Dead Horse Creek Farm
Home Fire! Rainfall Environment Beef Walnuts

 

Autumn 2009

 After the terrifying experience of the fires of Summer, we have had some modest autumn rainfall. This has been enough to germinate grass seeds in the paddocks with enough follow up rain to ensure it survives but with enough warmth so far to stimulate pasture and plant growth. 

After the February fires, many of the grafted walnut trees showed significant new growth, something you do not expect to see in later summer. Some of the ungrafted walnut rootstocks (J. regia) are going autumnal (early May) but the smoke from the fires seems to have convinced the grafted trees that it is still spring. 

The photo above was taken during some recent showers, looking west from the farm house.


About DeadHorseCreek

DeadHorseCreek is situated in a picturesque valley in the southern foothills of Victoria's eastern ranges. We have enough rainfall (about a metre a year in non-drought years) to remain green all through summer and, with 2 permanent creeks, we manage to escape the Australian archetype of the "Wide Brown Land" during summer. 

We are surrounded by bush* on two sides and farms on the other two (see Farm Photos).

With the bush to the south and east, we are protected from the worst of the bushfire season with the prevailing wind pattern in summer coming from the north and west, especially on hot days.   


Previous seasonal headers:

Fires, February '09

Summer '09

Spring '08

Winter '08

Autumn '08

Spring '07

April '07

 

 

 

 

 

 * Australian for "forest", for the benefit of any international readers