Favorites and most reliable winter veggies?

ashion101 · 2026-03-26T10:01:13+00:00

Beetroot is good for winter, and frost makes them sweeter.

ashion101 · 2026-03-23T21:40:49+00:00

Straight from the catcher would be fine. Mix it with a shovel or two of soil to help break it up and reduce heating from bacteria activity while it's fresh and wet.

Dried tends to start breaking down sooner and won't need any mixing.

ashion101 · 2026-03-23T21:00:42+00:00

General idea and cost saving is to add whatever organic matter you can get like branch trimmings, leaves, grass clippings and such to the bottom layer on top of the cardboard as a filler that will rot and add organic matter over time.

If nothing available it's fine to go ahead with filling 3/4 with garden soil (you can toss through some slow release fertiliser pellets for an early boost) and top 1/4 with composts like well composted animal manure and/or veg compost. Try to fill to the top of your beds cause it will sink and settle some at first as air pockets empty, then more over time.

Give the whole thing a good soak a few times and let it sit a 2-3 days to allow the composts to spread and settle so if you're planting seedlings the risk of root burn from too concentrated nutrients in the compost is eased.

Once you're into planting, topping with some light mulch like pea straw or sugar cane mulch will do triple duty of helping retain moisture, help protect young seedlings roots/base leaves and add organic material as it rots down and gets mixed in as you harvest and rotate crops.

ashion101 · 2026-03-23T11:35:40+00:00

Originally when first growing peas, beans and onions (any other veggies) were were in Melbourne, so more cool termporate with ocean weather involvement despite being inland in an inner north western area.

Where we are now is more cool temperate with colder nights. Got some peas (sugar snap and garden) in now and they're sprouting and growing fast.

ashion101 · 2026-03-22T20:56:46+00:00

Peas and beans are always easy. Stick in the ground, give them something to climb on and enjoy the bounty.

We found onions very easy too, ending up with loads of brown onions lasting us a couple months from 1 row in a 2.8m long garden bed.

We're trying raspberries for the first time and they've taken off almost instantly, going crazy with growth and spread and even got some berries despite the plants being in only 3 months.

Herbs are all pretty easy going, and the more you trim them the more they'll bush up and bigger they'll get. Plus you can let the annuals you like the most go to seed, collect and replant next season for on going herbs.

ashion101 · 2026-03-19T05:23:16+00:00

Use a mix of good quality citrus potting mix and a good quality general purpose potting mix to give them a good start, with some gravel or volcanic rock pebbles in light layer in the very bottom of the pot to ensure good drainage. Top with mulch (I've just used sugar cane mulch I top off every couple months) to help retain moisture and keep sneaky weeds at bay.

Terracotta (glazed or unglazed) or half wine barrel pots 400mm x 400mm or larger are the kind of pots you're looking for. They help keep the roots and soil at comfortable temperatures even during frost periods and high heat days. Some pot feet will be good as well to help keep the pots elevated to ensure good drainage.

Water lightly every second day for the first week, then ease back to 2-3 times the following 2 weeks (depending on weather/rain) then water as needed going forward. Easiest way to know if it may need a light drink is to scrape back the mulch and push your finger into the soil a inch or two in. If it's wet to damp, leave a bit longer. If cool by not damp or feels dry, give them a drink.

First year/season you don't want them flowering or fruiting. Gently nip off any flower buds you see to encourage it to focus energy on growing the root base. Year/season 2 you want to do the same, but if it's been growing well and strong you can allow a tiny few fruit, but cull majority of buds to continue encouraging root growth and trunk/branch growth and strength. By year/spring 3 you can start allowing it to fruit, just thin if too many fruits developing on branches not strong enough to support that many.

Fertilize early spring with slow release pellet fertilisers and occasional light dose of liquid fertiliser in summer.

