Jeßus wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
Jeßus wrote:
...last Sunday. If only it was another 2 weeks away - still had a
lot of tomatoes close to being ready.
And so much for the pumpkins and pickled cucumbers.
Oh well, thats how it goes - still learning the quirks of the
climate here in N.E Tas

So what is your probable frost-free period of the year?

Not a lot... safe to say frost-free between Jan and mid Feb. I'm not
joking
It's been known to have frost here on Xmas day, and we had out first
frost here this year on 28th Feb.
Aside from the above - most frosts seem to occur between April and
October.

That sort of variation must be a real killer. I bet you don't have a big
problem with cabbage moth though.

How does that limit what you can grow?

Well, I'm still learning a lot, having only lived here for about 18
months. Most of my gardening experience is in the tropics, so
basically I'm learning all over again.


Tell me about it......

I went from 1/6 acre to 50 acres, from sand to clay and from coastal
moderated climate (8C to 34C) to no maritime effect (-6C to 44C).

The only real problem is frost - we get quite severe frosts here,
which is fine for many Brassicas and Parsnips.

I have a couple of temporary hot houses for the time being, until I
can build the one I really want. The hot house does help, although by
no means protects against frost. I do know a few locals growing veggies
('local' being within the same shire - my property is fairly isolated)
and I do need to write down the times they plant their veg.
I've been going by the instructions on the seed packets, or what info
I can find online - which so far doesn't really suit the conditions
here, so it seems.
Been looking for satisfactory methods for supplementary heating for
the hothouse - "satisfactory" meaning not fueled from non-local
sources like gas or electricity. I know of one local who adapted a
wood heater, but of course very tricky regulating the heat... and he did
have one
disaster where he melted the plastic using this method

I've also learned many times over that in general, claims by nurseries
of a given plant or tree being 'frost hardy' is a load of
you-know-what!

Oh yes. We planted 75 "frost hardy" acacias which grew from 30cm to 140cm
in 7 months through the warmer months. The first hard frost hit and 65
turned black and dropped dead.

David