"September dust storm"
Dear Thistlebrook customers and subscribers,
Winter and spring of 2009 will go down in my memory as two of the worst seasons for growing plants I’ve yet experienced. Since June we’ve had severe frost, record August heat, well below average rain, regular, blustery north westerly winds, and three dust storms. The plants are hanging in there thanks to lots of hand watering, but many are starting to look like they don’t know whether they’re coming or going. Summer is still more than a month and half away. Water is scarce.
With the weather firmly in the front of our minds, and climate change in the back, we’ve made a couple of unfortunate decisions. One is that the workshops we’ve been planning are now on hold for the foreseeable future. We appreciate that lots of people have expressed an interest in attending a practical gardening course like those we’re proposing, but if we’re to be really honest, we have to admit that our garden isn’t yet ready for regular visitors. Hopefully the weather improves and we can make some better progress. Until then though, workshops are some way off.
The second decision is that we won’t be selling any evergreen fruit trees this year. We’ve had quite a few requests for citrus, olives etc, and were hoping to have some available over the summer months, but a lack of available water has constrained those plans for this year at least.
On the positive side, planning is well underway for our 2010 bare root season. We’ve been busy grafting over winter and will have an expanded range of heritage apples available (15+ varieties including eaters, cookers, and low chill) plus some plants not listed in this year’s catalogue such as berries and nut trees. We’ll be taking orders from March 2010, so keep an eye out.
Finally, as a result of the uncertain weather I’ve decided to dedicate much more time to writing and speaking. Besides seeing us through a dry spell, this decision means I’ll have come full circle. It’s been almost a decade since I had my first gardening article published in Burke’s Backyard Magazine, and three years since I started writing my weekly column for The Chronicle, and quarterly articles for Highlife. I started out as a full time garden writer. A few twists and turns later, and I’m getting seriously stuck back into my main gig. Happy days. The upshot for you is that I’ll have more time for some new regular features on the Thistlebrook website alongside my regular updates. Keep your ear to the ground!
To our growing customer and subscriber base (55 subscribers since March and more every week), we sincerely thank you for your interest and support. Feel free to get in touch if you have any queries, tips, or ideas – feedback is always most welcome.
Happy gardening,
Justin
