Heat and Flooding Rain!

Scarecrow's Garden Log: Fortnight 24:01:2011 to 07:02:11
After the heat came rain...
...a lot of rain!
It filled the birdbath!
Temperatures:
Lowest Min 10.4C
Lowest Max 18C
Highest Max 43C
125mm Rain
(that is not a typo!!!!)
What's the weather been like in the garden?
Monday 32.7C, Tuesday 43C, Wednesday 36.1C, Thursday 35.4C, Friday 36.3C, Saturday 38.8C, Sunday 42.5C.
Monday 41C, Tuesday 39C, Wednesday 40C, Thursday 37C, Friday 34.5C, Saturday 21.1C, Sunday 18C
(37.8C=100F)
The heat ended on Friday with torrential rain from moisture fed from Ex-Tropical Cyclone Yasi!
Propagation:
Seeds:
Beetroot Detroit Red Globe Beta vulgaris DT Brown
Beetroot Forono Beta vulgaris DT Brown
Beetroot Golden Detroit Beta vulgaris 4 Seasons Seeds
Broccoli Purple Sprouting Brassica oleracea 4Seasons Seeds
Broccoli Romanesco Brassica oleracea Cornucopia Seeds
Cabbage Early Jersey Wakefield Brassica oleracea
Cabbage Red Choi Brassica rapa var. chinensis Green Harvest
Cabbage Purple Flowered Choy Brassica rapa var. purpuree Green Harvest
Cabbage Verona Purple Savoy Brassica oleracea The Lost Seed
Cauliflower Self Blanche Brassica oleracea var. botryis The Lost Seed
Cauliflower Violet Sicilian Brassica oleracea Green Harvest
Coriander Coriandrum sativum Mr Fothergill
Corn Salad Valerianella locusta Phoenix Seeds
Cumin Black Nigella sativa The Lost Seed
Florence Fennel Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum Phoenix Seeds
Lettuce Crispmint Lactuca sativa Diggers
Perpetual Spinach Beta vulgaris Phoenix Seed
Radicchio Rossa di Treviso 2 Cichorium intybus Franchi Seeds (from a swap)
Red Clover Trifolium pratense Phoenix Seeds
Rocket Eruca sativa DT Brown
Spinach English Medania Spinacea oleracea DT Brown
Spinach Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinacea oleracea Eden Seeds
Felica amelliodes Home saved seed
Hollyhock PinkAlcea rosea Friends seed
Larkspur Giant Imperial Consolida ambigua Mr Fothergill's
Sweet Pea Dwarf Bijou Lathyrus odoratus Home Saved seed
Sweet William Mixed Dianthus barbatus Friends seed
Viola Large Flowered Mixed Viola cornuta Mr Fothergill's
In the Garden This Fortnight:
Watering to keep things alive,
shading to keep the sun off
and netting the fruit trees
to keep the birds off.

Gotu Kola thriving in it's Wicking Box
and even has some seedlings popping up.
Sweet Potatoes growing at the base of a wicking bed
to catch the (deliberate at times) overflow.
The heat has accelerated the ripening of the grapes
outside the backdoor.
Monday of the second week we had a visit
from our son and his growing family!
Then anxious times as our daughter and son-in-law spent a terrifying night in the "bunker" beneath their house in Far North Queensland while cyclone Yasi raged outside!!!! Fortunately their damage was minor compared to those further north but the water supply has been slow to come back as has the power!
Friday's weather radar (from this site) showing how far the remnants of Cyclone Yasi had moved to the centre of Australia and fed moisture down to us in SA.
A lot of moisture!!!
(our driveway!)
Of course the Black Ninja was not amused...
...she doesn't like rain!
At The Community Garden:
The rain caused only minor puddling
and all drained well soon after!
Weekly Harvest Tally: Figures for the fortnight!
Doesn't include Greens fed to the chooks on a daily basis or herbs picked for use in the kitchen for cooking or tea making.
Squash Winter Delicata***244g
Squash Sweet Meat***5500g
Tomato Golden Sunrise***1781g
Tomato Kotlas***4119g
Tomato Silvery Fir Tree***1683g
Tomato Yellow Tommy Toe***29g
Tomato Red Cherry***214g
Zucchini Gold***294g
Zucchini Cocozelle***1020g
Strawberries***96g
Blackberries***751g
Eggs
19 From the 5 Farmyard Ferals
4 From the 3 Barnevelders
21 From the 5 Faverolles
To see how the various Garden areas fit on our half acre block check out the newest Map of our place HERE
You will need to click on the photos to view them.