It is very early 2020 and here on the choko farm it has been unseasonably hot for this time of year, hot and dry, and it has been like that for most of the country. Last week we had a 46°C day and after only a few days recovery and preparation time, yesterday it got to 49.1°C according to our thermometer. We have certainly not have had as bad a time as some in our poor country, and we have been adapting for this type of weather for years. But as with every fight, you win some and you lose some, and this is a pictorial review of how the choko farm stood up!
What we have been able to achieve has been done with rainwater from our tanks and greywater from various sources in the house.
Things that worked
Our self-watering bird bath, was a great hit and continues to be popular with our feathered friends.
The middle veggie patches seemed to do pretty well with the mixture of 50% shade cloth cover and ollas as a watering system. The seedlings which had most recently been planted out were looking pretty wilty after lunch, so I did give them a bt of relief with a watering can or two, and they are all OK today.
The area under cover in front of the western fence has also survived fairly well, with the plot on the right being olla irrigated, the chooks in the tractor felt the heat but a few doses of fridge-cooled watermelon improved things for them a bit. The potatoes in the black pots got forgotten until midday, when the got the equivalent of a watering can each, which refreshed them considerably. They are OK today.
Seedlings in the shadecloth covered greenhouse survived well, particularly with the upgraded (in number or size) water bottles to keep them hydrated.
The arrowleaf/water chestnut bath, fed from the small tank next to the shed, was OK.
The banana circle had no problems, being fed greywater from the shower/bath regularly.
The taro in the first constructed wetland bath, copped a bit of a caning from the first hot day we had. It is fed by water from the washing machine and although it looks a bit sad, was not really any worse off after yesterday's heat.
This is the Jerusalem artichoke bed, currently being fed the output from the constructed wetland. I looks OK generally but I need to move the output hose becasue the stuff on the right hand side looks a bit wilty.
These self watering containers never cease to amaze me with how good their performance is, currently growing turmeric, galangal, ginger, spring onions and cotton, topped up once or twice a week and no porblems
The two above shots are two wicking beds growing capsicum and onions gorwing out for seed (top) and carrots (bottom). I only applied the shade cloth just before the first hot day, and they are doing well.
The rear veggie bed is a bit of a mixed bag with a couple of beds ready for the chooks, the zucchini over the back was right on the edge and started growing out from under the shade cloth, so it copped the sun until a bit after lunch time, and has been knocked back a bit, but it will be OK. I have just recently beefed the sun protection up in this area, and that will be the subject of another article.
Topped up the fish pond first thing in the morning and all is good!
The fruit tree circle has done fairly well with some wilty-ness from the dwarf lemon and lime tree, but some tank water directed down into the deep pipe waterer fixed that quickly.
This was designed to be a smaller wicking bed but it didn't work. The rubharb copped a bit of a hammering, but it will recover.
The herb spiral (wedding cake?) is dry, but coping, with water pumped from the front (5,500l) rainwater tank in through leaky pipes in the bottom two tiers every week or so.
The dwarf nectarine has had a few leaves singed on the top but is generally ok
I forgot to take the bees in and made use of a bucket of water and an old towel. I checked regularly throughout the day and the side of the hive stayed cool to the touch. It is also in the shade of the mulberry tree which helped. They seem fine.
This is also a mixed bag, out thr front with no shading. The blood orange is OK, but I think needs a bit of water, the dwarf fig has lost its leaves so we sill see how that fares, there is a thin lemon tree on the right which is coping and the pot holds a sweet potato, which appears to be loving it. The cow is........ a cow!
All of the established trees along the front are OK
The baove two wicking beds provide us with asparagus and the asparagus has taken a bit of a beating but is coping with the heat.
The passionfruit over my office window continues to provide us with shade, but as yet, no fruit.
The mulberry is showing absolutely no concern for the heat, and the lavender hedge is doing ok, I don't know how, I can't remember the last time I watered it!
Not so Much
I have a couple of veggie patches which do not have covers, some crops seem to do better early in the season without the shadecloth cover, but after yesterday I will be reviewing that! The tomatoes in front of the corn in the top photo got so hot they cooked on the plant, they were so hot I could only just hold them!
The choko copped a severe pasting last week, but I was hopeful of resuscitation. It appears to have died back to the roots after yesterday. It may come back but I am not hopeful.
You are probably all wondering about the choko tree iteslf.... that is it above and as you can see it is taking a rest for a year. Due to my attention being required elsewhere earlier in the year, it did not kick off well and has laso died back to the root. There is always next year!