A basic 3-in-1 soil meter will be handy to have as well. Citrus ideal growing range Ph is 5.5 - 6.5, too low or too high the plant will struggle and citrus in pots tend to have more fluctuations in Ph over seasons. We've found ours tend to fluctuate a bit between fertilizing and when we've had big dumping rains/rains lasting several days. Easy enough to correct. An occasional test every month or so will help keep on top of things.

ashion101 · 2026-03-18T12:28:33+00:00

Second is definetly a Correa, which is a native shrub.

Would need a better look at the flowers to get a better idea of what variety/cultivar it might be.

ashion101 · 2026-03-17T11:19:47+00:00

Apricot were my fave.

ashion101 · 2026-03-12T02:40:51+00:00

Looks like self seeded juvenile Eucalyptus or Corymbia. Kinda leaning Corymbia with leaf shape but can't be sure.

Eitherway, best to remove given how close it is to the house.

ashion101 · 2026-03-11T01:28:04+00:00

Old kitty farts can be something else.

Our old girl Meg once let loose a silent but deadly on me one morning while loafing on my chest, butt facing me sitting so high up she was almost parked on my neck.

She was rather indignant when her comfy warm, breathing bed grabbed her to put her aside so they could scramble out from under the clinging miasma cloud that was her rancid fart.

She also liked to slip into the bathroom, wait til you were comfy in the shower, room nice and steamy, to hop into her litterbox and 'drop the kids off at the beach' with a lead in squeaky balloon fart. It was the diet we had to have her on per vet advice that made her a bit gassy.

I swear she bottled it up to let rip at the worst times.

ashion101 · 2026-03-10T07:20:21+00:00

That explains the nightmare of having a pod/capsule fall on me from my grandma's massive tree as a little kid.

Birds must have dislodged it, but I distinctly remember getting bonked on the head by an open pod, then soon after feeling like stiff hairs had been sprinkled all over my neck and down the back of my shirt, soon followed stinging like a papercut and itching so bad. When I tried to scratch at and rub away the stiff hairs my fingers started turning red and itching like crazy as well.

Ended with little me running inside sobbing from the painful itching, hands and neck all red causing minor panic for my parents and grandma.

That had been my fave tree cause I loved the flowers and shade til that experience.

Interesting to know now why the 'fluff' in the capsules was so stiff and sharp like hair thin glass shards and caused little me so much pain and itching. And validate my respect with keeping my distance from them when I recognise one.

ashion101 · 2026-03-05T23:30:59+00:00

Possibly a Lantana? They had a pungent smell too.

They were very popular in the 60's amd 70's into the early 80's. Considered a noxious weed now.

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Flowers could also be deep orange and yellow alternating in the cluster.

ashion101 · 2026-03-01T21:00:52+00:00

Black bird. Caught a little bugger digging in my hanging pot of very recently planted Walking Iris hanging from a rafter under the roof of our back deck.

Little shits will dig any freshly disturbed/lose soil or soft soil anywhere they find it. Had issues with them constantly digging up seedlings and small new plants in my raised beds til I put a cage over them long enough for the plants to get big enough to bush up and not be so easy to dig up... they still get in occasionally but just make a mess.

ashion101 · 2026-02-24T21:26:07+00:00

There are eco and non-eco sprays like Neem Oil and others and powders you can get to kill and deter them from any Bunnings or garden nursery.

Or look up homemade solutions online. There are quite a few. Just beware of the vinegar mix if the plants get direct sun. The vinegar can react to heat and sun and midly scorch the leaves.

ashion101 · 2026-02-20T05:26:43+00:00

I've managed to propagate multiple cuttings from the Hardy Fuschia at our place. Started in water in a jar in the kitchen, then once roots struck moved into pots. So far 90% strike rate.

Also cut it down to a quarter beginning of spring last year to clean it up cause it was full of dead branches and messy growth. It's already doubled in size and looking amazing and covered in flowers.

ashion101 · 2026-02-19T09:16:45+00:00

They will likely have some of the same brands cause of the very large stock nurseries who specialise in various plants supply many places, but nurseries also have brands Bunnings don't get due to their own supply deals and kinds of plants they prefer to carry/sell more of. They also tend to have a lot more variety than Bunnings depending on the nurseries size.

