I just today stumbled across your newsletter and love this post as it brings back many memories of when we had a huge country garden, until two years ago. I also grew as much as I could from seed, and the Seed Savers Handbook was my bible. I am from Bendigo in Central Victoria. Subscribing so I don't miss anything.
I am so jealous of your garden and absolutely love your little garden journal! What a great insight into how you grow your delicious produce. I am a window shopper when it comes to seeds (always looking at different heirloom varieties online) but have never been brave enough to give them a go. I am inspired by this post and your laissez faire approach to planting. I am off to investigate a diggers club membership….
Thank you Steph. I imagine your mind is whirling with all the possibilities your new garden presents! So much joy can be had in the dreaming and planning of a garden, not just the doing. Happy seed shopping! X
This is beautiful! I am reluctant to grow much from seed, I just haven't had the time and energy and our growing season is short enough that starting things outdoors can often cut into growing time and thus yield. Except potatoes, those just seem to regrow themselves!
Is fun to see you starting off your season as we are closing ours down on the north side! That reminds me I have to go out and wrap my Tabasco plant and cross my fingers that the frost won't bite too hard so I can squeeze a few more peppers out of it before the cold takes it for good!
Gotta love a never ending supplies of spuds. Sending your Tabasco plant frost protection vibes from down under. My husband is a chilli fiend and has high hopes for his jalapeño, padrons and long reds this season 🤞🏻Any chilli growing tips I can pass onto him? 🌶️
Ha! No! I ignore my plants, and the Tabasco tends to end up like a shrub (a rather large one at that, it gets taller than the tall tomato cage that I put around it! Most of my peppers do well, but this year that is the only one that really took off.
I have a Pimento that ended up doing pretty well after supper hot and dry for a while. The jalapeño was odd this year, they were tiny! Like about half the length that they are normally. And my snacking pepper did not do well at all, I have no idea why.
My garden overall this year was mostly a bust, I need to amend my soil and pay closer attention to it.
Any suggestions for amending the soil? I have an endless supply of horse poop, which we do compost. I added some at the beginning of this season, but I think it might have been too much ninitrogen.
Glad we are not the only ones who find chillies fickle. My husband is always experimenting but yet to crack their code. He ended up neglecting two pots completely and found they had fruited after sitting dry as a bone over winter. Maybe the lesson is more neglect? 🤷♀️
Oh yes, soil. What good are seeds without good soil! I plan to dedicate a whole other letter to compost. We have used fresh horse poop in the past directly on our beds but found it brought more weed than feed for the soil. We use chook poo in our compost (and compost all our food scraps & green waste). In the past we've had worm farms and found worm tea to be a great fertiliser. The more organic matter in the soil the better, generally speaking, but so many factors affect soil quality. Wishing you luck with yours!
Sometimes things do better with neglect, it's so hard to tell!
I added the horse poop for the organic matter, but I guess it was just too much nitrogen. I had a lot of green, and was getting blossom end rot on the tomatoes despite not having an issue with too much water. I think I need to look for a good fertilizer to balance out the P and K and see how it does next year. I'm hoping we can get chickens on the farm I have my horses at so that will help, too. The house poop is going to primarily go back on the field where they graze which is where I need the grass to grow in the first place!
Ah Stephanie I loved reading this beautiful glimpse into your spring garden from the other side of the world. I particularly resonated with your words about your care and thoughts being oriented towards the seeds that have been sown. I sowed flowers from seed for the first time this spring and it really was the most magical experience. Despite it being far from perfect and there being many frustrations (slugs! Snails!) and learning curves, I loved the experience. Do you sow seeds in autumn as well as spring? xx
The Diggers Club! Yay! I’m in that club too! Love their work.
