Autumn Dry

Well we have had a reasonable as far as the land goes - some people living in town think we didn't have Summer - they are right it has been pretty average but here in West Melton we don't complain too much because we have got through the season in reasonable shape; meaning the grass stayed greener for longer. I have used the word reasonable twice (three times if you count the last!) because it means that things were not so terrible but not so great either. Hey we all know that people living in the country are never satisfied with the weather.


So to stick to my title - we are approaching Autumn, you know "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness; Close bossom friend of the maturing sun, conspring with him how to load and bless........................Good old William Shakespeare.

We haven't had a really good rain for quite a while and so things are drying out. People new to the area may be lulled into a false sense of security with the days shorter, the nights cooler, heavy dew on the grass, and daylight saving finishing and think they can start putting away the hoses and irrigation. For sure the ground is not drying out as fast as it does in Summer, but it certainly does dry out and it is very important to keep watering otherwise you can end up with stressed plants heading into winter.

I hope people don't think I am "teaching people how to suck eggs", but I remember being caught out one February. We had had a great summer as far as rainfall went, everything was green and lush even into January. I had eased off the watering (actually it was one of those rare seasons when the irrigation was hardly used)  and as we proceeded through February the rain stopped, the dry Nor' west winds became more frequent, and I got caught out. Things dried out very quickly and I got left way behind with the watering - February was a "mean" month and jolted us out of our complacency.

I hope this is useful for somebody somwhere.

Cheers

The Weather !!

When you have lived in an area  in the country for any length of time you become wise to the weather patterns and how they can impact your activities.

In Canterbury, where we live, we have had a very damp summer so far - the grain and seed farmers loved the early season because their crops did well and "filled out" but at some stage they need the rain to stop and the sun to shine so they can harvest. The sheep, beef and dairy farmers are enjoying the the way things are going because the grass is still growing - although hay making has been difficult (got to moan about something).


Right to the end of January there were really glum faces from the grain and seed farmers as the damp weather continued. But as we know the weather pattern can suddenly change and we can be heading into a dry Autumn.

Well this year, a week ago, the sun finally came out and has stayed out every day since and the cropping farmers are smiling and going flat out to harvest.

The point of this story is to say that I don't moan too much about overcast, damp weather because for once the place stays green, but having said that in one week with sunny days and hot temperatures it is still surprising how West Melton starts to dry out - dust in the gateways, a browner tinge in the paddocks and the need to increase the watering in the garden. We can't complain too much though because we haven't had any Nor'westers (touch wood) yet and all in all it has been an OK season to date.

It is a case of being prepared - we need sun, we need rain (I am not sure if we need wind!!) and we have to manage things when they get out of balance.

Hay Fork, Pitch Fork .....know the difference?

 
 Hay fork, pitch fork, do you know the difference? I didn't. This could be a good question for trivial pursuit, but I found that around the garden one was far better than the other.

A hay fork has four prongs and a pitch fork three. Traditionally they both had different uses hence their names apart from just a fork. What I tell you could win you a prize at an agricultural show.

Pasture

We were a bit different from most farmers in that we were not growing grass for meat or milk production primarily because we needed to stand quite a few horses because that is Sally's business, buying, schooling, selling and teaching people the finer points of dressage.

Cuttings save you heaps of $'s !

One good way to save money, and if you if you like to make money, is by using existing plants in the garden by layering or taking cuttings. We have done this with a variety of plants and it is especially worthwhile for expensive plants like Rhododendrons. Sally wanted box (Buxus Sempervirens) hedging as a border around various plots in the garden but to buy the smallest plants from the nursery was going to cost too much so she set about taking cuttings with great success as you can see from the photograph in the foreground and background. All you need is a little patience and nature will do the rest.

Watering or Irrigatng its the same thing!

Believe it or not when watering through a hose or a pipe there is some quite complex physics going on inside the hose or pipe. If you know about this you can very simply increase the efficiency of your watering operation. The faster the water moves through a pipe, the greater the friction between the pipe and the water. This produces a layer of drag,  which has the effect of reducing the inside diameter of the pipe and this in turn restricts the amount of water that can flow down the pipe. OK the physics lesson has finished.

Planting shrubs to give them a good start

Well I have told you of my ideas on shelter, what trees I planted, how I planted the trees and how I fenced out the critters. So lets go from the extensive to the intensive and talk about my ideas for plantng shrubs.

OK this naturally refers to the garden area which will be surrounding the house so eventually it will be the most protected area of your place but because we live in low rainfall area, even though the garden will be irrigated (that is another story) we still need to ensure we give the plant a good start.