further south than it should be, and has been most of the last 6 months. I hate to say this, but its the same pattern we saw around 4 or 5 years ago when we had that bad winter - which leads some forecasters to say that's likely what we'll have again this winter. And so far, I've not seen any massive change in the jet stream to offset that prediction.

This may or may not be down to climate change, hard to say, but Bathgate, climate change is a fact, whether you accept we're causing it or whether its the planet doing it. There have been changes here in London - for one thing, wind, its windy much more often than it used to be, and I don't ever remember lightning and thunder in winter, which we have had on and off for the last 5 years.

I appreciate your point Bamboo but it's such a complicated topic and politically charged. As a kid, we can always count on a white snowy Christmas, then we went through a period of about 10 years with hardly any snow for the whole season followed by droughts in the summer. Now it's ridiculous; we get back to back snowstorms and even had snow on Thanksgiving. The cycle came around again. Some of the major blizzards we get have thunder and lightening too. I don't understand it.

My only point is that there are too many factors that affect the weather to prescribe anything solely to CO2 build up. Those Icelandic Volcanic Eruptions & Mt. Saint Helens Exploding, the ongoing eruptions in Hawaii all spewing tons of ash into the atmosphere, Sun Spots, El Nino, The whole state of California is on fire. Who knows what else? All these also affect the weather, and the fluctuating jet streams too.

So, Bathgate, you don't think that professional scientists with thirty, forth years experience hadn't thought of the factors you mention and included them in the modeling? And only you have thought of them? Just now?

To quote Stewart Lee: "If you have only ever read one book it is probably better to keep your opinions to yourself."

Now, now, no need to get antsy anyone - we all know there are people in the world who steadfastly refuse to believe in man's role regarding climate change, and maybe even refuse to believe in climate change per se. Plus there's always this confusion/conflation between 'the weather' and 'climate'. Its a fact that USDA zones have been changed in the last few years, partially to reflect changes in climate in various parts of the States. Whether you agree or not, it is their prerogative to do believe what they will... and agreeing to differ is the only way forward.

True Bamboo........

I don't think Man helps but looking back in Victorian history.... which in the scheme of things not long ago .....think about the 'Little ice age ' when they had bonfires on the Thames

its the jet stream today thats giving us this hot humid weather, less than a week ago we had single figure temperatures overnight 4c....? Its August for heavens sake
now its 18c ovenight...no wonder the plants are confused!

I very much agree about the winds, easterlys used to be unusual, the prevailing winds are southwesterlys,or were and damagingly strong.

I read that too about a winter like 2010.......please no!.....
freezing from november onwards, everywhere like skating rinks ?

Buddlejagar. You seem very narrow minded. My point of view is based on my own observation. I said it twice already. Many of those scientists' studies are stilted by political backers. Many scientists DO NOT support the Climate Change theory.

Climate Change aka Global Warming is a myth. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303480304579578462813553136

The rest of you comment is mindless babble I won't even address..."I read only one book?" LOL! How lame can you get?

Oh gawd, here we go Pamg....!

Let's take your points one at a time.
Well, I think the point that personal observations (anecdotal eveidence) are less reliable than hard data has been covered.
Scientists are mostly employed by universities and have various funding streams, including government. It is a fundamental principle that they are independent; their work is peer reviewed (usually by people funded by a different backer) and subject to much greater scrutiny than, say, a journalist's writing. They are not political animals by definition. It's a weak fall-back position to say they are biased towards their backers. Governments certainly don't want the inconvenience of dealing with climate change.
I think you will find only a tiny minority of climatologists (3% said Mr Kerry) still deny climate change. And they are often funded by oil companies!
The Wall Street Journal has an agenda, more so than most scientists. I refer to my point about peer reviewed academic papers versus the drivel journalists can get away with.
I think it is important to challenge ignorance, sometimes with a joke. It's not a big conspiracy to bring down capitalism, or to deny resources to the poor if you favour that argument. It's a fact we have to live with.

Erm, can I just point out that the original question was regarding overwintering plants...

Most universities can't exist without government grants.

I see no evidence of Climate Change. If you do, please site your source.

??happy days are here again....oops ?

Ha ha!

I would so like to know how you manage to get smileys and symbols in your answers, Pam...

Bathgate, you are just winding us up now!

10,833 papers in 2013 alone! Is that enough?

http://www.salon.com/2014/03/25/10853_out_of_10855_scientists_agree_man_made_global_warming_is_happening/

Me too Pam

"I read a book, once;(long pause) green it was!"
Sorry, the book quote reminded me of a quote from Ronnie Barker's sit-com 'Porrige' delivered by the thick-headed Y...shireman.

Who is "us"? Are you possessed of demons? That article is dated and merely a consensus. What are the scientific, indisputable facts the 97% agree on that "Global Warming" is a man made crises. It's junk science. Where is the actual evidence that it is actually happening? i don't see it. The polar ice caps are growing bigger and we just came out of one of the coldest winters on record.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a political, not scientific, body. The IPCC is a U.N. agency that scientists have quit in protest after governments rewrote their work to fit an agenda. One Harvard professor recently said the IPCC’s “summary for policymakers” should actually be called the “summary by policymakers” because the policymakers actually write it for themselves. One IPCC meeting he attended had two scientists and 45 to 50 government officials at work on the summary document.

7. Global warming believers change their predictions. As their temperature predictions have not come true, activists have desperately started blaming global warming for hurricanes, tornadoes and even cold weather. But climate has natural variations, hurricanes and tornadoes have not increased, and snow and colder winters don’t prove global warming. When former vice president Al Gore accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his preaching and moviemaking about global warming, he claimed in his acceptance speech that the Arctic would be ice-free by now. It isn’t even close.

http://jacksonville.com/reason/2014-05-18/story/debate-over-climate-change-its-not-happening

http://jacksonville.com/reason/2014-05-18/story/debate-over-climate-change-you-cant-deny-it

sorry Bathgate, couldn't resist it... its about as valid as the one you provided a link for.

You know what they say - ask two garden experts what's wrong with a plant and you'll get two different answers. Climate change and its causes ain't no different....

Let it go folks, neither side is going to get anywhere. Goy isn't meant to be like this.

Don't cry "Climate Change" whenever we have a flood or drought. They have always been. What are the facts? Prove your case!

Sorry Steragram. They're trying to drag me into this. I only said I haven't noticed any changes in climate or weather.

Aye, Bathgate, but it still takes two to tango! And who's they? Not me, I'm happy for you to believe whatever you want, I'm not uncomfortable with a difference of opinion... although I haven't actually said what I believe anyway.

I think one of the hardest lessons I'm still trying to learn is to know when to back off. It is so difficult when you know you're right, but when both sides of an argument know they're right there's a time to admit deadlock.

You are right. Thanks for chiming in Steragram. I was really hoping to become enlightened on the subject of "Climate Change." Maybe they can teach me something I haven't thought of. Maybe they can actually prove that climate change is actually happening. I really wanted to learn something about it. It was a big waste of time. I should have stopped a long time ago.

Cheers Bathgate. You might be interested in this week's new Scientist - little article about glaciers on p.7

thanks :)

Sorry if I opened a hornets nest I just meant one day hot and dry next like an autmn day, making you feel you need to put heating on. As for securing my boundary its nigh on impossible with over an acre and the boundaries going on to high and low land, open fields, allotments etc. So I only grow veg in the tunnel but am trying to establish a garden, hence the seed packet said sow in August which I did snd I was shocked to see them already sprouting in little over a week. My idea was I can then put out as larger plants in the spring and hope the rabbits arent so keen as the young tender shoots will be larger - my question was how will I overwinter these young plants, never having done so before

Thanksbamboo you understood my question and the rest was just a comment on how different it is this year in my tunnel,
I'm a newbie to this growing anything other than annuals

Do you have any electricity in the tunnel? It would be good to keep the little plants frost free, so if you haven't, then perhaps cover them with fleece when frost is expected. Did the seed packet not give you any advice about how to overwinter them? So much depends on what sort of winter we have.

Have you tried googling "rabbit proof plants"? There are quite a few suggestions you might find useful.

Poor Tercol. I bet you came on here expecting all peace and calm! We're quite harmless really! Peace and love.

Hi, no elec in the tunnel, just wanted to grow hollyhocks in memory of my mum when we sold her house it was the wrong time of year to take any plants from the garden (winter, and we had to go into rented whilst our house was being built) I have found the rabbits dont like lavendar or dahlias and I am growing lots of shrub bushes and also they leave the day lilys alone, they tend to go after the smaller young plants (obviously tastier) so I was hoping the hollyhocks would be less enticing if the were bigger. I dont think it would work planting seeds direct in situ as they would get eaten as soon as they shoot hence the seed planting what I wanted to know is howmuch do you water them over winter as presumably they will die down like a larger plant. Would they be better covered in fleece in a small unheated greenhouse?
thanks in adva8nce for any help on this

I use a Samsung Galaxy tablet and after one of its updates they all appeared from spaceships? to?and?also?

I just checked on playstore there are free emoticons for android on there and probably for other devices too ?

peace ✌ and love people ?

(Hope thats the peace sign..?)

Well, at least it's the correct way round, Pamg! ?

Sadly not for Windows then...

Depends which Windows you have. I just googled can you download emoticons on Windows and you can.

I'll look forwards to seeing the Windows version ?

If they die down all you need to do is prevent the compost from freezing. As you haven't put your county on your profile there's no way of knowing how cold your winters are. If they don't die down then yes protect them with fleece if frost is expected. Re watering just don't let them get very dry but don't have them soggy either. They should need very little. And if they don't survive you can always re sow in spring. When you do plant them out it might be worth protecting them with little wire netting tubes until they are bigger.

Thanks will do, am in Norfolk

Guess you'll get some cold easterlies then!