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Gardening in Oz

the first cold night - is winter here?

20 years ago

Just had the coldest night for many a month - got down to 12 degrees. It was lovely breaking out the doona and sleeping well and then getting up early to do so much gardening without really breaking into a sweat...

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Comments (9)

User
20 years ago
Well its been cold in our house of a night quite a few times in the past two weeks, up on 120cm stumps Tassie Oak floorboards, no carpets a real cool Queensland house..But very cold in the mornings except on the back decking then its too hot out there as the sun is much lower now and heats up the back very quick..

No time for gardening today to busy painting the timber beams that the front bullnose roof is sitting on, mind you that roof is very hot so its a Bonza day, best I dont linger still got that second coat to do..Good working this cooler weather....Cheers...MM.
User
20 years ago
I too am enjoying the cooler weather, but it is a bit of a shock to the system at first. I suddenly realise I desperately need some winter clothing....darn, I hate clothes shopping....oh well!
Cheers,
Dee.
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How cold is too cold for geese? Winter feed?
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Comments (1)
Have you tried them on scratch? Preferably one with several grains rather than just corn. Geese can be picky. Mine won't touch corn, tolerate scratch some of the time and most of the time will only eat the organic layer mash I buy for the chickens. Grazing is best for geese, of course, but in winter the turf just isn't enough. This is my second winter with geese and I worry too. Just posted about rehydrating alfalfa hay for them. I find they eat grains better too when I soak them. As far as the cold... they can take quite a bit, but it is good if they have a place they can get to that is out of the wind. I always put mine in their house at night and on a handful of really severe days keep them in completely. They hate it, but there isn't much out there for them anyway and MOMMA KNOWS BEST. If your geese are the kind with the knob on their bills, please note that they can get frostbitten there and that it can be serious. I am not familiar with the Chinese/African/Egyptian type of geese... I like the "goosely geese" descended from the European graylag. I have three Pilgrims and an American Buff. So I can't be more specific about the frostbite question. You'll find a good discussion of geese and winter feed in this old thread. Here is a link that might be useful: Geese - Winter feeding
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Cold nights this week/Frost
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Comments (6)
Jay, we just had temps of 28 here and there was some damage, but not bad. Since all of your roses are in pots, it would be best to try to move them all as close to the house as possible and them put a sheet or blanket over them. The heat from the apartment should help keep them warm. I think 28 is the magic number. And then it's the number of hours that it stays at or below that number. Also just leaves are ok. The most damage I have is on very new soft canes. the cells get damaged from the cold and then the plant can't send moisture and nutrients to the end of the cane and it shrivels up.
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Cold here 12* last night.
Q
Comments (11)
Martin, I know that 22 degrees is not cold by your standards. However, it is pretty cold for us here in zone 9. At least your winter temperatures stays cold and doesn't vary quite as much as ours. Here our winter time temperatures can vary from cold to hot.....and can go thru several such warm/cool cycles during the winter. Because of this temperature cycling, our in-ground trees cannot go as deeply dormant as yours. Our "fluctuating" winter temperatures is really tough on some fruit trees. I know that I am going against all conventional wisdom of when to plant fig trees in the ground. But I live in zone 9 where the temperatures do not stay below freezing for very long.....at least in most years. There is a BIG BIG advantage to getting fig Starts into the ground ASAP. They will produce figs at least a year earlier than if I waited to plant the containerized tree the following season as is the conventional practice. Since I do my own rooting, I can choose the optimum time to root my sticks for in ground planting. Also, I already know that my Starts will not have RKN.....so I take advantage of all of these special conditions. The reason why I have adapted this approach to planting a hardened-off Start right away in the ground is because the new tree should develop a very good,spreading root system much faster. Starts planted in the ground ASAP do not have enough time for the roots to encircle the pot or form a root ball like they would if left in the pot/container until the following year. I planted quite a few other fig Starts ASAP in early Spring and some have grown extremely well through the Summer. Those young trees developed sufficiently large enough where I did not feel the need to provide any winter protection for them. I'll find out for sure in the Spring if my hunch was right. We only get a couple of freezes per year in my area so I want to take advantage of that fact. It is no trouble at all for me to get out the bricks and 5 gallons buckets when we do have a freeze in the forecast. I would not recommend this approach to in-ground planting in lower climate zones.....however, I'm highly confident that this strategy will work quite well for zones 9 and 10.....I'll know for sure next spring. I am very pleased with the results that I have seen thus far. Dan
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Anyone here do cold winter vegetables up north?
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Comments (5)
I find this so fascinating! My greenhouse was completed the very day the killing frost was expected, and hit. I transferred a number of plants from the traditional garden but it really didn't amount to much volume. It warmed up again, and I started lots of seedlings - they are there, tolerating the low sun, lack of surface water and cold, but waiting until it warms. I would have *loved* to have had it started earlier - I absolutely had to fight to get the time off I had, and it took me 3 full days hard labor to finish the greenhouse, prepare the ground, fill with the new soil... How long have you been doing this in Maine? Helen
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Liatris
20 years ago
... and we had the fans running for a couple of nights mid the week!
alisonoz_gw
20 years ago
And neighbour still had the air-con thrumming a couple of days as we still "enjoyed" a last gasp of 30c but tonight, oooh delicious, about to go find some long sleeves. Wonderful to have a change after the longest and hottest summer I can remember.
Just hope we DO get an autumn and not swing straight into winter, which has seemed to be our lot the last few years.
Now, where did I put the rake?
macbirch
20 years ago
We've been down to 0 and I'm ready for spring. No, not yet, our deciduous trees haven't put on their autumn show yet. Okay, I'll endure autumn but then I'd really like spring, or a holiday somewhere else.
redbank
20 years ago
Snowed just above the house last tues, wed, thurs. Went down to -1 over the weekend. Tomatoes and zucchinis finished now. Time to put in the broad beans, brocolli etc.
User
20 years ago
I planted the Broad beans seeds here late last month and they are all up and away now.
I like the cooler mornings so far, but not when it gets too cold most nights are 14-16 degs.
So thats ok and as much as I love the sunny Winter days I do not like the very cold mornings.
Cheers...MM.
macbirch
20 years ago
Redbank, are you anywhere near the road between St Helens and Scottsdale? We drove through there last year. Beautiful area. So nice to see lush green meadows, coming as we do from a water restriction area. I realise I have a problem. I hate hate hate the cold but my favourite places always seem to be cold ones.
artiew
20 years ago
You folks are all welcome to the cold - this is the time of year when living in Rocky really pays off !

Having migrated from Sydney, and counting Adelaide and country Victoria among former addresses, I did find it hilarious to see locals wearing 3 layers of clothing and complaining about the cold when it 'plummets' to the mid-teens at night, but you quickly acclimatise. 25 deg C days in July is just heaven, and the plants love it.

Cheers,

Artie

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