OBSERVATIONS:
First half (well, really three-quarters) of December was hot and hot and hot and hot. We are definitely in the thick of climate change and it's terrifying. We've already had 45C days here in Sydney, and not enough rain to compensate.
Most things have fruited, now it's just a question of getting it before the DAMN POSSUMS do. Possums plural, because I chased at least two of them out of the back yard the other night, and as revenge they ate ALL MY PLUMS.
NOT. HAPPY. JAN.
By the end of December, the weather cooled down significntly – enough that I needed an extra quilt on the bed to sleep through the night. It was almost too cool, but that provided a nice buffer for planting out a bunch of brassicas.
That said, I may have planted out the wrong brassicas. These are the ones that should be planted out in March or thereabouts...
At this point, a lot of focus will be going into getting things ready for the Sydney Edible Garden Trail – getting beds filled with plants.
Also need to remember to ask people if they can anchor for me while the SEGT is on.
CHOOKS:
The chickens aren't coping with the hot weather, to the point whereB1 wants to bring them inside.
Here's a funny point: we have a front porch, it faces west and south, at one point, I mentioned that maybe we wanted to turn it into a sunroom in winter or something, abd B1 pooh-poohed the idea because it would heat too fast and too much.
Guess where she wants to put a 'spare room' for the chooks...?
For our use? Hell no. For the chickens? Yes, please!
Bubby is back to laying after being broody for...over a month. Well over a month.
Sis and Gladys seem to cope the least well with the heat. Carambar is big but somehow not overheated most of the time – well, she's not laying, and Goongbau (“bubby”) is much the same.
They mostly spend their time in the tunnel in the backyard, where there's a stretch which is covered by greenery and shielded by the donut peach. We and they generally do pretty well around there.
COMPOST:
Probably dried out – I simply haven't had the time to water it, which means it's probably stopped composting.
Maybe I'll turn it sometime later this week and water it. Sometime. Later.
PREPARING:
Need to start working out which beds the BRASSICAS are going in this winter and prepping the soil now!
SEEDING:
Nothing is growing. Nothing.
Early Jan:
Okay, a few things. Some of the water spinach is sprouting, but I don't know how long it will last when it doesn't have water and only the hot summer sun.
I've sown a row of a 'roots' mix of radish, char, lettuce, and possibly carrots in the APPLE-CREPE, along with a row of carrots (F1 kuroda).
Planted out the CORN (Silver Gentleman) – also found some glass gem seeds! I can try them now, or I could leave them to next year... Hmf. Not sure there's enough time right now.
BROCCOLI: Aurora (F1), diCicco
CAULIFLOWER: di bassano (F1), snowball early
CABBAGE: Matilda chinese cabbage(F1), golden acre, verona purple
note: Aurora and Matilda are 'winter' varieties, so I don't know how they're going to do through the Jan-Feb heat. I've ordered some of the other varieties, but they'll take a week or so to come.
PLANTING OUT:
I planted out the water spinach, and two tomatoes (no idea what kind they are) after the possums ate the sprouts of the last one. I have a bunch of what look like capsicums grown from seed. Don't know how we'll they're doing.
I also put the PASSIONFRUIT in the ground – most likely a banana passionfruit, grown from seed, I think, I have no memory of how I got it, though! It's planted at the chicken coop entrance, because they're going to need something broad and spreading and shady to shelter under if the neighbours cut down the tree. It got some claybreaker in the bottom, charcoal (damp, not sure what they're in), a scoop of chicken poop (from the run), a scoop of blood and bone, and a bucket of water.
HARVEST:
Not much right now. Like, almost nothing. Oh, wait, I harvested some GARLIC from the small vegepods on the path – not all of them. Some weren't large enough. But some most definitely were!
Okay, and before that, I harvested all the dorset APPLES, and then had to pick all the other apples (gala and golden delish) because they were riddled with fruit fly. I've put them in the chicken coop for eating.
The ones I picked that were good were sliced and dried.
The PLUMS on the former FOUR-STONE were doing well, at least after I got rid of all the half-ripe, half-eaten ones that were clustering. I had at least a dozen fruit, slowly ripening...and then the bloody possums took 'em! All of them! Quite gone!
The golden PEACHES didn't do as well as I hoped – they weren't very large. I think the weird weather did them in.
Otherwise the PERSIMMONS are netted, and I'm hoping they'll keep going okay...
FEEDING:
Fed everything in the APPLE-CREPE and CREPE-APRICOT beds with blood and bone.
PRUNING:
Got the chipper working again – huzzah! Now need to change the blades and do some of the thicker chunks (if they don't get stuck).
Might need to borrow James' chainsaw again. I don't feel like asking Joe to come over for something so small as a few branches.
THOUGHTS:
Cleaned the gutters of the jacaranda leaves. In the middle of a downpour. Do not recommend.
Need to ask people to assist on the Edible Garden Trail weekends.
