DFB's Greenthumb Project

[blueoval]

Hey Deyon,

Do you have any tips on started your own herb and vegetable garden for a beginner?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Hey Deyon,

Do you have any tips on started your own herb and vegetable garden for a beginner?

Start small.

Whether a garden bed or pots, start growing a few things you like to eat to build your skills and confidence. I think many go all out and take on too much at once. You WILL have a few failures and that is gardening, however when you pick your first crop, the satisfaction is is worth the effort.

For garden beds, make sure to use plenty of compost and manure, the quality of the soil will represent the quality of the produce. For pots or tubs, use high quality potting mix as a cheap mix is a false economy. Blood and Bone is a great fertiliser to use when preparing the soil for planting and regular liquid fertiliser will keep them growing. Have snail bait and pyrethrum on hand just in case.

Again, start small and build your skills. Have some success and grow it from there.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Start small.

Whether a garden bed or pots, start growing a few things you like to eat to build your skills and confidence. I think many go all out and take on too much at once. You WILL have a few failures and that is gardening, however when you pick your first crop, the satisfaction is is worth the effort.

To add to DFB, may I suggest Basil and cherry Tomatoes is first priority.

[Citroënbender]

Depends where you are, as to what’s blunder-proof. Here, parsley is easy unless you have voracious slugs. Oregano, too. Grafted kumquat will usually do well in a larger pot, keep up the love and its fruiting will be strong.

[Rallye Sport]

The garden looks great DFB. I'm a little jealous of the plants, we are pushing the barrow uphill to grow things like that over here with our alkaline, lime sands. I've just planted up a new aquarium, the co2 and lights are turned up and its growing fast so I'll post some pics soon.

CB, in regards to the crabgrass we use a selective called Fusilade, it goes under the name Kerb aswell. Bare in mind selectives are usually a higher schedule and can be expensive. In bare areas you could try Roundup, using a shroud to keep it off the other plants. A two litre bottle with the bottom cut off then gaffer taped to the wand works a treat.

Blueoval, a good edible one to try is Pineapples. Next time you get one twist off the top, pluck the bottom leaves until you see some roots, they'll be growing already and stick it in a pot or the ground.
They take a couple of years to clump and fruit but after that you should get two crops a year.
We've got some fruiting at the moment.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by Rallye Sport

Blueoval, a good edible one to try is Pineapples. Next time you get one twist off the top, pluck the bottom leaves until you see some roots, they'll be growing already and stick it in a pot or the ground.
They take a couple of years to clump and fruit but after that you should get two crops a year.
We've got some fruiting at the moment.
image

Thats amazing. Thanks for the tip. What are the plants like to grow in cooler climates? Im in SA and plan to grow some in Victor Harbor when I move down there eventually. Its cooler than Adelaide most of the year so it makes me wonder if the sweetness will still be in the fruit due to the climate.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Thats amazing. Thanks for the tip. What are the plants like to grow in cooler climates? Im in SA and plan to grow some in Victor Harbor when I move down there eventually. Its cooler than Adelaide most of the year so it makes me wonder if the sweetness will still be in the fruit due to the climate.

Just had a quick look at the average temps, Perth at 24 and Victor Harbor, 20 so its a bit cooler than my conditions.
Not sure how thats going to affect the fruit. We're finding ours are alot tastier than shop brought, could be that they're fresher. They certainly smell better, we usually leave them in the house for a few days and enjoy the aroma.