Not much is new in the Australian Kitchen Garden. I've gone back to school (teaching) and am almost back at university (doctorate), so I'm letting the garden do it's thing. In some ways it's going to be really good for the garden - I tend to pick anything as soon as it looks half ready, such is my impatience. Now the garden gets a break to grow during the week.
My wife picked up some more spring onions to plant in amongst the current ones. While the first bunch comprised 11 onions, this latest one consists of only 7. They are big 'uns, however. I'm hoping they don't take over the little ones, as the family's spring onion appetite requires all 18 to be flourishing!
We had quite the downpour last weekend, with a 24 hour total of about 90mm (20 of those coming in half an hour). Luckily everything seems to have survived, although things just don't grow without sunshine. Darn it!
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weather. Show all posts
09 February 2010
31 January 2010
Day 52 - Monthly Roundup
Weatherwise, not much happened this month. In contrast to my predictions of rain, rain and more rain it's been quite dry with only 47.8mm of rain (compared with a 2000 - 2009 average of 118.9mm). No temperature records were set, and the averages were only slightly higher than usual.
I had a mixed bag with the crops, although I'm pretty happy with the results so far. January concludes with the garden being $27 in deficit. For details on individual plants, read on:
Jalapeno - The last of the original three fruits was picked as late as possible, just before turning red. Unfortunately, it still didn't have that much heat, although the taste was good. One baby chili and two flowers point to a continuing crop.
Habanero - The three fruits ripened in quick succesion, but have not been replaced with flowers. The leaves have curled up, which may be an aphid problem.
Sweet Basil - The crop that grows itself - my basil plants are doing very well. One plant in particular is growing exceptionally (10cm taller than all of the others with strong leaf growth). I'll have to look up how to save the seeds from this one!
Afro Parsley - This crop is still growing - I've left it to thicken up for a while. I'm aiming to have a dense hedge of parsley, but I reaslise that will take time. So time I will give it!
Garlic Chives - Growing slowly! This is another one that needs time to thicken up.
Coriander - See previous entries... it's all too depressing to repeat!
Spring Onions - Doing very well, with each plant growing on average 1cm per day. The second crop that grows itself.
And finally for the blog itself: I've written about 2500 words this month and have had about 150 page hits. Thank you for reading!
I had a mixed bag with the crops, although I'm pretty happy with the results so far. January concludes with the garden being $27 in deficit. For details on individual plants, read on:
Jalapeno - The last of the original three fruits was picked as late as possible, just before turning red. Unfortunately, it still didn't have that much heat, although the taste was good. One baby chili and two flowers point to a continuing crop.
Habanero - The three fruits ripened in quick succesion, but have not been replaced with flowers. The leaves have curled up, which may be an aphid problem.
Sweet Basil - The crop that grows itself - my basil plants are doing very well. One plant in particular is growing exceptionally (10cm taller than all of the others with strong leaf growth). I'll have to look up how to save the seeds from this one!
Afro Parsley - This crop is still growing - I've left it to thicken up for a while. I'm aiming to have a dense hedge of parsley, but I reaslise that will take time. So time I will give it!
Garlic Chives - Growing slowly! This is another one that needs time to thicken up.
Coriander - See previous entries... it's all too depressing to repeat!
Spring Onions - Doing very well, with each plant growing on average 1cm per day. The second crop that grows itself.
And finally for the blog itself: I've written about 2500 words this month and have had about 150 page hits. Thank you for reading!
28 January 2010
Day 49 - Hot Deck: Part 2
Below is the graph of temperature over time on the 26th of January. The red line is the shade temperature and the blue line is the temperature on my deck. I knew that it got hot out there, but what surprised me the most was the tenacity of the heat - it was over 40 degrees for 5 hours, and over 50 degrees for 3 1/2 hours.
This day wasn't chosen because it was particularly hot - it just happened to be a day when I wasn't going out, and was able to measure the temperature every half hour! The maximum was 57.5, which was quite a bit short of this year's maximum of 58.8 degrees (137.8 in the old scale). I'm convinced that I'll see 65 (150) before the end of February.
This day wasn't chosen because it was particularly hot - it just happened to be a day when I wasn't going out, and was able to measure the temperature every half hour! The maximum was 57.5, which was quite a bit short of this year's maximum of 58.8 degrees (137.8 in the old scale). I'm convinced that I'll see 65 (150) before the end of February.
