climate – Jerry Coleby-Williams: Recent Episodes
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Once established, dry rainforest species survive longer, hotter, drier spells and erratic rainfall better than wet rainforest.
For Brisbane to skip one winter is forgivable, but to skip two winters in a row seems somewhat careless. May was the hottest month on Earth since records began. June 2014 is the 352nd consecutive month of above average global temperatures. That means anyone born after 1985 will have no idea what a normal climate... Read More
May 2014 was the 351st consecutive month of above average global temperatures. Or put another way, any gardener under 30 years old will never have experienced normal growing conditions. This month’s weather has been surprisingly sunny, dry and so warm my ‘Java Blue’ and ‘Pisang Ceylan’ bananas and Sugar palm – tropical plants – are... Read More
I was asked by a client to prepare a list of ornamental productive plants that can be grown outdoors in subtropical Brisbane. I grow 150 – 200 kinds of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices in my 300 square metre garden. This list covers my favourite 100. After seed? See this. It’s a long read, written... Read More
To me, freedom is access to water – clean rainwater, harvested from my roof, and recycled water generated by my sewage system which I use to grow organic food. After reading ‘Freedom 2014’ (BBC News on line’s article, 31.3.14) I thought about what actually makes me feel and live in freedom. Free speech, freedom to... Read More
The most widespread recorded drought in Queensland’s history has meant most of my gardening effort continues to be spent on watering and soil improvement. At least I’m able to keep fruit trees productive and perennials alive. Beds which would normally be filled with seasonal annuals can remain dug, mulched and bare until useful rain arrives. But... Read More
Brisbane‘s subtropical winter comes to a happy, floriferous end in mid-August. Today there’s around a hundred different plants flowering, two weeks before Australia’s official first day of spring. Perhaps it’s Global Warming, or perhaps it’s just been a milder than usual winter, but several tropical plants have survived, not died, and some have flowered right... Read More
Rising sea levels have major implications for coastal gardens. Yesterday’s king tide gave us the perfect opportunity to see what will be commonplace by 2050. One corner of the world that is experiencing greater than average sea level rises is north eastern Australia. Even if all greenhouse gas emissions ceased immediately, oceans respond more slowly.... Read More
In a recent guide, ‘Waterwise Queensland: Gardening with greywater’*, published on 26th April 2008, Queensland minister for Natural Resources and Water, the Honourable Craig Wallace hopes to popularise grey water in home gardens. During the ongoing drought in SE Qld, home gardeners have grabbed their buckets and answered government calls to reduce their mains water... Read More
Level Five watering restrictions came into force in Brisbane this week. On average, each person in Brisbane uses about 198 litres of water per day. Brisbane City Council wants to reduce this to approximately 140 litres of water per day. This target will be hard to achieve as we are entering our long, dry season... Read More