For the January edition of the Adelaide Hills Farmcast, we structured our usual almanac of farming activities into five topics that become increasingly important over summer.
They are:
- Water security
- Bushfire risk
- Summer weed spraying
- Home garden and house paddock
- Getting someone to watch your property
Here are the notes we used for recording our discussion.
Water Security For Summer
- If you’re planning to go away over the summer, please ensure you have someone available to check your stock water every day or every second day.
- Some problems can be assessed from a distance, but not all.
- There are a number of remote water level sensors on the market and if this is the direction you want to go down please do your research. Some are better than others. We have been very impressed by the Water Rat sold by Farmco.
- Clean out troughs regularly and slip in some Copper Sulphate tablets.
Bushfire Risk
- Have you done what you can? If a bushfire goes through your property can you honestly say that there was nothing more that you could have done?
- Spraying/slashing fencelines.
- Farm fire fighting units are invaluable. The CFS has a Farm Fire Units Handbook on their website and we would encourage every landowner to read it – even if you haven’t got or don’t intend to have a farm fire unit.
- We would encourage you to install both the Alert SA app and CFS app on your smartphone.
- And only drive diesel vehicles around paddocks during the fire season. According to the CFS website – vehicle and engine exhausts cause about 25 fires each year in rural South Australia.
Summer Weed Spraying
- If you’ve cut your grass for hay, now is the ideal time to spray glyphosate to clear up the residual weeds. Basically, keeping the paddocks brown to conserve moisture for the following planting season.
- Continue to spray your box thorns, blackberries and gorse.
- Paddy melons can be sprayed or spray-grazed.
- Soil Testing.
Home Garden And House Paddock
- Mulch your garden beds and fruiting trees – careful to leave an area at the base of the trunk to prevent rot.
- Always water plants at the base and consider where the water is running off. Creating a small dam to prevent water wastage is a great idea.
- Clear debris, limbs, old wood – anything flammable from around buildings. Not only does this reduce the likelihood of burning your dwellings, but it also reduces the spots where snakes can hide.
- Rooftop sprinkler systems are invaluable.
- Mosquitoes – we are about to put a small fountain in our lagoon to reticulate water, which should prevent or at least reduce the number of mosquito larvae sitting on the surface.
Going Away? Let Your Neighbours Know
- As we mentioned above, if you’re planning to go away over the summer, please ensure you have someone available to check your stock water.
- Also, having someone monitor for any unusual activity is crucial. We hear far too many stories, including a friend of ours recently, who have had their animals stolen and their house and sheds ransacked.
- Consider putting locks on external gateways.