The difficult part of being a Sydney gardener is dealing with sudden changes in temperature. We'll have spring weather with maximum temperatures in the low to mid-20s, then one day the maximum will suddenly leap to 30, at which point I consider summer to have begun.
That day was today. Yesterday it was about 25˚C, but it reached 29.2˚C here today and the relative humidity is presently 14% (it's 4pm). Some plants just won't cope with the shock, particularly newly-planted seedlings. I gave my latest plantings a couple of litres each this morning, and will be repeating the process shortly. They won't receive a proper watering until Sunday, owing to our water restrictions. Tomorrow the forecast is for 22˚C, then back up to 25-plus for the rest of the week. No rain is expected.
Like other Sydney gardeners I've talked to, I believe that vegetable patches should be allowed a little more water. Vegetable gardens are not so widespread that there would be a sudden enormous rise in water use, but they do need frequent watering to produce well. Three mornings a week would be better than twice on Wednesday and twice on Sunday. But I can cope -- there are many parts of Australia with much tighter restrictions than Sydney's!
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