First frost for the year...

 

...last Sunday. If only it was another 2 weeks away - still had a lot of
tomatoes close to being ready.
And so much for the pumpkins and pickled cucumbers.
Oh well, thats how it goes - still learning the quirks of the climate
here in N.E Tas :)

--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

 

Jeßus wrote:

Bummer!  Hope our first frost is not on its way for a while (in SE SA) - I have
*lots* of green tomatoes!

--
Anne Chambers
South Australia

anne dot chambers at bigpond dot com

 

Anne Chambers wrote:

Good luck!

--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw

 

Jeßus wrote:

So what is your probable frost-free period of the year?  How does that limit
what you can grow?

David

 

David Hare-Scott wrote:

Not a lot... safe to say frost-free between Jan and mid Feb. I'm not
joking :)
It's been known to have frost here on Xmas day, and we had out first
frost here this year on 28th Feb.
Aside from the above - most frosts seem to occur between April and October.


Well, I'm still learning a lot, having only lived here for about 18 months.
Most of my gardening experience is in the tropics, so basically I'm
learning all over again.

The only real problem is frost - we get quite severe frosts here, which
is fine for many Brassicas and Parsnips.

I have a couple of temporary hot houses for the time being, until I can
build the one I really want. The hot house does help, although by no
means protects against frost. I do know a few locals growing veggies
('local' being within the same shire - my property is fairly isolated)
and I do need to write down the times they plant their veg.
I've been going by the instructions on the seed packets, or what info I
can find online - which so far doesn't really suit the conditions here,
so it seems.
Been looking for satisfactory methods for supplementary heating for the
hothouse - "satisfactory" meaning not fueled from non-local sources like
gas or electricity. I know of one local who adapted a wood heater, but
of course very tricky regulating the heat... and he did have one
disaster where he melted the plastic using this method :)

I've also learned many times over that in general, claims by nurseries
of a given plant or tree being 'frost hardy' is a load of you-know-what!



--
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism
by those who haven't got it - George Bernard Shaw