"Just waking up"

This potato came out of a root cellar at Crammond on July 10 and show quarter inch shoots. In years past these shoots would be more than 6 inches long at this time, indicating that the subsoil is unusually cold this year, due to a prolonged wet and cold spring and early summer. Another area gardener with a root cellar has confirmed this report. Planted seeds have rotted in the ground and germination of seeds has been very patchy this year. Vegetable growth has also been sluggish to date and hay growth has been very slow.
Some people believe that the underlying cause of this phenomenon is low energy output from the sun, which is some three years late in starting the 24th. observed sunspot cycle that usually lasts about 11 years. The "Little Ice Age" recorded in Europe between the years of 1645 and 1715 AD coincided with the absence of observed sunspots during that time. The river Rhine was reported as being frozen over in Germany well into June during the years of the little ice age. Grain crops planted on north sloping land failed to mature during the short growing season.