Autumn at Markdale

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Autumn at Markdale

In the Garden

Berries on a tree in autumn Autumn is of course more about the changing colours of the trees as much as anything: golden ash, poplars, celtis australis, and the catalpa. Hawthorn berries are appearing; and the cotoneasters add colour.

On the Property

Due to its altitude, Markdale has more pronounced seasons than much of the south east coast of Australia. Amongst which is Autumn - running from March to May with temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees celsius.

Frosts start becoming common in late March and it is advisable to bring warm clothes. Out in the paddocks the grass gradually stops growing with the heavier frosts.

Front garden in the autumn It is this time of the year that we periodically add fertiliser to the paddocks carrying the Angus cattle and Merino fine wool sheep on the property - 'supering'. Markdale is hilly and quite rocky in places and so with its long hot summers carries far less stock per acre than more moderate climates, compensating with a larger acreage.

Nitrogen is therefore added by cheaper indirect methods using airborne superphosphate spreading, a challenging job for the pilots who do it given the hilly terrain.

'Supering' increases the soil's phosphate content required for growing nourishing clovers with their superior ability to fix nitrogen from the air in their root nodules. The additional nitrogen fixed by the clovers then in turn helps the rest of the local plants.

Crutching is carried out in May (shearing of the sheep around their hindquarters to prevent them becoming 'fly-blown', an enterprising habit of Australian flies involving their laying eggs in the sheep's wool, which then grow into maggots which feed on their host). They are also 'wigged', which involves shearing around the eyes to stop them becoming wool blind.