On 10/03/2014 2:12 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Fran Farmer wrote:

And of course summer was a total washout what with the heat during the
day, (now officially the most hot days in the summer period ever), the
cold at night and the lack of rain. We have only just begun to get
tomatoes in the last 2 weeks when we should have had some at least 2
months ago. Nothing did well and of course we lost every single piece
of fruit on every tree due to an early hot Spring followed by the
return of the cold early Spring. The second summer of 2013 was a
total washout garden wise.


A bad season here except we got some fruit as I was pumping from the dam
to keep the orchard alive.

Well done on the fruit. I'm jealous. The only people we've managed to
hear of who have had any fruit at all this year in the whole district is
a couple who live in the centre of the local village and who have
managed to produce edible peaches. They are the talk of all the
gardeners. (As an aside, this bloody program is trying to tell me that
I have spelled 'çentre' incorrectly - bloody poxie thing!)


The river stopped for 6 weeks, the longest
in ten years, and the pasture was down to brown stubble heading towards
dirt. We have had some nice rain mid Feb and then again last week, it
was getting to the point that if I didn't get some we would have no
summer growth and be hand-feeding all winter.

We did that for a couple of years and then decided never to do it again.
Now we just sell stock if we have to and buy again if we need to do
so. Thankfully we too have now had some good rain with follow ups.

It looks OK now and if we
get some more before winter I will mow the orchard instead of keeping it
as reserve.

But I'm putting in stuff now hoping for a long Autumn (mostly leafy
greens) and even then I am going to buy large slabs of plastic and
straw bales and try to extent the growing season.


As well as being so dry the neighbour had this genius cow that got
through the barb wire, the electric tape round the house area and the
chook fence round the vege garden. She ate all the greens, brasicas etc
and tromped the rest. One night I put her out (with the dogs) three
times but she kept coming back.

:-)) I'd have brought out the shotgun in the end. A good round of rat
shot up her rear would fix both her and the neighbour. (Now it's trying
to tell me that I've spelled 'neighbour' wrongly and it's telling me
that you have done so too! A pox on the poxie thing!)