"Judanne" wrote in message

I am SO envious of the rain that you others have had.

Never mind Judanne, it has to come to you eventually.

Here in the Tamar
Valley (www.tamarvalley.com.au, by the way) we've had two spits of about 5
minutes each since the beginning of the year. There was a week of
threatening weather which was annoying as it just hovered around but
didn't
produce. It did rain last Saturday week and I cheered and leapt about the
place in joy, but it only lasted long enough to wet the surface (really,
about 5 minutes) and then was gone again.

Has the weather pattern changed a bit lately? What we noticed beofre we go
the good rains, was a change to increasing cloud and more threatening
looking skies. this went on in the afternoons for aobut a month before it
finally decided to drop anything of value.

My grass is brown. I don't
water. Things either survive or they arn't meant to be here is the way I
think about it, but I'm learning things.

Next time I plant trees, it will be in Autumn after the summer dry spell
has
broken. Bought some natives last year and planted them in late spring.
They were meant to be a noise break as I live just a few metres from the
West Tamar Highway. In the pots in the back yard, none of the critters
touched them, but as soon as they went in the ground it was "Hey, look
what
she's planted for us" and between being nibbled to death and no rain I
have
6 left out of 14.

((. don't take thenm out yet. they might still come good and sprout back
from the lignotubers. My rule is never to pull anything out until it's been
totally dead for 2 full years. I learned this from someone who can kill
astroturf. She was such a lousy gardener but she did know that natives
often came back if she left them (sheer laziness was how she learned that
trick!).

What surprises me is how well the established trees are doing. It seems
that its just the plants with surface roots that are having a hard time.

Here a lot of big old trees have died - not in our place but then we've
watered very deeply when we've seen signs of real stress - I'm not prepared
to lose 25+ year old trees if I can help it.

Hopefully I'll have the land fenced to keep critters out before too long
and
I'll put in some deep mulch beds to help with drought proofing for next
summer.

I've found I can't deep mulch as I have to pull all the mulch off to water
again. I've found thin layers of mulch that can have droplets penetrate the
mulch is best for me.

Tassie at least, is getting warmer and dryer. There was a time when you
could never count on a sunny weekend, but it has been the opposite this
season. Roll on autumn and winter. I have a temperature comparison on my
home page

????? Is that the site you mentioned above? If so I din't notice a
temperature comparison.

between Coffs Harbour, Melbourne, Hobart and Launceston. This
year we have usually been on a par with Coffs, warmer than Hobart, and as
for Melb, warmer that its cool days and cooler than its hot days (but
thats
a place of extremes). Amazing what the geography can produce in a
difference of 300+ ks (Bass Strait).

Hang in there - surely it can't be too much longer now.