Our home garden is being tendered to by mere amateurs, being ShadowKnight & myself. However as each day spent in the Garden goes by we:

*sow & germinate new seedlings
*transplant seedlings into permanent homes
*introduce established plants bought from elsewhere
*add or remove plants as needed
*become educated on how individual plants copes under their own & current management structures
*impliment new or old techniques depending on how the plant is or is not surviving
*plan new methods for future plantings
*water & feed the plants
*enjoy the “fruits” of our labour by harvesting vegetables when ready

Our Garden is mostly Container grown due to the fact we moved from Sydney to here in the Illawarra & we are also renting the property. We don’t have any formal management system except for the typical sow/germinate/transplant/water/fertilize/harvest method.

We germinate our seeds in propagating trays inside small 2-shelved hothouses (or greenhouses). Once germinated, we tend to them inside the hothouses until they have their set of first strong leaves. From here they are normally strong enough to come into the Outside World so we transplant them into small individual pots. However, we have had problems with birds so I have been experimenting with keeping them in small pots inside the houses. So far so good. From here we fertilize them & nurture them as best as possible.

Currently I have a few flowering plants which have made it to the Outside World & are growing well indeed. These were our first seed germinated plants mainly to attract Bees. Grown simply to pollinate our future plants. Also introducing ready-established plants to the garden has helped attract the Bees. Not only do they look nice nice flowering, they work hard for us as well.

 Balsam - from seed                    

 Nasturtium - from seed             

 Geisha Girl - bought established

Sadly, it’s the Outside World that tends to create more issues for the plants in which we have to actively assist in. Bugs of all kinds invade the new plants & feast on their young & tender leaves & stalks. This is where we are still learning & experimenting. We seem to have a LOT of cabbage moth down here which are enjoying our Asian Greens & Lettuces. Also Ants are busily eating away our Lebanese Cucumbers as they almost get to harvesting size. We have managed to harvest a couple! At the same time, I believe these Ants are helping with the Pollination of the very same plant. Almost a Catch 22 situation here. The flowering plants are encouraging Bees but these have been spotted sparingly. I believe due to the weather we have been having.

I am working on implementing a new page to this site where I will post solely regarding Our Garden. Keep an eye on news to come once it is up & running.

So, here are some of my resources for the garden:

Mr Fothergill’s Australia
I have purchased Mr Fothergill’s Seed packets from the online store. I used to find myself wanting to buy seeds from Bunnings Warehouse & supermarkets each time I was in the stores, but could never stop at only buying 1 or 2 packs at a time. So I decided to go on a spending spree on the site & was not disapointed! The order arrived to me within 2 days of my purchase & I began “playing” in the garden with them almost immediately.

The Lost Seed
Here I purchased plenty of vegetable seeds. The price is kept as low as possible by the company providing simple Black & White envelopes in which the seeds are supplied. Again I received these within a handful of days & I was very satisfied with my purchase.

Garden Express
This we came across as it is the official site linked to channel 9’s The Garden Gurus. I don’t believe they have as much stock as I first expected, however they are fantastic to deal with. I receive a newsletter/catalogue 5 times a year. The website also offer specials & discounts on a large range of stock. We have purchased twice from Garden Express. Both times our plants arrived in tip-top condition & all have survived in the garden without any problems arrising! We purchased 8 Polygala ‘Fairy Lights’ & 12 Dwarf Lavender Munstead plants in November 2007, which have been growing far better than we expected! Over the New Year we purchased 2 Hibiscus of different varieties & 2 Agapanthus Tinkerbell which are absolutely adorable & nothing like the more common adult version (which SK detests)!

I do hope you find these links informational if anything. I have had success with these 3 personally & won’t mention the sites I have come across that seem to have stock or delivery issues, amongst other things. Once I have dealt with some other sites successfully, I will add those links to the site as well.

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