annqldau

With the drought and rumours of higher prices to come was wondering how many people grow their own and what's grown best in the heat.

We had a lot of grapefruits last year but too early to say as yet this year. Trying to grow oranges but don't think it's going to be a big sucsess. Mangoes the bats or possums got so none to try. Have some passion fruit in progress if they survive

Thinking of trying lettuce and tomatoes as Cresta57 managed to grow tomatoes without trying from seeds he threw over side of house. Strangely enough considering Australians are obsessed with Beetroot never seen any growing anywhere just fields of pineapples.

What else is quick & easy to grow that you would want to eat?

Rarn

Oooh one of my fave subjects

Now is a great time to plant
Into prepared soil.......
tomatoes, lettuce, rocket, spinach, snow peas, green beans (dwarf variety are great), try zuchinni, corianader, parsely, maybe basil depending where u r, mint, lemongrass, beetroot - takes a bit of space and yes Ozzies are obsessed with it arent they......ummm what else............kale, any asian greens - go to your local markets/nursery and see whats there.......leafy stuff is really good n easy this time of year.........
good luck its a great feeling eating your own veg

annqldau

I've failed miserably with comfrey which will normally grow anywhere it keeps drying out even though I've put it in damper cooler places to try and get it going so there goes home made fertilizer down the drain. Had been thinking of growing in containers but will have to keep on top of the watering then. Shame they won't grow in big glass jars like you used to get years ago as mini gardens.

So how long does lettuce take from start to finish and do you faff around with all that transplanting bit they used to do in UK?

Rarn

Hi

Maybe start with buying some seedlings ready to transplant - lettuce etc........I dont know exactly how far north you are but here in Nthn NSW, if you planted now you'd be picking leafy things like lettuce in a few weeks - its great. You dont have to wait for the whole lettuce to grow, if you plant a variety you can pick a few outer leaves here n there and keep doing so.
Also liquid seweed is good to add to watering, 'seasol' - little seedlings just love it. Its like magic!!!!
Also...if it gets a bit nippy where you are, you can get mushroom kits from bunnings.....yum..

i wouldnt bother with anything edible in pots, takes too much watering n this climate

gobbyjock

Don`t know if it will be of use but I found this website - you have to oin to get a proper look at the forums but it is full of good ideas and gardening advice for all over Oz - plus loads of useful links.
http://www.aussieslivingsimply.com.au/news.php

iPom

Up here, carrots do well. So does broccolli, lettuce etc. I think that you could pretty much grow anything up here that you could normally grow in the UK as the seasons are very similar up here.
We've so far grown all our stuff in pots as we're in a rental. It's worked very well so far. I even have a dwarf lemon tree on my front porch and it has 5 lemons on it, so that's very exciting. Once I have my own place, we plan to be self sufficient as much as possible with the fruit and veg. I'm really looking forward to it.
I can't grow tropical stuff up here, though we have cut the top off a pineapple and we're growing one of those. It will probably never fruit unless it goes into a conservatory, but my son's enjoying the experiment. (He's 4)

matt-and-jenny

Hi Ann
We're qute crap at growing and looking after stuff, the things we have that have survived are:
Basil (it's huge!)
Mint
Chives
Parsley
Snow peas
toms
celery
J

Jockstar

If i had a garden i'd be growing chillies ,lime, carrots, lettuce etc etc. But i live in a unit.

Rarn

Bummer........dont you have a patio area for containers?
I live on a windy hill at the moment so everything gets wind burnt and dies ....am moving so can plant another veg patch......hooray

Jockstar

No!

Rarn

Ahh shame.
Hope its a nice unit

Wendy

We've currently got Orange and Lemon trees and grape vines. Because this place was being rented out for the last 10 years are all a bit uncared for, so we're giving them a bit of TLC at the minute.

Hopefully next year we will see the benefit of that.

sme

Yesterday we planted; tomatoes, lettuce, chillis, peppers, 2 kinds of basil, coriander, rosemary, marjoram, 2 kinds of mint (in a tub),red onions, a pot of strawberries and some pansies.

Lets see how they fare. I'm not known for my gardening abilities

Rarn

Well have a look at this to make yourself giggle



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfDr8JdJRvk

annqldau

We eat loads of mushrooms so that a good one and Hubbys dad once did it and grew loads, will look into it.
Checking it out.
LOL, I have a pineapple top already rooted on my window sill, man at work who used to be a grower said pull everything off down to the base of the green leaves and hey presto it worked but not sure if we will ever get anything more than roots.
Have mint that is getting by despite heat and hate celery but Basil sounds good.

Have the grape vine but no crop this year due to drought I think, must plant a lemon tree as people say they grow well in Brisbane area.