December Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate   with Pip’s Adelaide correspondent Nadja Osterstock Summer has started early here, with some serious hot spikes, strong winds and a devastating early bushfire north of Adelaide. In suburban gardens, water, shade and timing are everything. Fruit ripens quickly in the heat and needs steady watering and close attention… View more
December in the cool temperate garden by Christina Giudici, Hobart, TAS of Food In My Back Yard WHAT TO PLANT? You can plant just about anything in December! As you harvest garlic and leeks, use the space for sequential plantings of lettuce, rocket, adian greens, carrots, beetroot, celery, silver beet, more leeks, salad onions. We tend not to… View more
November in the cool temperate garden by Christina Giudici, Hobart, TAS of Food In My Back Yard WHAT TO PLANT? Pretty much all the summer vegies are good to go now that November is underway and the soil has warmed up well. As you clear out broad beans and peas, in go hungry things like sweet corn,… View more
November in the tropical garden by Kathleen Hosking, Mackay, QLD of Solution Focused WHAT TO PLANT? Plant capsicum and eggplant to get them established before the strong winds and rain of the wet season. Snake beans grow well in the wet season. There are climbing and dwarf varieties. Harvest the beans when they are still… View more
We show you how easy it is to do some DIY lettuce seed saving.
November Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate   with Pip’s Adelaide correspondent Nadja Osterstock It’s been a dry spring in Adelaide so far, and with the current El Nino pattern we expect more of the same. However, with plenty of supplementary watering, spring growth is coming along beautifully, and flowers seem to be more profuse than ever…. View more
October Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate As I look around the garden today, I’m delighted by the brilliant green of new spring foliage, the shade of trees and vines that self-adjust as the weather warms, the rapid emergence of heat-loving vegetables from seed, as well as new growth on the subtropical trees. It all tells… View more
October Gardening Guide – Tropical Climate What to Plant in October? Rocket, mustard, tatsoi and Miners lettuce: Plant seeds at regular intervals to keep the crops coming. These will all tolerate the build-up to the wet season. Darwin lettuce is a more traditional option that does well at this time of the year. The French Sorrel… View more
October Gardening Guide – Cool Climate What to Plant in October? Tomatoes: Cool temperate gardeners are obsessed with tomatoes in October. There is no need to rush your planting, especially if your seedlings are happy in their pots. The best time to plant is when the soil has warmed up a bit (look for self… View more
September Gardening Guide – Tropical Climate What to Plant in September? There is still time to plant the last crop of just about everything. Be aware that some crops will be lost if there is an early wet season. The last couple of years have not seen a good wet season so planting is likely… View more
September Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate After some good soaking rains, Adelaide’s soil is now much better charged. We’re also starting to see longer days and some real sunshine, so we can expect the soil to start warming up nicely over the next couple of months ready for the boom time. (Yep, that’s booming weeds… View more
 September Gardening Guide – Cool Climate What to Plant in September? Loads of leafy greens and roots like carrots, parsnip, beetroot, turnips and swedes can all be sown now. Also celery and silverbeet (or rainbow chard – pretty!) seedlings, brassicas like broccoli and cabbage, leeks, and the ubiquitous spring onions and radish. Peas and broad beans… View more
August Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate Image credit: Wikipedia Commons Soil Care We’ve had a very cold July with reasonable rainfall. That’s great for those fruit trees that need sufficient winter chill to set fruit, but a little challenging for the poor subtropicals that don’t like cold wet feet. Especially in areas with alkaline soil, the citrus… View more
August Gardening Guide – Cool Climate What to Plant in August? Potatoes, peas, broad beans, Jerusalem artichokes, rhubarb divisions, chive divisions, oca (a tuberous oxalis relative that grows like a potato). And all the leafy greens: lettuce, rocket, Asian greens, celery and English spinach. In raised beds and warm spots start with succession sowings of carrot and… View more
August Gardening Guide – Tropical Climate What to Plant in August? Still time to plant the last crop of lettuce, endive, Chinese cabbage and other fast growing greens. Radishes and carrots still have time to crop before the weather heats up. Check your seed supplies and order what is needed. Now is the time to order… View more
July Gardening Guide – Cool Climate What to Plant in July? Its cold, really cold, and frosty this month, even though we’ve passed the midwinter shortest day. Amazing how things still grow (even weeds like chickweed) and thrive in these conditions. Brassicas and parsnips get sweeter after a good frost as some of their starches get converted… View more
July Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate Cold soil now means slower vegetable growth. Most deciduous trees are now dormant and leafless, ready for winter pruning, planting or transplanting. In frost-prone areas, it’s time to take a break from planting out and instead peruse the seed and plant catalogues with spring in mind. If you have a sheltered… View more
July Gardening Guide – Tropical Climate What to Plant in July? Check the seeds in storage, the crisper is a safe place, and see what is needed for the upcoming summer. The Mediterranean herbs love this weather so plant in full sun. Plant Surinam spinach and Okinawa spinach in the shade of a north side fence…. View more
June Gardening Guide – Cool Climate (Image Credit: Wikipedia) What to Plant in June? As we approach the shortest day, our focus for planting in the garden shifts from annual vegies to perennials. Rhubarb, asparagus, Jerusalem artichokes, globe artichokes, chives, garlic chives, horseradish, potato onions and shallots can all be lifted, divided and replanted in the… View more
June Gardening Guide – Mediterranean Climate (Image Credit: Paul Goodsell) Adelaide is cooling down now after what seemed a brief autumn, and the outlook suggests we’re likely to have a wet winter. After that though, we appear to be leading into the El Nino pattern of a hot dry spring and summer. All this means that… View more
June Gardening Guide – Tropical Climate (Image credit: Steele Plant Company) What to Plant in June? • There is still time to plant the European style vegetables and be able to harvest them, before the fierce heat and heavy rain of the wet season. • Peruse seed catalogues and plan for next wet season. Maintenance… View more