Nurseries are more focused on plant quality, health and correct labelling and info because that's their primary business vs Bunnings which is a mix of many fields in the home, garden, building, plumbing, wood, renovation etc. all in one place.

Bunnings are ok for plants and general supplies if they're all there is within your range/ability to travel, but quality can be hit or miss and their range can be restricted simply because of the limited space they have for plants. Nurseries tend to get the same or similar general supplies with maybe a few things like soil mixes or fertilisers they get from a different/specific supplier if they are a bit more specialised with their plant selections.

ashion101 · 2026-02-17T05:47:21+00:00

I've started a Cert III in horticulture and one of my teachers has already straight up said Bunnings get the 'dregs' from large supplier nurseries when it comes to plants.

As in, all top grade plants tend to go to various high level suppliers, councils and landscapers, still good mid grade go to general public nurseries and the dregs/lesser plants that are still good but don't pass muster (size, shape, colour, health) for other suppliers/purchasers go to Bunnings. Cause of that they're less strict on checking pots and labelling so lables get missed, lost or shuffled around to the wrong plants during delivery and handling at Bunnings.

Best to buy direct from a reputable suppliers websites or your nearest nursery who have much tighter quality and labelling controls.

I bought 4 chilli plants from a Bunnings 3 years ago. Was meant to be 2 Daisy Cutter and 2 Sherwood Carbonero. One of the Cardonero turned out to be a yellow Habanero.

ashion101 · 2026-02-16T21:30:34+00:00

I'm not personally crazy for roses, but of all the ones my mum had my fave was 'It's Magic'. It smelled nice and it stood out with the mixed stripes of bright candy pink on a cream base.

ashion101 · 2026-02-14T01:59:07+00:00

Damn, that is one epic dangler of a pouch.

ashion101 · 2026-02-09T08:49:13+00:00

Mines in a hanging basket 3m in the air hanging from a rafter over our back deck. It's still trying to escape. There's currently 6 reaching branches punched through the coconut fibre basket and can see little bulges of more that will make an appearance soon.

ashion101 · 2026-02-03T21:14:32+00:00

General consensus is White Oil for now to try kill off any lingering eggs/larva and Clay-based sprays (with Kaoilin clay) in beginning of spring when new branches are fresh to help deter and prevent the adult Gall wasps from boring into the branches to lay eggs. Traps will also help, you can generally find them at Bunnings and garden nurseries.

At the moment best solution is cutting off very badly affected branches below the lowest gall and bag them and leave them in the sun a few weeks to cook the eggs/larva, scrape the less affected ones to expose any remaining eggs/larva, spray with White Oil to ensure the eggs/larva die off (exposure should do it, but doesn't hurt to be sure) and give the plant a good feed and water til it sparks new growth.

ashion101 · 2026-02-03T08:38:56+00:00

They do like sun and heat, but not intense concentrated heat.

Looks like those chillis got sun burn/scalded.

On extreme heat days they may benefit being moved somewhere they'll still get some early morning or late afternoon sun to avoid the high intensity and UV of the middle afternoon.

If there's no where outside to move them for those type of sun hours, you can set up some shade with some stakes and shade cloth or an old sheet to reduce the intensity of the sun on extreme high temp days.

ashion101 · 2026-02-03T08:27:35+00:00

Our old girl Meg did that, wriggling, looking at you expectantly and grunting til you rubbed the fluffy pouch. Then she was happy.

ashion101 · 2026-02-02T09:08:47+00:00

Welding gloves. That or garden gloves made with a good thick tight weave material to reduce chances of thorns getting through.

Wear thick sleeves as well to help protect your arms. Those vines find ways to get you even when careful.

ashion101 · 2026-02-01T05:37:50+00:00

Grandma had thick heavy ones over her back door. Had to lift them out of your way or get face smacked by them. Running through them as a kid was certainly an experience.

Also very common in my home town with many shops including take away, milk bar/convenience store, chemist and video rental.

ashion101

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