To see What is planted Where in the Garden check out the newest Map of our place HERE

Come on over to Scarecrow's Garden Facebook page and say Hi!
Check out my Pinterest Boards

The chill in the air at this time of year turns the leaves on the Lemon tree yellow just as the fruit begins to ripen.

  

 

Even as tiny seedlings  

those Red Veined Sorrels 

Rumex sanguineus  are showing their colour!

 Newly sown seeds germinate so fast in the warm conditions!

New Garden maps I'm working on - I've culled the number of beds down to 17 (so far). The larger beds in the "Main Veg Garden" are to be removed and replaced by more fruit trees. I have found the fruit trees are more productive on less water than the intensive veg beds. The Kitchen Garden area will now be the main growing area...closer to the house and with several smaller beds that will be easier to manage and water. 

 

With weather forecasts like that one all I can say is...

Temperatures this month:
Lowest Min 6.7C
Highest Min 20.1C
Lowest Max 20.2C
Highest Max37.3 C
35 mm Rain

Rain comparison with other years: February average is 22.6mm:
2012 56mm
2011 151mm
2010 7mm
2009 0mm
2008 1.6mm
2007 10.4mm

Harvest Tally:
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. For Salads, Juice and Stirfries I have been picking Lettuces, Amaranth & Beetroot Leaves, Parsley and Garlic Chives which are not always weighed.
Capsicum 52g
Carrots 200g
Celery 117g
Tomato Tommy Toe 559g plus many that are picked and eating while passing!!
Tomato Ida Gold 150g plus again those that are eaten in the garden
Tomato Roma 1094g
Sweetcorn 10 cobs not weighed because they were cooked as soon as they were harvested!!
Zucchini Golden 2576g
Zucchin Early 3628g
Total Veg Harvest for February 8.4Kgs

Figs 148g plus those eaten straight from the tree
Total Fruit Harvest for February 148g

Total Eggs for February:  74 eggs.
50 From the 5 Farmyard Ferals doesn't include a nest full that Sparky had laid outside!!!
0 From the Lone Barnevelder
24 From the 4 Faverolles

February of Previous Years:
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007

Autumn seedlings are growing well beneath their net cover...safe from moths, grasshoppers and aphids. I have to keep and eye out during rainy days for slugs and snails that can still find their way under the net!!

To see how the various Garden areas fit on our half acre block check out the newest Map of our place HERE This is still to be updated as a major revamp of the whole garden is planned...many beds are on the list to go!!

Come on over to Scarecrow's Garden Facebook page and say Hi!

Check out my Pinterest Boards
Remember how last month I'd reached 500 followers...well the total at the end of Feb was 4,362 and continues to climb every day!! It's great to see such interest in Garden Hints and Tips which is the most popular Board.

Temperatures:
Lowest Min 11.8C
Highest Max 35.6C
36mm Rain

We had two rain events in one week! One thunderstorm that dropped 18mm overnight and a day of steady drizzle that resulted in another 18mm. This will be much appreciated in the coming weeks as beds are cleared in readiness for Autumn seedling planting.

Propagation:
Potting on:
Lettuce Gloria seedlings

Sorrel French Rumex scutatus from a pot purchased locally
Sorrel Garden Rumex acetosa from a clump in the garden 

Planted out:
Brussels Sprouts Ruby seedlings
Lettuce Gloria seedlings
Both of these were planted into Bed 12 in the Old Chook Run Garden

 

The others came via a $10 voucher to spend at a newly discovered (via facebook) supplier The Seed Collection. I'm looking forward to trying these seeds as it's a "no frills" supplier...with seed packs from $1 and free postage over $5  I was able to choose 10 packs of seeds.
Alyssum Royal Carpet Lobularia maritima
Broccoli Chinese Kailaan Brassica oleracea var. alboglabra
Cabbage Red Dutch Brassica oleracea var. capitata
Cauliflower Macerata Green Brassica oleracea botrytis
Kohl Rabi Purple Vienna Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes
Coriander Coriandrum sativum
Onion Gladalan White Allium cepa
Gypsophila Repens Rose Gypsophila repens
Hyssop Hyssopus officinalis
Salad Burnet Sanguisorba minor
Gotta love freebies!! Just in time for more autumn sowing.

Meanwhile around the Garden...

Capsicums forming in Bed 7

Cucumbers on the cage around Bed 20

Pink Lady Finger Grapes on the fence line bagged and growing bigger

Jumbo Pink Banana Pumpkins hiding under the corn in the Old Chook Run Garden

 

I'm waiting for rain to help with autumn bed preparation but the seedlings are coming along nicely

 No such problem in Bed 1 where the Zucchini plants are still producing well

 

Update: Last week of January

Many of these seeds have germinated surprisingly well in the heat unlike the earlier sowing of which only a few Brussels Sprouts and some Minzuna seedlings survived. The Cucumbers will hopefully replace the ones in the garden that have frizzled up in the heatwaves.
The might even end up in containers like This Link describes
 

Another bed that is doing remarkably well considering it is in a very hot area of the garden is the small tank Wicking Bed (number 20). In this bed I have planted Sweetcorn (a black variety) Cucumbers and some Tepary beans which kind of suggests a Three Sisters type of arrangement (See This Link) I have cucumbers instead of squash as I doubt that this bed is big enough to grow squash and corn in at the same time! 

The Sweetcorn is loving the heat

Temperatures:
Lowest Min 10.9C
Highest Max42.6C
No Recorded Rainfall

There has been no propagation at all this week it's been way too hot!!!
There seems to be some respite from the heat approaching during this week 

Just about all plant life is covered with shade cloth
I think the main thing for gardens is to keep watering, 

mulch the soil (make sure the water is getting through any mulch layer) 

and shade...I have grabbed any piece of shadecloth I could find. 

Extra shade (90%) attached for cooling in the chookrun!
The chooks need plenty of clean water during the heat, 

lots of shade and damp soil for dust baths. 

Instead of hosing them down during the day 

(which only makes them run about!!!) 

I hose the bushes and shadecloth around their runs

this helps to cool the air which cools the chooks.

The Zucchini in Bed 1 is rocketing along

 and seems to love the heat it's pumping out zucchinis everyday!!

I do hope it is cooler where you are!

December of Previous Years:
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006 

You can purchase the 2013 Thomas Zimmer Astrological Calendar and Moon Planting Guide HERE or HERE.