Winter

Last year we were living near the coast so ended up with a pretty warped view of what winter was like here. Now that we've moved about 10km inland, things are different (much colder). For the record, here is what our winter has been like:
June - a wee bit cold in the mornings but still in the double digits. 10 was probably the coldest it ever got to. I kept all my trees outside at this time and they weren't suffering too much.
July/August - Things got real cold, with mornings frequently dipping into single digits. The coldest was 6 degrees, which happened about twice, 7 degrees which was not uncommon, with 10 probably being the average (there were some warm mornings around 12-14 degrees). There has been next to no rain in these two months. Also, the Westerly winds have been very strong during late July and August. We had a couple of freak days in the 30's, but otherwise maximum temperatures ranged from 20-26.

I planted broad beans around April/May, and while they have grown and flowered, they have produced no beans, despite being pollinated. I've put this down to the max temperatures being too warm. I've given them potash, so that shouldn't be lacking.
Daikon has grown well in wine barrels, and kohlrabi seems to be doing well. Chinese celery, after a slow start, has grown reasonably well. Wild tomatoes have been growing and fruiting all through winter, though I haven't sown any so not sure how they would go.

I planted out some bananas mid-August (based on my warped sense of when the weather would warm up). They are surviving, but not ecstatic. Brazilian spinach was also planted out in winter (in June) and has been suffering a bit - the one I have in a pot that spends days outside and nights in the shed is doing much better.

The polytunnel has been home to seedlings. Planted in early August, the following have germinated and are doing well:
- snake beans
- sunflower
- okra
- bitter melon
- luffa
- corn

So far the following has failed to germinate. Not sure if due to the weather or due to poor seed:
- zucchini
- watermelon
- melon

Also I'm growing a cucumber in a wine barrel in the poly-tunnel, and it is producing. Basil also is growing, albeit a bit slowly.

Note there is a mouse problem - it has been digging up my seeds so now I have to put them away in polystyrene containers at night to protect them. They seem particularly partial to melon, corn, beans and zucchini.