23 January 2010
Day 44 - Hot Deck: Part 1
It turns out that life on my back deck is a lot hotter than I thought. The days following my last observation have all recorded temperatures above 45 degrees, with the hottest day showing 54.2 degrees. This on a day when the shade temperature did not exceed 33.
Knowing this, I am not at all surprised that my coriander has gone to seed. I also have great respect for the hardiness of my other plants!
The first of the habaneros and the last of the jalapenos ended up in a very nice chili con carne. Despite turning reddish at the base, the jalapeno provided very little heat. No such problems with the habanero!
Knowing this, I am not at all surprised that my coriander has gone to seed. I also have great respect for the hardiness of my other plants!
The first of the habaneros and the last of the jalapenos ended up in a very nice chili con carne. Despite turning reddish at the base, the jalapeno provided very little heat. No such problems with the habanero!
19 January 2010
Day 40 - Extreme Weather: Part 1
It wasn't the extreme weather that I was expecting, however. Yesterday we experienced our biggest drop in temperature (this year) from the hottest part of the day to the coolest part of the night. The peak temperature was 35.1 and the low point was 17.4 (only 0.4 higher than the 2000 - 2009 record).
During this month so far, the discrepancy from peak to low point has averaged 6 degrees, with a record of 10.3 degrees. Compare that with yesterday's 17.7 and you can see why my plants are looking quizzical (either that or I'm going a little loopy).
During this month so far, the discrepancy from peak to low point has averaged 6 degrees, with a record of 10.3 degrees. Compare that with yesterday's 17.7 and you can see why my plants are looking quizzical (either that or I'm going a little loopy).
18 January 2010
Day 39 - Why My Coriander Bolted: Part 1
The picture says it all. While the shade temperature may be 35 at the moment, this figure means nothing to my poor kitchen garden which sits on a concrete deck in full sun. I put my mercury thermometer out with the plants, but got alarmed when the mercury rose rapidly towards 50, which is the top of the thermometer! I've been in a science class when a thermometer exploded and am not keen to repeat the experience. Instead, I substituted my digital thermometer, which has now hovered in the 46 - 47 degree area for about an hour.
My chillies are loving the heat with the jalapeno thriving. Coriander, on the other hand, is not a fan of heat. According to http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com extreme heat causes a flower stem to grow and leaf production to cease. That's exactly what's happened here as you can see to the right of the thermometer. The good news is that coriander seed is edible (and tasty). The bad news is that I have heaps of coriander seed that I bought from the shops a while ago. I don't have any fresh coriander!
28 December 2009
Day 18 - More Rain
It's been a week of rain, rain and more rain. The last seven days have seen rain of some sort, for a total of 70mm. Brisbane more commonly experiences quick flashes of rain, whereas this weather reminds me more of my time in England.
I have learned that it is not good to leave the chilli plants in saucers, as the roots can rot. I'm sure that the saucers will be useful for something later. Something else that I hadn't thought about is the quality of water used. Apparently the chlorine in water isn't good for plants so any tap water should be allowed to sit overnight to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Brisbane drinking water is fluoridated, but I'm unsure how that affects plants. I'm using my planters as water storage at the moment because it's raining!
When I picked my first jalapeno I planted some of the seeds. About five of them have poked their heads above the top of the soil, so I have high hopes for them.
My hints have been answered! I have been given a couple of planters 40cm x 10cm x 10cm and later on today I'm being taken to Bunnings to pick out some herbs.
Finally, some websites that I've found useful recently:
http://www.thechilliking.com/
http://kitchengardenblog.com/
And, to see the weather in my neck of the woods:
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=40913&list=ob
I have learned that it is not good to leave the chilli plants in saucers, as the roots can rot. I'm sure that the saucers will be useful for something later. Something else that I hadn't thought about is the quality of water used. Apparently the chlorine in water isn't good for plants so any tap water should be allowed to sit overnight to allow the chlorine to evaporate. Brisbane drinking water is fluoridated, but I'm unsure how that affects plants. I'm using my planters as water storage at the moment because it's raining!
When I picked my first jalapeno I planted some of the seeds. About five of them have poked their heads above the top of the soil, so I have high hopes for them.
My hints have been answered! I have been given a couple of planters 40cm x 10cm x 10cm and later on today I'm being taken to Bunnings to pick out some herbs.
