December

Given we live in the subtropics rather than Europe, you might consider which crops you plant to minimise the need for fungicides and reduced workload.

Try:

New Guinea bean instead of  zucchini

Longevity spinach rather than English spinach

Snake Bean rather than Blue Lake

Poor man's bean rather than bush bean

Cherry tomato rather than Grosse lisse

Is it a straight swap - probably not! But it's about being agile and adapting to our changing climate.

After a prolonged dry, soil can repel water - called hydrophobic in the trade.

Soil wetters have often been discussed, and invariably, someone asks, can I use dishwashing detergent? The short answer I'd give is - NO!

Eco hydrate has been reviewed as an organic product that's safe to use. When used as directed, it will help soils absorb moisture, rather than repel. With other good practices like mulching, and regular watering, soil life will resume the job of building soil for plant health.

Compost tea and weed tea are two home-made organic solutions to overcome hydrophobic soils.

Adequate mulch will be key to regulating soil temperatures and moisture levels over the coming months.

Whether you choose lucerne, sugarcane or Emmo's Hay doesn't really matter. What you're aiming to do is add 50 - 75mm of mulch around established plants. By using something like Emmo's hay, you know that soil life will break it down, and it will therefore be feeding your soil.

You'll water less, weed less and keep your soil life pumping. The result will be a productive edible patch despite the weather.

If you're planning on using lawn clippings, throw some old leaves onto your lawn before you mow, to ensure a much more open product that won't mat down as much when used around your edible beds.

With generally consistent overnight temps, germinating seeds should be relatively easy at the moment.

The challenge could be at the transplant stage. New seedlings will need to be hardened off before exposing the plants to near 30 degree days.

Seeds are best direct sown. The challenge then is to provide sufficient water to keep them thriving without them damping off. All the harder if you have a busy schedule that doesn't allow you to tend to them daily, or twice daily. Almost impossible with seeds like lettuce that need light to germinate. Deeper planted seeds will be just that bit easier.

Seedlings too, will need care. But they're usually much bigger, and can cope much better with high temperatures.

Whichever way you choose, water your new plants in with a liquid seeweed solution to assist with transplant shock. 

Seaweed helps plants in times of stress such as hot summer days. Healthy and well-prepared soil also goes a long way to making your plants more drought tolerant.

Powerfeed contains higher levels of Potassium which strengthens plants - it thickens their cell walls. That makes them more resilient and able to defend against disease. Potassium helps flowers and fruit to form

I use a Powerfeed as a liquid fertiliser, sprayed with a hose-on applicator. No matter what the weather is doing, it will be absorbed by the plant leaves. A great strategy during dry spells.