The first koel of summer has called, the first mosquito has bitten and the first dust storm has sprinkled Brisbane red ochre. While I’m out there watering, counting every drop as it falls onto the crisped ground, thunderstorm clouds are full of promise yet lacking in rain. It’s the first day of ‘crematoria’, south east Queensland’s flexible fifth season, that bridges that rigid, neat European concept of four distinct seasons of equal length.

Last year ‘crematoria’ started in late October after a long dry spell. At least this year we’ve had one good fall in our winter dry season, not long after I planted a ‘Preston’s Prolific’ fig. And we’ve had some tokenistic early spring showers.

Now the gauntlet is down. It’s time to complete compost spreading and mulching, time to finish lifting winter root crops, like my potatoes and daikon. The potatoes are pathetic. Again. The daikon are good.

I’ve been away, speaking at Armadale’s ‘Sustainable Living Expo’, visiting Bundaberg Special School’s veggie garden, lecturing at a Hervey Bay ‘Transition Town’ event, and discussing low carbon gardening at the Landcare Conference in Monto. On my return, my fig had opened its buds. It’ll need regular watering as I removed some significant girdled roots during planting.

The mangelwurzels and kohl rabi ‘Purple Vienna’ are at their prime, so I’ll feed and water them regularly like my citrus, banana and other rapidly growing fruit trees.

To save some water for the street trees, which haven’t been bucket watered for many weeks, I’ll cease watering my winter crops selected for seed saving. I’ve already saved some huauzontle seed. The Ethiopian cabbage called ‘Old Women Meet and Gossip’ are heavy with seed and bowed low by killer winds while my ‘First Fleet’ lettuce are pointing tight flower buds at the sky. The Moroccan mint and dill are really lush.

The lawn is green and growing, and it’s had it’s quarterly feed with poultry manure, applied just before a storm approaches to ensure it gets watered in…

Jerry Coleby-Williams
26th September 2008