David Hare-Scott wrote:
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.

You'd lose that bet, unfortunately for me
I think the cabbage months first made their presence felt here about
two months ago, I try to spray the brassicas with dipel once a week... I
often forget though.

The other insect problem I have here is sawfly larvae, which have made a
mess of my young cherries, pears - and now they're starting on my plum
and prune trees. Again, using dipel on these, as it seems to be the only
organic spray I know of that seems to help.

snip
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).

I'm also a fair way inland, previously right on the coastline.

snip
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.

Frustrating, isn't it?



--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw