High's and Low's

David starts with ...
New topic , thought id start a new topic to discuss, the decending over night temps around the country, this a.m in Brissie at my place dropped down to 9c. Can anyone beat this.

David says...
Yeah Mike its amazing how humidity influences the feel of temerature

Mike says...
John Mc even my recent rollinias are up and you had better get that plotter fixed.It can't get that cold in the steamy subtropics.I won't complain any more about the brisk weather.I bet there'll be casualties with small seedlings.When winter is in full swing you might have to put them in the fridge in the mornings to warm them up.

MaryT says...
David Sydney ranged from 2º to 10º overnight. John Mc does the ground temperature stay at 18º where you are (probably a dumb question)? I wonder if it's better or worse temp wise when growing in pots? I like to think that my containers benefit from the heat stored in the concrete slab during the day and released at night. Also it's so crowded here that they keep each other warm (I hope). Migrants from the north are suffering the cold change here; some will succumb.

Mike says...
Mary, if the herbs and cuttings have not rooted completely they could be completely rooted in that weather.

John Mc says...
Mary T, you could get a heated propagating tray, I find they work wonders with difficult to strike cuttings, and out of season propagating, mine has a thermostat to control the temperature.
Forgot to mention, the ground temps will keep cooling down to around 10°.

Mike says...
I was lucky to score a freeby today a nice grafted improved montong durian that will be a fine addition to my durian assortment.With all this rain I am tempted to plant it out in spite of the brisk 20c minimum and promise of chilly weather to follow.I can find a spot for 2 great other trees a cherry mangosteen G.forbesii and a garcinia mexico.I am saddled with an araca boi and pitomba that have now lost their spots.

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Mike says...
Amanda you need temps to stay above 7c for mangosteen or only drop below that briefly.

David says...
Mike that means theres hope for me yet , picked up some mangosteens today from James st markets , think they are Thai, looked a bit dry, lowest here ever has been 6c briefly

snottiegobble says...
Anyone tried Noni? The one I got from a Qld nursery karked it in Autumn even in a greenhouse, SW Vic.so I would say it must be truly tropical like purple mangosteen!

John Mc says...
I'm thinking of pulling mine. Resprouted after last winter but I don't think I'm getting anywhere. I only bought a couple because Daley's had them on special.
SG, our Armenium cucumber seeds have arrived, if you send your addy via
johnatcentralcoastskylightsdotcomdotau
I'll get them away to you. There's 30 in the pack, I'll send you 10, give 10 away and keep 10.

amanda says...
Lol Mike..I will leave the M/steen up to the experts in wet climates!? Bunno's had Star Apples and Coffee trees for sale here last week..I wasn't even slightly tempted TBH... ;-D

amanda says...
mike - you have humidity there...? The temps may be great here - but it's such a different climate.

In the 4months of summer here - I use as much water as the Average home in Perth use in a whole year.

Yes I have acerage, yes I have 1/3rd rainfall, heat, wind blah blah...
But 'should' I be growing mangosteen? Coffee, star apples?..that's a No, for me. Do I actually want to..? Not really to be honest.

I am very over growing something just for curiousity or desire...

Just imagine if we had to pay say - 50 cents a litre for water...what would u grow then...? ;-)

I now lean strongly towards growing what is sustainable, sensible and good value - in my environment.

Much of this forum is of no value to me in WA - as "extreme" tropical fruit are just not of any importance to anyone outside of Qld and maybe far north NSW...?
They are interesting "curious" most of the time ;)

MaryT says...
Growing what your climate would sustain is a good idea Amanda. Nick you can keep being winner for having the coldest nights; I'm happy to be out of that competition. No idea about fertiliser for cacao but I think there may have been a thread on that?

amanda says...
Not my climate MaryT - that can sustain many wonderful things...but my water supply actually - which is rapidly drying up...? Or going saline.

Is it fair that I may have to pay a far higher price than you, for eg, for water..?

Be interesting to compare all of our charges actually...?

Ours were (cheapest cycle):

34kL @ $1.79/kL
100kL @ $1.79/kL
132kL @ $2.19/kL

The catch is that the bill is on a one year cycle. So u don't start at zero at every 4 month billing period...u only start at zero once/year. So your usage gets more expensive/tiered as time wears on.

At the End of your 1year cycle u can be paying a lot more /kL. I am just lucky that zero, for our patch, is the summer period - so my water is cheapest...

I then try to "make up" for my usage thru out the next 2 cycles -by having a complete waste water treatment system (12 grand cost) and 50,000L rainwater storage 6 grand cost) for eg.

So far this autumn cycle I have had <10mm of rain. I am still reticulating when I should be saving water..

