The Australian summer is upon us. While I am from the Northern Hemisphere and the 1^st of December is approached with dread (first day of winter), the 1^st of December here in Sydney came crashing through at 32 degrees and a humidity that three years on I still struggle to cope with. It’s not the heat the so much as the stillness of the air, especially down in the city where the noise and the business seem to increase that humidity, even if only in my mind.

As wonderful as the Australian summer is, and I love it, the one thing that always amazes me is how the trees and plants here cope and survive and new growth is born as bush fires, increased through hot winds, sweep through vast parts of the landscape, destroying whatever is in its path.

These hot winds are something to watch for in our back yards. Through my experience I have often failed to notice them when they are blowing through, the realization comes later when it is too late. Hot winds can suck the life out of a plant within a day. Tomato plants, which need a fair amount of water, can wilt and never recover. Leaves that provide shade to plants fruit will shrivel up and expose the fruit to heat exhaustion and cause it to rot.

So while the labels on those tomato plants may say “plant in full sun”, what they fail to tell you is how to protect them from her rays.

I live on the Central Coast, a beautiful part of the world. I am very fortunate to live on about 600 square meters and have a garden that backs onto a reserve; however, up until last year the dam was down at 16% and we were on level 4 water restrictions. This means no watering the garden with a hose from the main water supply, that’s OK, I simply connected up the washing machine to a long hose and because we use an eco-friendly washing powder I simply allowed the water from the machine to water my potatoes. I also recycled the bath water. My son and I have a ritual when I get in from work, we pick up the watering cans and a bucket and we scoop out the water from the bath and water the veggies, well I do, he waters his trucks and the chickens.

The reason for this preamble is to tell you about other ways to save the water that you put onto your garden to help protect your produce on those very hot days, and before the storm comes.

Mulch for me is about as exciting as blood and bone. Anything that helps your garden and protects your veggies is a good thing. The reason why mulch is used is because it controls the temperature of your soil and suppresses the germination of weeds and other unwanted seedlings. Mulches come in all sorts of varieties and tastes. There are 2 main types: Organic and Inorganic. Organic mulches break down and release nutrients into the soil, these might include Lucerne hay, leaf litter, straw and pine bark. Inorganic mulches do not break down, but include pebbles, rocks and boulders, which look good to the eye, but also help, keep moist in the soil. The only word of warning I would use in regards to using inorganic mulches is that plants need constant feeding with nutrients, it is a hassle to keep moving all the rocks and pebbles to feed your plants.

Before mulching remove any weeds, grass and dead bits of plant. We do not want anything to take away precious nutrients from our produce. When mulching, do so to at least five to seven centimeters. If you use baled pea straw (one of the best mulches you can use), break it up and spread it across your bed. This mulch does not absorb moisture so all water will stay in the soil.

When mulching vegetable beds there are a couple of rules. Never mulch onions as the bulbs need to swell and ripen in the sun. Avoid using pine bark or wood chip. You will constantly need to dig into the garden and these should not be dug into the soil. The reason for this is that the chips will draw nitrogen away from the soil, disadvantaging your plants. When using any mulch avoid allowing the mulch to touch the base or trunk of your plants and fruit trees. Failure to do so may result in collar rot where the trunk of the plant or tree will become diseased and eventually die without bearing any fruit.

In conclusion, if you haven’t mulched your beds, it is always the right time to do so. Mulch even works well in winter in helping keep the warmth in your soil. However, the golden rule when selecting mulch is what it can do for your plants now, and how it can help protect your soil in the long term.

Wishing you a very happy summer!!