summer veggies in hot melbourne??

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by j_cornelissen, Jan 19, 2009.

  1. j_cornelissen

    j_cornelissen Junior Member

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    Hi there,

    am growing veggies on an ever expanding plot in my back yard and am struggling with these hot and windy summer days (I'm in Melbourne)

    Got shade cloth over one part, but am beginning to think that it is a waste of energy to try growing stuff like cucumber beans etc as a couple of hot days will destroy the hard work.

    How do the rest of you guys deal with this?

    cheers Jan
     
  2. j_cornelissen

    j_cornelissen Junior Member

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    Re: summer veggies in hot melbourne??

    so the kind of weather we're having now, is what I'm talking about

    I reckon it's almost a waste of time, tanks are near empty too,

    veggie shop here we come.............
     
  3. trishandpete

    trishandpete Junior Member

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    Re: summer veggies in hot melbourne??

    I must say, living in a concrete yard in a rented town house hasn't inspired me to do the garden thing here. Keep your chin up, you can have some of my litres. Our target here is 155L per person, but we are using 2/3 that and feeling virtuous. However, we are only keeping the trees alive, our pots have all carked it. Good luck, stay cool. I'm off to jump off the Altona Pier. Trish
     
  4. IntensiveGardener

    IntensiveGardener Junior Member

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    Re: summer veggies in hot melbourne??

    Hi jan.
    just keep at it. I know this kind of weather is not great for growing anything but there are many things to grow which are a bit tougher than cucumbers. Try Zucchinis instead or tomatoes.
    Also, you'l find that the better your soil is the more resilient your plants will be to extreme temperatures etc..
    It was 44 celcius here today! and yet at 2 in the arvo my pumpkins were not wilting at all :)
    I last watered them about 2 days ago.
    I found that enriching the soil to a deapth of 60cms with lots of manure and compost helps heaps. The plants can get their roots down into the cooler, wetter soil underneath. they also have lots of straw around them as a mulch.
    Try watering the plants less often but more at a time when they are just getting established. this helps them to develop deep root systems and not rely on daily pampering.
     

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