Gardening in the Roaring Forties

[Cornelian]

Tasmania is the only landmass that lies entirely within the Roaring Forties, the huge trade winds that blow between 40 -50 degrees southern latitudes - they're so strong because there are very few landmasses in the southern hemisphere to slow 'em down.

I didn't think about that when buying down here. LOL (And I now also understand why the west coast of Tasmania has so few people living there!!!)

Well, after 2 years I've grown to cope with them, but last night and early this morning ... oh dear ... they are always stronger at the turn of the seasons, typically spring and autumn, and over the past 24 hours we've been hit hard. Constant heavy winds, gusts of 90 miles an hour every 2 or 3 minutes. I spent late yesterday afternoon out strengthening the ties on some of my young staked trees, but from early morning inspection of the garden by torchlight today I have lost several large shrubs (7 foot high salvias etc) that have just blown away entirely. My cabbage seedlings are looking a tad battered. LOL

My life has become one of carefully thought out wind breaks, and I now understand the placement of some of the older mature trees in this garden ... gardeners of an earlier age have been very thoughtful. If it wasn't for a gigantic liquid amber which has been constantly pollarded over the past 80 years so that it is relatively low and thick, I don't think I would have a garden left at all. (Oh, and the house, too - it has been positioned on the block so that it shields a large section of it. I also have about 8 trees that are literally tied to the house to keep them in the ground.)

Last night when I was outside I looked up and saw a plastic rubbish bin sailing through the sky at least 100 feet up.

Not sure if this is in the right section or not - apologies if it isn't.

The Roaring Forties are just one of life's little woes for gardeners in Tasmania!

[red]

does that hawthorn hedge seem any better now? or is it useless as a windbreak?

[Cornelian]

The hawthorn hedge protects my neighbours, but not me. It is at the very back of my property so it is others who benefit from it, not me. It would originally have been planted as a windbreak for cattle and sheep who once grazed on the land behind me. I do have a pittosporum hedge about my front and side that does a pretty good job for the front garden, though.

[Wombat]

Wow!

That rubbish bin must have looked pretty impressive! At least you could look into getting a wind generator, and power most of Tassie!

Nev

[Cornelian]

Trust me when I say I have thought about wind power Nev! I am sure sure local council wouldn't allow it, though.

[Millymollymandy]

There had to be a downside to your perfect climate! I don't think I would cope with your winds, I really hate wind yet we don't get it very bad where I am. Still I guess you don't have to worry about windchill factors of minus lord knows what!

[ina]

We do get pretty bad winds here, too - but what you are talking about sounds a bit worse. Every year several huge trees come down in the area, and roads are blocked for a short while. Generally there's no major damage, though.

That rubbish bin - that's what I call an IFO (identified flying object) ! Friend of mine in the north of England, whose farm is on top of a hill, once had the entire roof of his cattle shed take off in a high wind.

[Jack]

Gidday

Do you get high rainfall like our West Coast with these winds?

As we are smack bang in the middle of the roarinf 40's, like 45 south we also get them. And as we are on the leeward side of a range of mountains we often get them as a foehn wind which can be really hot and as dry as a dead dogs doodle.

[ina]

as dry as a dead dogs doodle.

That's a new one to me! Oh, isn't language wonderful...

[Cornelian]

Jack, our west coast gets the high rainfall, but most of central Tasmania is mountains, and the rain often doesn't get over them to the east coast which is very dry. Hobart, where I am (east coast), is also in the shadow of Mount Wellington which sits smack bang on our westerly side, so that can keep the rain away from us too. I get, in a normal year, about 800 mm which is around-about 30 inches which is pretty good, although last year was about half that, which was pretty bad. LOL

We can also get the tremendously hot and dry winds that blow down over Australia, cross Bass Strait and hit Tasmania. Last spring we had several days of +40 C temps plus the roaring hot winds which murdered much of the garden.

But most of the time it is lovely. :) Which reminds me, I must plant out some more carrots today, and prune and compost the shrubs which have been damaged by the gales.

And as for the dead dog's doodle in the last batch of pea straw I got I opened one bale to find ... the skeleton of a medium sized and very very dead (and dry ) dog.

[Jack]

Gidday

And that would have been very dry Eh!

[Millymollymandy]

How awful! I thought it was bad enough finding the odd bone from a mouse or rat!

[Cornelian]

the worst bit was trying to pick out all the little bones from the garden after I'd opened the bale with great gusto and scattered skeleton everywhere. *shudder*

[Magpie]

Hadn't heard the term "foehn wind" before, Jack, so had to Google it. We do get lots of Northerlies here, but they aren't hot'n'dry very often. Our land has a valley down the centre, which funnels the Northerlies and strengthens them, but we are reasonably sheltered from the southerlies.

Blasting us away here at the moment...

[ina]

How awful! I thought it was bad enough finding the odd bone from a mouse or rat!

I have before now found an entire, nicely flattened and very dry rat...