Is it a fair system for an arid zone...hell no!? Not my fault the climate is drying up.

The irony: My insurance premium goes up $200/yr to cover me for flood damage by: a creek, a dam, a tidal wave and whatever...??
I live on a sand dune in an arid zone with no dam within 100's kms and no running creeks etc..

Oh well that's my rant. I paid the extra on my Insurance without protest. We are all in this together. :)

MaryT says...
My water rate is $2.1030 a kL ; it does not seem to be in cycles like yours, Amanda. Anyway, it's no cheaper than yours, is it?

Xiem says...
There is definitely a need for some "grand schemes" in Australia such as a national water grid to take floodwaters from the north and east coast to Amanda's parched paddocks. We all know that there is an enormous difference in rainfall around Australia and I guess the cost of pipes/pumps would be prohibitive, but its a nice dream.

John Mc says...
Hey Nick, Just saw your post, I'll get them away asap. Don't send anything, you sent heaps last time and they are all doing great. I have your addy.

Nick T says...
Thanks again! Does the kind lady who gave you the seedlings want anything?

ivepeters says...
xiem
A couple of decades ago , a prof in climate studies suggested a grand scheme.
Dig a trench from the closest coastal area to the center of the country. He stated an inland sea would improve the rainfall of inner Aust.

Imagine fishing trips to the Alice.

Mike says...
ivepeters I can imagine the finger pointing and accusations at the next faculty meeting and the Dean being after blood for bringing the meteorology dept into disrepute.A professor should know better and the hydrologists would have been after him with pitchforks.I bet the wentworth group are still laughing at that proposal.

David says...
Its official today at my place max temp was 14.6c, lord only knows what the min temp was. Brrrrrrrrrr, thats cold.So much for the sunshine state.

David says...
Hi Mike went to bunnies last week ,knew the cold was coming so bought 6 plastic bell shaped,propagating houses, keeps out the cold and increases humidity , seems to be doing the trick.,only $5.95 each, cheap insurance from the col, been told this cold snap is on for another 2 or 3 days. Cant ever remember it this cold in Brizvagus before. First time for everything

David says...
Hows your Mandarin or Cantonese these days Mike. Gridlock eh, like i always say Mike theres always room for one more. This sweet tamarind whats the diff from the usual tamarind.

David says...
I think i commented before Mike almost seems like a conspiracy to keep all the good stuff locked away, and feed us all the rubbish varieties to be found with ease

Dave says...
Well its starting to feel like winter now...5.8 high today and currently siting at 3 (11pm) ...the town of Coldstream is already 1.5 (hence the name!)

good night for gardening in shorts to freshen the skin I reckon

amanda says...
I read an article in the Rare Fruit Review about rambutans and how the best tasting one has that red-yellow colour - but that consumers preferred the plain red one's (choosing by colour alone) - so I guess growers can be up against the 'untrained' consumer too...?

amanda says...
I wouldn't know Mike!? :) The article was with Colin Gray? (his fave the R156 he says) and the "pink" R9 has not been popular due to it's colour.

Regardless..its an interesting story...and an interesting Mag too - but it's a pretty specialised magazine too..

amanda says...
That's sad - it must be a huge risk to grow these trees up to the fruiting stage in a cyclonic area...all that work and time :-(

I think you should be in that magazine with your collection Mike!?

I guess I was suggesting that the consumer can be a strange beast at times also...lol...many are unwilling to try anything new - or buy anything that doesn't look perfect!?

One of the very best nectarines (Sunlite) and a couple of other types - have this kind of silvery mark/blemsh on them - it's do with their sugar levels I have been told...

It's interesting cos' they are always the fruit I choose out of the pile as they are always the sweetest - but others would not because they have that "blemish"...?

David says...
Mike if you are out there in the ether somewhere, im claiming bragging rights tonight as the min temp for us down here in 1c warmer than your going to get ,dosnt happen very often i know ,seriously what is going on.

John Mc says...
Nothing under 10 °C here for the past 24 hours.

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Linton says...
Hi Mike
Last week we had numerous hail storms with ice all over the ground and snow in the nearby hills. Even yesterday I heard it was minus 3 over in Ballarat so your seeds wouldn't like that! But it makes it all the more challenging trying to grow the tropical species down here.

Another thing, I tried to get some seeds sent from overseas but they were seized by customs because they had soil in them. I asked the supplier about it and they said that they send them in soil to kep them moist. Cheers.

Linton says...
Yesterday was even worse. There was snow at Woodend just outside Melbourne -see picture - that was yesterday. And the MAXIMUM at nearby Trentham was 3 degrees!

Thats why it always amazes me, contrary to popular belief, the types of plants that can still be grown here.

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