Sowing

[SO'keeffe]

Hi Mr Mark. I hope you and your family are well.
I created an account because I'm super discouraged and hope you may be able to help please? Last and this year, I haven't been able to get normal sized heads of Broc, cauli, firm lettuce and cabbage heads. My carrots don't grow big either. I was most looking forward to growing potatoes this season but when I went to Bunnings about two months ago and asked for the seed potatoes, the man chuckled like I was dumb and said that it's not until at least spring before it's time to plant and same with garlic. I was sure it was the right timing but thought I obviously messed it up. I went today to ask for upcoming spring but this man said that the season is finished and that garlic season is long gone. I'm really frustrated because now I've completely missed this year's potatoes. I'm really discouraged with gardening. I love doing it but now I'm overwhelmed and don't know or trust what to plant and when. I was so looking forward to growing potatoes and garlic. My corn, zucchini, peas and tomatoes do amazing but I want to do more. Do you have anywhere that you post when you plant your main crops? (I'm near Ipswich - sub tropical aswell). Do you have a month by month planting guide that you find most accurate?

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Welcome to the forum @SO'keeffe !
Sorry to hear about your struggles. Hopefully we can help you along a bit

How odd that the man chuckled at you when you asked for seed potatoes! They have been selling them here for weeks now, both at bunnings and at local nurseries. Garlic is the same story, as I bought that about 1,5 month ago and it's doing really well.
My lettuce has been a bit sad as the weather wasn't right, but right now it's absolutely thriving (given I remember to water it).

Our Bunnings actually has a little slip that's free for takings near where they sell seeds. That way you can find what to sow and when. It's helped me out tons!
Many things do still grow out of season, but they might just not thrive the way they would if they are planted at the right time. I'm hoping to make a little list of what to grow and when at some point, as there are many who struggle with this.

Right now I recommend looking forward to plants that thrive in spring and summer. I would type a lot out for you, but I feel like this page [click here] can explain a lot. If you have more questions, you can of course ask them and I'll be happy to help you along more!
It's easy to feel a little overwhelmed. Try to take a step back and figure out why you are gardening. Do you garden for stress relief? Or perhaps because you wish for a little more self sufficiency. There are many options, and if you know what you might be after, that could help you tons.
For example, I garden for "fun". It makes me happy to successfully grow something, but even if I fail it makes me happy because I learned something that I didn't know before. I love to experiment, even if that lowers the chances of success at times. This way I have learnt many things and many of my plants flourish nowadays because I learnt what not to do... again.

Did you know this video came out almost exactly a year ago? I'm only a day off... Maybe you can get some inspiration

 

[KathrynJN]

Hi

I have a Yates Garden Guide from 1992 that I tend to refer to, and I'm including their planting guide. Hope it helps. I don't know how accurate it is now with the changes in the weather, but at least it will give you some ideas. Garlic is not included, but www.greenharvest.com.au (they are in Maleny) says to plant in March/early April, which is when I planted mine.

This is my third year with the same veggie garden, all my previous ones have only been for a year (we moved a lot). I have struggled last year and this year, and it finally dawned on me that I haven't been adding any fertilizer/nutrients, so obviously there wasn't any food for the plants. I'm now correcting this and things are getting better.

Keep persisting, you'll get there. You only fail when you give up.

 

[SO'keeffe]

Welcome to the forum @SO'keeffe !
Sorry to hear about your struggles. Hopefully we can help you along a bit

How odd that the man chuckled at you when you asked for seed potatoes! They have been selling them here for weeks now, both at bunnings and at local nurseries. Garlic is the same story, as I bought that about 1,5 month ago and it's doing really well.
My lettuce has been a bit sad as the weather wasn't right, but right now it's absolutely thriving (given I remember to water it).

Our Bunnings actually has a little slip that's free for takings near where they sell seeds. That way you can find what to sow and when. It's helped me out tons!
Many things do still grow out of season, but they might just not thrive the way they would if they are planted at the right time. I'm hoping to make a little list of what to grow and when at some point, as there are many who struggle with this.