Finally, some websites that I've found useful recently:
http://www.thechilliking.com/
http://kitchengardenblog.com/
And, to see the weather in my neck of the woods:
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=40913&list=ob
27 December 2009
Day 21 - Monthly Roundup
I've been interested in the weather from before I started this kitchen garden. Back when I was working at a shop, I noticed that rain meant that there were few customers (always a positive in my eyes as I could use the time for organising the stock). I use Weatherzone for my weather needs, and will continue to until I get one of those fancy $500 weather stations that I've got my eye on!
Weatherzone keeps weather information from 1950 to 2000, and there was one record set this month. The monthly average minimum was 21.6, 0.2 above the record and a quite substantial 1.8 above the average. Must have been all of those wet nights that we've had. The monthly average maximum was 30.2, which was only 0.7 off the record. Apart from that - nothing, although we did receive 172.2mm of rain, which was 140% of the average.
My garden now measures 0.184sqm. I'm now growing six varieties of plants with differing levels of success. The sweet basil plants are going gangbusters - from a 40cm x 10cm plot with three plants I'm picking four or five leaves every day. On the other hand, the coriander is lying down and refusing to get up (I know the feeling well). If the sun that we've been promised next week doesn't fix it, I'm going to think about some stakes to keep it up.
Next month I hope to pick my jalapenos and habaneros and get another lot of flowers blooming. Eleven of my jalapeno seeds have sprouted and I hope to have some success with them. The big issue is the rain. Historically January, February and March are the rainiest months of the year, and my plants don't seem to like the rain that much. We will see what the weather brings.
My predictions for the year ahead: we will receive at least 2000mm of rain as it has always come when I wanted it the least. We will have more than 10 days of 40 degree temperatures even though we didn't receive any from 1950 - 2000. At least one day will get down to freezing, even though it didn't from 1950 - 2000 at all. In short, I'm predicting extreme weather for 2010. Let's see how it turns out!
Weatherzone keeps weather information from 1950 to 2000, and there was one record set this month. The monthly average minimum was 21.6, 0.2 above the record and a quite substantial 1.8 above the average. Must have been all of those wet nights that we've had. The monthly average maximum was 30.2, which was only 0.7 off the record. Apart from that - nothing, although we did receive 172.2mm of rain, which was 140% of the average.
My garden now measures 0.184sqm. I'm now growing six varieties of plants with differing levels of success. The sweet basil plants are going gangbusters - from a 40cm x 10cm plot with three plants I'm picking four or five leaves every day. On the other hand, the coriander is lying down and refusing to get up (I know the feeling well). If the sun that we've been promised next week doesn't fix it, I'm going to think about some stakes to keep it up.
Next month I hope to pick my jalapenos and habaneros and get another lot of flowers blooming. Eleven of my jalapeno seeds have sprouted and I hope to have some success with them. The big issue is the rain. Historically January, February and March are the rainiest months of the year, and my plants don't seem to like the rain that much. We will see what the weather brings.
My predictions for the year ahead: we will receive at least 2000mm of rain as it has always come when I wanted it the least. We will have more than 10 days of 40 degree temperatures even though we didn't receive any from 1950 - 2000. At least one day will get down to freezing, even though it didn't from 1950 - 2000 at all. In short, I'm predicting extreme weather for 2010. Let's see how it turns out!
24 December 2009
Day 14 - Wet & Wild
We've been having our typical Summer weather in Brisbane: hot, humid days interspersed with intense wind and rain. The habaneros loved it, growing three fruit very quickly. Since then, however, flower production has come to a standstill on the habanero. I believe that this is due to the fact that the plant's energy is going into the current fruit. Hopefully when I pick them I will get another bunch of fruit.
Something that I neglected to mention before is that I plan for this garden to be profitable. I have spent about $13 to get this garden started and until it has produced $13 of produce, I will not be buying any more plants. Of course my local supermarket doesn't stock habaneros but I'll go off the generic chilli price, which is about $11 / kg.
Of course, I won't turn away plants as presents from family! (hint, hint)
Something that I neglected to mention before is that I plan for this garden to be profitable. I have spent about $13 to get this garden started and until it has produced $13 of produce, I will not be buying any more plants. Of course my local supermarket doesn't stock habaneros but I'll go off the generic chilli price, which is about $11 / kg.
Of course, I won't turn away plants as presents from family! (hint, hint)
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