I have some perennials in the shadehouse that I am waiting for an opportunity to plant out – some sage and thyme, some seedling lemon trees and an avocado tree – but there are bushfires not too far away and the weather is brutal on plants right now. In some places this will be a good time of year to plant perennials. Here, early autumn is a better bet. Our wet season runs from January through to April, and since we hardly get winter frosts, there is enough time for things to establish before winter dormancy.
This time of year in this part of the world it’s all about fruiting annuals. I have more corn and beans and tomatoes and eggplants and capsicums and trombochino and squash and pumpkins and cucumbers and zucchini in the shadehouse than I will have room to plant out. So it’s just another round of the regular, staple roots this time – carrots and beets. I hate daylight saving. It steals time from me in the morning when I could usefully use it and gives it back to me of an evening. But I managed this morning to find half an hour to plant out these beets, pot on the ones in the seed germinating box, and plant another round of seed. Hopefully I’ll get to the carrots tomorrow – bit late for the planting break but near enough.
It has been hot hot hot here and windy too. Up to 39 yesterday so even in the shade house things are drying out and wilting. Thankfully we are in for a cool change this week.
Daylight savings throws me as well – takes me a week or so until my sleep is sorted again. I hope everything is ok with the bushfires, Linda! Good to know it’s time to try cucumbers and zucchinis again – thank you – we’re yet to have much success with them, but we keep trying! And this year, we’re going to try snake beans again – hopefully with the anticipated warmer weather, we’ll have some luck! 🙂
I planted my carrots, beets and radish seeds over the weekend – trying to follow moon planting after reading your book. The challenge now is to provide enough water, this time of year is hard on the garden….
Do you ever allow garden visits? We are redesigning our garden and are also through with chook domes and need some inspiration.It feels like we need a fully fenced garden for summer and a different one for winter. Or maybe 4 -if you include wet and dry!
Hi Jillian, my garden is actually much messier in real life than I think it looks sometimes in photos! My garden is fully fenced now, with seven fully netted beds in a fenced larger area that the chooks rotate around with their artificial tree roost. The bush turkeys and bandicoots can get in the perimeter fencing, but not into the bed fencing. The wallabies theoretically can’t, but every so often the bandicoots or goannas helpfully make a hole for them and my asparagus and lemon grass and sugar cane vanishes overnight. This post is the best description of my current system. The fencing is a pain and expensive to set up, but I can’t find any alternative bar moving me, or moving the wildlife (via a dog or similar) neither of which I am willing to do. It does have advantages though.