Right now I recommend looking forward to plants that thrive in spring and summer. I would type a lot out for you, but I feel like this page [click here] can explain a lot. If you have more questions, you can of course ask them and I'll be happy to help you along more!
It's easy to feel a little overwhelmed. Try to take a step back and figure out why you are gardening. Do you garden for stress relief? Or perhaps because you wish for a little more self sufficiency. There are many options, and if you know what you might be after, that could help you tons.
For example, I garden for "fun". It makes me happy to successfully grow something, but even if I fail it makes me happy because I learned something that I didn't know before. I love to experiment, even if that lowers the chances of success at times. This way I have learnt many things and many of my plants flourish nowadays because I learnt what not to do... again.

Did you know this video came out almost exactly a year ago? I'm only a day off... Maybe you can get some inspiration

Hi Mandy . Thank you very much for your comment and encouragement. I read it when I woke up through the night and it encouraged me to check Bunnings again. I found another Bunnings that say they have them in stock, so I'm super excited to get some. I don't mind if they don't have the time to get big.

Ok, I'll keep an eye on my lettuce to see if they get better. They're doing well but just not forming proper heads (cos lettuce). A couple of the Rosa lettuce have bolted which letting it so there can be volunteer ones.

Thank you. I'll make sure I look out for any slip the next time I go.

I definitely garden for self sufficiency but when I am doing abit better health wise, it does relieve stress.
I'm glad that you do it for fun. That's a great way to view things when they don't go the way you want.

I specifically want to grow capsicums and eggplants which didn't work last yr but I'm about to start them in my mini green house.

Yes, I've watched that video a number of times thank you. It really helped me to know what to plant as winter was coming on. I love the videos.

Thank you. I will make a plan and try to view this spring and summer as an experiment to see what I can/can't grow here. Thank you again.

Hi Kathryn. Thank you for the pictures.

Yes, my garden was similar. When I first moved here the school was dead. I had to add heaps of compost and alittle fertilizer. At the moment, financially I can't add any more for now but it as much better and the soil is alive again. I'm glad yours is getting better too.

I'll try to remember that quote "you only fail when you give up"

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Don't be afraid to make mistakes @SO'keeffe . Everyone makes them (we all have seen Mark make them plenty of times, and he's been doing it for a while).

Being in a sub-tropical climate can mean that you have to look for what species of lettuce you buy, as some are more prone to bolting than others. I personally have a loose leaf lettuce growing, i tried finding the seed packet, but it seems that I lost it. Oops.
Most of my lettuce still botls even if it's supposedly year-round in summer, so don't be too surprised if that happens. There are probably species out there that do better than what I've tried so far. In saying that, perhaps location may be in effect too; my lettuce is in full-light all day, so it might simply be too hot and if I only gave it early morning or late evening sun it might make it through summer too. It's a learning process, but once you figure the steps out, it'll be easier in the future.
Isn't there a saying that the first steps are the hardest?

Gardening for self-sufficiency is great! And you can always re-use plants that didn't do great (because they bolted for example) by letting them go to seed and re-using those seeds, or by composting them. That way nothing gets wasted.


I love that quote, "you only fail when you give up". I couldn't agree more

 

[JudyM]

Hi Mr Mark. I hope you and your family are well.
I created an account because I'm super discouraged and hope you may be able to help please? Last and this year, I haven't been able to get normal sized heads of Broc, cauli, firm lettuce and cabbage heads. My carrots don't grow big either. I was most looking forward to growing potatoes this season but when I went to Bunnings about two months ago and asked for the seed potatoes, the man chuckled like I was dumb and said that it's not until at least spring before it's time to plant and same with garlic. I was sure it was the right timing but thought I obviously messed it up. I went today to ask for upcoming spring but this man said that the season is finished and that garlic season is long gone. I'm really frustrated because now I've completely missed this year's potatoes. I'm really discouraged with gardening. I love doing it but now I'm overwhelmed and don't know or trust what to plant and when. I was so looking forward to growing potatoes and garlic. My corn, zucchini, peas and tomatoes do amazing but I want to do more. Do you have anywhere that you post when you plant your main crops? (I'm near Ipswich - sub tropical aswell). Do you have a month by month planting guide that you find most accurate?

I know I’m a little late to respond but I use a free Australian designed website called Gardenate https://www.gardenate.com/
I have also joined their email so get updated every month with what to plant now or get started for next month. So far so good.