Question [POLL] New year, new content

[Lunai]

I have whipped up an idea of what I think a seasonal gardening guide could look like. I would love some tips, pointers, anything.
Yes, this page will be dedicated to Australia as we are our own climate. We have summers during Christmas and it's winter in July. I do hope to later on add different areas, like "Europe" or something liek that. Or do people suggest listing it as Nothern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere?

Fruit & Vegetables - [TESTING - Visible to public]

Seasonal guide Australia Tropical 🟩 Sub-Tropical🟥 Arid🟨 Temperate🟪 Cold🟦 [Insert seasonal details] Months ➡️ Plants ⬇️ January☀️ February☀️ March🍂 April🍂 May🍂 June❄️ July❄️ August❄️ September🌻 October🌻 November🌻 December☀️ [Insert...

www.selfsufficientculture.com

The easiest way to differentiate would be northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere 🤔

 

[Lowe]

More of a list of species that can be grown, something a little like this is a good example https://tuckerbush.com.au/plants/fruiting-plants/ though this is only Australian plants. If on top of that they had a rating for how easy they are to grow and productive. Then when clicked on you could access comments about them to see peoples experiences. The aim would be to let people discover what they could grow and learn with others about it. Self sufficiency's greatest limitation is the species we know about and have access to. Obviously almost everyone knows about something like tomatoes but something like a cape gooseberry is relatively unknown yet easier to grow and in many cases more productive. If cape gooseberries had a 5 star rating for productivity and easy of growing and people could at a glance see that information and along with other species it would go a long way to improving the food security of those wishing to grow their own.

I'm on the Gold Coast and growing Cape Gooseberries. Terrible problem with a ladybug type bug. Yellow longer body than a ladybird and black stripes. Totally strips the leaves off. Have covered them all now but it's difficult to get them going. Any ideas?

 

[SamfromWA]

I'm on the Gold Coast and growing Cape Gooseberries. Terrible problem with a ladybug type bug. Yellow longer body than a ladybird and black stripes. Totally strips the leaves off. Have covered them all now but it's difficult to get them going. Any ideas?

Hard to say as i haven't experienced the same issue but generally speaking the healthier the plant the greater its resistance to pests and diseases. I had bugs wiping out my potatoes for a long time until i improved the soil fertility, health and organic matter with straw and manure, its also important that at least the topsoil's well draining. Worse case scenario i'd put up a small temporary fence and put a chook in there for a while. There's also natural variation within types of plants, here some of my tomatoes had bugs attacking them this year and some didn't, i just least the weak ones die out.

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I'm letting the votes continue until the end of January, and start working more deeply on the highest working topics February. I do have many ideas brewing already

 

[Urs]

Maybe an edible species list that can be continuously added to, with a photo to help people identify new foods and what they look like. To go a step further maybe a rating system that people can vote on how difficult it was to grow and possibly a rating for productivity along with a place for comments for further information.

I'd be interested to know more about edible weeds. Goodness knows we've got plenty!

 

[Lunai]

I'd be interested to know more about edible weeds. Goodness knows we've got plenty!

A Beginners Guide to Edible Weeds

have a look there 😁

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

What @Lunai said, @Urs .
And I also recommend;

Aussie Bush Tucker - An Introduction to Common Native Foods of Australia

A how-to for identifying and using common Australian bush foods.

www.selfsufficientculture.com

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Alright, working on it

 

[JP 1983]

I'd be interested to know more about edible weeds. Goodness knows we've got plenty!

Single best source I've found outside my books (Tim Low, Wild Herbs of Australia & New Zealand) is Green Deane for sure, although USA themed (many of his common weeds also found here in Oz). You can find his archive here [LINK]

I will be adding more plants to my own archives as the months tick on. Working on pigweed at the moment, and then on to edible native heaths.