I do love their seed catalogues too 🤓
Oh gosh yes, I spend hours pouring over them and dreaming about growing my dream garden
Your garden is phenomenal! 🌷
Aw thanks Penelope, it's my happy place 🌸
I just today stumbled across your newsletter and love this post as it brings back many memories of when we had a huge country garden, until two years ago. I also grew as much as I could from seed, and the Seed Savers Handbook was my bible. I am from Bendigo in Central Victoria. Subscribing so I don't miss anything.
Oh hi Jennifer, so glad to find you too here on Substack 🥰 I am always thrilled to find other Victorian writers here.
Thank you for subscribing. Looking forward to more visits to your beautiful garden.
I am so jealous of your garden and absolutely love your little garden journal! What a great insight into how you grow your delicious produce. I am a window shopper when it comes to seeds (always looking at different heirloom varieties online) but have never been brave enough to give them a go. I am inspired by this post and your laissez faire approach to planting. I am off to investigate a diggers club membership….
Thank you Steph. I imagine your mind is whirling with all the possibilities your new garden presents! So much joy can be had in the dreaming and planning of a garden, not just the doing. Happy seed shopping! X
This is beautiful! I am reluctant to grow much from seed, I just haven't had the time and energy and our growing season is short enough that starting things outdoors can often cut into growing time and thus yield. Except potatoes, those just seem to regrow themselves!
Is fun to see you starting off your season as we are closing ours down on the north side! That reminds me I have to go out and wrap my Tabasco plant and cross my fingers that the frost won't bite too hard so I can squeeze a few more peppers out of it before the cold takes it for good!
Thank you Ginny! ☺️
Gotta love a never ending supplies of spuds. Sending your Tabasco plant frost protection vibes from down under. My husband is a chilli fiend and has high hopes for his jalapeño, padrons and long reds this season 🤞🏻Any chilli growing tips I can pass onto him? 🌶️
Ha! No! I ignore my plants, and the Tabasco tends to end up like a shrub (a rather large one at that, it gets taller than the tall tomato cage that I put around it! Most of my peppers do well, but this year that is the only one that really took off.
I have a Pimento that ended up doing pretty well after supper hot and dry for a while. The jalapeño was odd this year, they were tiny! Like about half the length that they are normally. And my snacking pepper did not do well at all, I have no idea why.
My garden overall this year was mostly a bust, I need to amend my soil and pay closer attention to it.
Any suggestions for amending the soil? I have an endless supply of horse poop, which we do compost. I added some at the beginning of this season, but I think it might have been too much ninitrogen.
Glad we are not the only ones who find chillies fickle. My husband is always experimenting but yet to crack their code. He ended up neglecting two pots completely and found they had fruited after sitting dry as a bone over winter. Maybe the lesson is more neglect? 🤷♀️
Oh yes, soil. What good are seeds without good soil! I plan to dedicate a whole other letter to compost. We have used fresh horse poop in the past directly on our beds but found it brought more weed than feed for the soil. We use chook poo in our compost (and compost all our food scraps & green waste). In the past we've had worm farms and found worm tea to be a great fertiliser. The more organic matter in the soil the better, generally speaking, but so many factors affect soil quality. Wishing you luck with yours!
Thank you!
Sometimes things do better with neglect, it's so hard to tell!
I added the horse poop for the organic matter, but I guess it was just too much nitrogen. I had a lot of green, and was getting blossom end rot on the tomatoes despite not having an issue with too much water. I think I need to look for a good fertilizer to balance out the P and K and see how it does next year. I'm hoping we can get chickens on the farm I have my horses at so that will help, too. The house poop is going to primarily go back on the field where they graze which is where I need the grass to grow in the first place!
Ah Stephanie I loved reading this beautiful glimpse into your spring garden from the other side of the world. I particularly resonated with your words about your care and thoughts being oriented towards the seeds that have been sown. I sowed flowers from seed for the first time this spring and it really was the most magical experience. Despite it being far from perfect and there being many frustrations (slugs! Snails!) and learning curves, I loved the experience. Do you sow seeds in autumn as well as spring? xx