A few degrees of frost

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by david, Jun 28, 2005.

  1. david

    david Junior Member

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    We've recently moved from St Kilda - on Port Phillip Bay and hence nice mild winter climate - to a bigger block in Camberwell. We've now got a nice sized suburban backyard to do all things permacultury with but I've been a bit shocked the last week to find frost on my car windscreen and the back lawn.

    This is causing a bit of a rethink to the candidate planting list.

    I keep on reading disquieting things such as guava are likely to keel over if they experience a few degrees of frost.

    So what do I do about this? Should I try to do some temp measurements to see what the micro-climate is like in our backyard? Could our putative guava put up with a few weeks a year when it gets below 0 deg C at night? Do those frost cover things work? I visited Steve La Vallee's Ark down in Warragul over the weekend (great place, by the way, very interesting array of edible trees/shrubs) where we ate a few guava. I can't believe Warragul is any warmer than Camberwell but he did have his bushes on a slope so maybe the frosty air just slips on down past these bushes.

    It's a bit more difficult than St Kilda where we had an avocado fruiting prolifically - and feeding a lot of possums - but I guess that at least we will be able to get cherries in fruit :)

    Cheers

    David
     
  2. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    Are the guavas you're referring to the small cherry or strawberry guava or the bigger ones grown in more tropical climates?

    My mum grows cherry guavas in Boronia and they do really well. I don't know if she has a problem with frost. I'll find out and get back to you.

    Camberwell's a beautiful area. With a big back yard, you must be stoked!

    Tam
     
  3. david

    david Junior Member

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    We bought a yellow guava and a cherry guava from Steve. I think that the fruit on these are smaller than varieties grown in the tropics.

    If your mum is growing yellow guava in Boronia I would have thought that we would be OK in Camberwell.

    Thanks for the reply

    David
     
  4. Franceyne

    Franceyne Junior Member

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    Hey there David,

    I can grow Strawberry Guava west of Castlemaine where frost is a very regular event.

    Protect the plants when they are babes and I think you will be fine - they will set fruit.
     
  5. Tamandco

    Tamandco Junior Member

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    David,

    My mum grows both yellow and cherry guavas. She's even growing them from seeds under a plate of glass. They're quite hardy. They actually grow wild in her native Mauritius.

    She has a lovely recipe for guava jelly. If you're interested, I can ask her for it.

    Tam
     

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