"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
No local fires but getting smoke from one about 50km away, enough to fire
up the asthma. Very hot and dry, most fruit trees have dropped their
fruit.

:-(( You have my sympathy. We are constantly dragging hoses ATM.

When my ship comes in I will have irrigation to every tree in the orchard,
until then I can't keep up with them when we have too many 35-43C days
with hot winds.

It's appalling. I was thinking this morning as a put a milk crate covered
with a towel over a wilting, struggling Vietnamese mint, that a shade house
might be required in order to grow veg in the future. I'm really startign
to ge quite worried aobut the future given our weather patterns over the
past few years. Not so much for me but certainly for my grandkids.

The BOM says many parts of the Hunter are heading for 45C today.
I am keeping the water up to the veges, we did a bottling run of tomatoes
yesterday and more soon.

Do you use the water bath method? Fowlers Vacola?