July has been steady for the first half of the month – hot and humid – and will continue that way for the remainder of the month.
The average temperature for the month so far is 22.9°C while the average temperature for the first week was 22.7°C, and 21.1°C for the entire month so the pace is on track. The slightly warmer than average temperatures is largely due to warmer daytime highs and nighttime lows, the latter settling above and below 20°C, which is 4-5°C above normal.
With the warm weather, the corn heat unit (CHU) count continued to aggregate nicely and ended at 367 CHU for the first two weeks of July, which compares nicely with the prorated normal of 335 CH. Normal for the entire month is 799 CHU and the total for the season starting on May 19 is now 1375 CHU. For those who managed to plant corn in the first half of May, the accumulated total will be as much as 200 CHU higher.
Total precipitation jumped substantially with the downpour from the tailend of Hurricane Beryl which passed through mid-week, although the Valley received about half of what was recorded in Montreal to the north and Vermont to the south. Precipitation for the week was 46mm bringing the month to date total to 56mm, which is slightly above average.
The corn has been lapping up the heat and humidity to put on phenomenal growth and the soybeans and peas are coming along nicely with the hot temperatures as well. The strawberries are done but blueberries and raspberries are in full swing for the season, and there’s even some sweet corn on the market, which is two weeks ahead of schedule!