The whole page is based on our limited yet enthusiastic ('good enough', my father would say!) experience and I chose to start with this step by step introduction to gardening because I expect you are looking to get started. I don't expect experienced gardeners to be reading this section. But I hope this section is simple enough to inspire you to have a go.

• Decide on which vegetable you like and would like to grow.
• Work out the basic needs of the plant: full sun or not, rich soil or not, etc.
  Go to the local supplier of punnets where you intend to buy and read the information on the supplied label of the plant you intend to buy. You could read a book or look online but it just may be a different variety. So for the beginners, keep it simple and get informed about the plant you intend to buy - provided they always get the same varieties in store.
• Choose a spot in your garden which you think is most suited to the plant including with easy access to water.
• Acquire a shovel (2nd hand is just fine) and Prepare the soil as per instructions.
• Once the appropriate season comes for this plant, buy the punnet and transplant as per instructions.
• Most plants will enjoy a little boost of seaweed-based product at transplant.
• Then Observe and Water only if required. Check the moisture in the soil. Fertilise when required. Observe any change or pest which may require to take action. Refer to your gardening publication if in doubt.
  >> check Publications
• Harvest, Prepare, Eat and Preserve the excess, or Share it with your friends. Enjoy!

• Tools
  
  
  • Shovel to prepare and turn the soil
  • Hand shovel to weed and to plant your seedlings
  
  
• Inputs: the items you add to the soil to enhance or correct so that your plants have a chance to grow.
  
  
  Normal Care
  
  
  • Seasol: (brand name) for a seaweed based product used to boost the seedlings at time of transplant.
  • Water: essential element once the plant is in the ground. Consider harvesting your rain water to cut your costs down.
    Some come from underground wells and may have minerals your plants may or may not like. Try and Observe.
  • Fertiliser: chicken manure (high in nitrogen), cattle/horse/sheep (good all rounders), stinging nettle brew acts as a booster (make your own; there are plenty of videos on YouTube).
  
  
  
  Treatments
  
  
  • Dipel: Yates 40g Natures Way Caterpillar Killer Dipel Insecticide.
  
  
  
  
• Publications
  
  
  • Book:What Garden Pest or Disease is That? We found this Australian book easy to use and very complete. It was recommended to me by a friend who was a professional horticulturist and a teacher of horticulture. And it works for us.
    >> get Book details
  
  

• When I watch gardening shows, it looks quite involved. Whilst their intention is to educate and there is always something to learn, it can also be overwhelming. I find that the plants we grow take mis-treatment quite well. So you will make mistakes, and mostly the plants will get over it. I didn't start gardening until I reached mid-40s and in my second marriage in a household of relaxed gardeners. Good enough was the mantra and it mostly works.
  
  
• When I started, I did try and grow what I needed but also what I fancied. Now I only grow what I need. For example, I do not grow many variety of tomatoes just because they look good or they are the latest gardening trend. I grow what I like and will produce the greatest return on my effort.
  
  
• After a while, I started collected my own seeds and growing my own seedlings, I really enjoy seeing them grow from seed; it costs a lot less, and if you keep the seeds from a good plant, you are likely to get better results at the next season.

Click on 📷 to see the photo of the produce.

• Harvested on 6 February 2021 📷: Eggs are a daily harvest. The 8 hens are usually laying 8 eggs at the moment. Tomatoes are beautifully ripe but mostly small. One last beetroot left in garden 10. And I harvested the seeds of a good silverbeet plant which I had left developing into flowers and seeds for that very purpose. I now have a nice collection of silverbeet seeds to put in punnets and grow from.
  
  
• Harvested on 8 February 2021 📷: Eggs and tomatoes with a zucchini and the first lot of harvested sunflower heads.

The purpose of this section is purely sharing what we are currently growing. We do not pretend to be experts but we do love sharing!

Our current garden is divided in 11 beds and at the beginning of each month, I make a photo of each bed which is in use. Find the photos linked to each garden bed below.

Garden beds as at 8 February 2021. To see any photo, click on this sign whenever you see it:📷.


• Garden bed #1: resting from this summer crop: Green Beans.
  
  
• Garden bed #2: resting from last winter crop: Legumes: snow peas.
  
  
• Garden bed #3: Tomatoes 📷, Zucchinis, Sunflowers, and one wild pumpkin starting to produce - maybe too late! I am told they are easy to grow; not in my experience yet! As to the sunflowers, I love their sight which reminds me of Southern France where I grew up. I just harvested most heads and need to get them into a jar. The heads are ready to harvest when the back is yellowing ie dying and one can easily brush off the flowers from the seeds at the front of the head. The harvest is currently in a cotton bag awaiting my hand collecton of the many seeds which I love grazing on.
  
  
• Garden bed #4: resting from last winter crop: Legumes: sugar snap peas.
  
  
• Garden bed #5: Kale 📷, some cabbages and broccolis. Cabbages and Broccolis 📷 were successfully transplanted in January even though the plants were already well developed. I transplanted them so they would be closer to the kale and would all fit under the bird netting which was placed to stop the white butterflies from depositing their caterpillar eggs as I got sick of treating the plants with organic anti-caterpillar brew. The cabbages are now forming at last now that they are enjoying a break from the caterpillar attacks. Note that they are a summer variety.
  
  
• Garden bed #6: Tomatoes and Carrots.📷
  
  
• Garden bed #7: resting from last winter crop: Legumes: lupin. The lupins were harvested in December. I am still shelling them! When I am finished, I will weigh them and share my yield ;) Once shelled, they are stored until needed to be ground and used as flour for our Gluten Free cooking. We ground them by hand. I will need to let you know about this when I organise a photo of the hand-mill.
  
  
• Garden bed #8: Silverbeet 📷 and Zucchinis 📷. I transplanted the silverbeet from punnets grown from bought seeds. When I transplant seedlings, I use a cut piece of rainwater downpipe to stop the slaters from eating the seedling. This time, when I removed the pipe, I left it beside the plant and I use it to fill it up with water when I water them. It is pretty handy as it keeps the plant cooler longer. In the long term I want to make or acquire small terracotta pots and bury them leaving their neck out so I can fill them with water and let them sip slowly and maintain the roots evenly moist. This will be quite handy in our warm climate where 35 to 40 Celsius degrees are not uncommon in Summer.
  
  
• Garden bed #9: More tomatoes! 📷 Last year was such a disaster that I planted a lot more. I don't mind giving away if I have an excess of produce - although I would rather encourage others to try producing.
  
  
• Garden bed #10: resting from last winter crop: silverbeet and beetroots.
  
  
• Garden bed #11: Margaret's garden! A permanent planting of Warrigal Greens (New-Zealand spinach) 📷 and asparagus provided to me by Margaret, a very good friend, now deceased. This garden reminds me of her everyday which is a pretty nice thought. As to the Warrigal Greens, they grow like weeds and need to be lightly blanched before consuming.