After the storms that hit Brisbane yesterday you might expect that I could give watering a rest for a while.
Not true.
We’ve just had the driest three months since I’ve been here.
Yes that’s right, drier than the drought.
And soil that dry soaks up a lot of water. We had 63mm and not a drop left the garden.
See how dry the soil is after two thirds of November’s average rainfall fell in one go.
Jerry Coleby-Williams 
Here in Townsville 63mm, or even 6.3 would be nice. The forecasters keep telling us we’ll have rain, and sure enough a lovely band of storm was heading towards the coast. I even left the washing out to tempt a good downpour but it was barely damp this morning.
Hopefully your rainwater tanks got topped up a bit so you can give some more to that dry dusty soil.
I’m sorry to hear that. But Townsville is a testing place to garden, and you’ll definitely catch up soon. The weather is very unsettled. Three cheers for useful rain!
thanks for sharing this video, its amazing its that dry after those storms we had!
Dear Teena,
We’ve had a very long dry period, evaporation has been extreme, so I guess it’s to be expected. On the ‘up’ side no water formed runoff – thanks to water sensitive landscaping.
Jerry
We had so much hail and subsequent flooding yesterday that some of my soil is actually soggy. And many of my poor plants were stripped of their leaves, or many were crushed and broken. My potted fruit trees survived, though many lost their spring flowers and some of their soil. What would you/anyone suggest I treat them with, to help them come back to a strong and productive life? Seaweed? Fish emulsion? Thanks for any ideas!
Dear Kory,
You have my sympathy.
I’ve been in your situation a few times and find that much recovers and seaweed and/ or fish emulsion are helpful. But don’t over compensate, a little is better than lots.
Clear up debris, especially around soft-leaved crops like silverbeet. Debris and bruised foliage may rot back, affecting whole plants.
Jerry