More Heatwave Conditions

Unlike the Northworld folk who are freezing at the moment
we are, in true Aussie summertime tradition,
in the middle of yet another heatwave!

Chart clipped from the Elder's Weather site:
Friday's temperature rose to 38C (100F)
and temps are set to go higher for the next three days.
So that means early starts in the garden at 5am
and lots of extra shade over the garden!
I wonder if those thunderstorms will arrive on Tuesday!

Temporary shade to the western side
of the Main Veg Garden for the carrots and parsnips
on Bed 3.

On the other end of the garden shade
goes over the pathways too!

The Rhubarb was looking very stressed
but I found a spare piece of already hemmed 70% shadecloth
that I'm sure will do the trick.
Attached to 1.5 inch poly hose that fits over tomato stakes
it took 5 mins to put it up.

New seedlings need all the help they can get
on the propagation benches.

This bench is made from a trampoline frame
covered with corrugated iron
and the shade structure is another frame
with 50% shadecloth over it.

Extra shade from net curtains
stops the midday sun sneaking in the gap
and scorching the tiny seedlings.

Over in the Dog Pen Garden
some small Yellow Pear Tomato bushes
get an extra cover during the heat.

The wormfarm has been re-built with fresh bedding
and covered with an old curtain.
It can be sprinkled with water for a cool down.

The best shade of all is the edible kind!
The Black Sultana vine on the back pergola
was tidied up (mainly tied up)
and now we wait for the grapes to ripen...yummy!

The New Year Begins

Scarecrow's Garden Log: 2:01:2010:

The Greens in the Wicking Boxes grew well in the heat
so hopefully we will have some fresh greens soon!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 11.3C
Lowest Max 24C
Highest Max 38C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's the weather been like in the garden?

As it warmed up this week we had 3 days of over 36 degrees but the cool change on Friday night brought relief but no rain.

Extra shade was attached to the western sides of growing beds as well as over any newly planted or emerging seedlings.

The heat sparked a growth spurt in the Comfrey
which seems to enjoy life under the 75% shadecloth cover.
You can see the sun scorch on the older leaves.

Rockmelons also put on growth
and the Gourd seedlings took off,
safe with their little protectors in place.

Propagation:
Seeds:

• Cosmos 'Seashell Mix' Cosmos bipinnatus
• Beetroot Golden Detroit Beta vulgaris
• Mangelwurzel Beta vulgaris
• These went into punnets and pots in the propagation area under shadecloth.

Potting up:
Into punnets:

• Lettuce Gold Rush
• Celtuce
• Basil Lettuce Leaf
• Basil sweet Genovese
• Kale Morton's Mix
• Kale Squire

Put under 75% shadecloth until settled,
then moved to 50% shade.

Potted on:

Strawberry Guava
(seedlings from the home saved seed!)

Basil Lettuce Leaf

Malabar Spinach -
green and red stemmed

Free from the Garden:

• Dug up seedling Catmint Nepeta mussinii plants that were popping up in the Strawberry tank bed.
• Collected Tagasaste seeds from the popping pods!
• Borage is sprouting in the Dog Pen Beds, I use these seedlings as mulch around the tomato plants there.
• Borage was listed on Food'n'Stuff's Dynamic Accumulators post recently!
• The list suggests it is an accumulator of Sulphur and Potassium.

New in the Garden This week:

This years Trees For Life plantings
sprout new seedlings with each cool change!

The Old Man Saltbush
I'm growing on for the Community Garden
has taken off after the addition
of some slow release native plant food!

Rockmelons are volunteering in Bed 1
in the Main Vegetable Garden.

Cucumbers (Marketmore) nearly ready!

Weekly Harvest Tally:

Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.

• Carrot***119g
• Parsnip***120g
• Apricots***4980g all dried.

Eggs

• 10 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 0 from the Ginger Girls
• 1 from Blackie

Anise Hyssop Agastache foeniculum in bloom

in the Strawberry Tank Bed.

To see the various Garden areas on our half acre block check out the newest "Map of our place" HERE

Fruit, Shade and Straw.

Scarecrow's Log: 13:12:2009:

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 3.3C
Lowest Max 19C
Highest Max 32.5C
3.5mm Rain

What's happening in the garden?

Apricots are nearly ripe...time to net the tree!

Another shade structure
to cover the Wicking Beds in the Dog Pen
- 50% white shade cloth!

Tidied the Potato Wicking Bed in the Almond Area. There are small new potatoes in there so I've mounded up some composty soil from the bottom of the chooks pergola and they are ready for a heavy mulch!

Propagation:
Seeds:
Mangelwurzel in Bed 3

Potting up:

• Lettuce Freckles, Rouge de Hiver
• Parsley
• Lovage
• Valerian
• Basil
• Dyers Chamomile

Planting out:

• Sweet Potato
• Zucchini Black
• Watermelon Sugar Baby
• Into the Dog Pen Beds

Sweet Potatoes in the Dog Pen Garden Bed

New in the Garden This week:

We found a source of good straw. We bought 10 bales from a retired Organic Market Gardener. 2 bales are being scratched through by the chooks ready for mulching the garden, free of seed.

Weekly Harvest Tally:

Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.

• Carrot Chantenay Red-cored***100g

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Chives, Lebanese Watercress, Onions Red Stemmed Welsh Bunching, Parsley, Shallots, Sea Parsley, Warrigal Greens (blanched).

Eggs

• 9 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 12 from the Ginger Girls
• 2 from Blackie

New chookie update!

It must be their French ancestry,

the little Faverolles love posing for the camera!

The Barnevelders show off their beautiful feathers...

...and give themselves a good preening.

The Heat is On...

Scarecrow's Log: 8:11:2009:

...and it isn't even summer yet!

Temperatures this week:
Lowest Min 3.4C
Lowest Max 19.8C
Highest Max 36.8C
No Recorded Rainfall

What's happening in the garden?

With the heat on it's way the shade covers are up, we use 50% white shade cloth on the vegetable beds as it allows enough light through for flowering but cuts the heat. We left the main cover loose so we can move it as the sun goes over. The newly planted seedlings will need all the help they can get this week.

Sugarcane mulch has been applied, now all we have to do is get through this week or as long as this heat lasts!

Propagation:
Seeds:

Kakai Pumpkin seeds saved from last year.
These are a hull-less seeded variety.
They germinated quickly in the hot weather.

Planting out:

Cucumber Marketmore seedlings in Tank Bed a

Seedlings of Basil Genovese planted on Bed 2
with the Roma tomatoes

Potting up:

Cuttings of Sage - Golden Salvia officinalis variegata and Purple Salvia officinalis 'Purpurea', Yellow Yarrow Achillea millefolium, Clove Pinks Dianthus caryophyllus, Mints - Moroccan Mentha spicata subsp. spicata and Egyptian Mentha niliaca

Cuttings/Division:
Plumbago auriculata

Around the Garden this week:

Red Drumhead Cabbages

Red Lima Beans slowly emerging in Tank Bed a

Blue Lake Climbing Beans in Bed 3

Mauve Pigface

Kamut wheat heads,
pity those farmyard ferals
didn't leave more than a few plants for us.

The Cherries are colouring up already!!

Weekly Harvest Tally:
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.

• Asparagus***150g
• Beetroot Detroit Red Globe***1249g
• Broad Beans Early Long Pods & Coles Early Dwarf***124g
• Onions Red***200g
• Strawberries***86g

Plus a yummy mix of greens for soups/stirfries/salads...Kale, Lebanese Watercress, Chives, Parsley, Sea Parsley.

Eggs

• 23 from the Farmyard Ferals
• 4 from the Ginger Girls
• 2 from Blackie