How I Got Good At Growing Veggies And Flowers…Over 10 Years
The first carrots I grew, they look gnarled but tasted incredible
In my competent era: my backyard veggie patch in inner-city Brisbane
I planted my first seed at the age of 29. And it has been so interesting to look back over the last 10 years and see the exponential growth I’ve made from being a total garden newbie to growing lots of my own vegetables and flowers each season with ease!
Although I considered myself a natural green thumb from the start (I grew mammoth sunflowers first go!) I would categorise the first 5 years of my gardening journey as major trial and error. I had a number of successes followed by many failures.
The worst was when I brought in 10 cubic metres of soil, free from Gumtree, to my grandparents garden where I was living (in the Brisbane suburb of Salisbury that my business Salisbury Grange is named after). The mountain of rock-hard soil was unusable clay. I started to put some over the garden bed without thinking and almost ruined the priceless organic soil my grandparents had built up over 50 years in the process. I could feel my Nanna cursing at me from the grave! Luckily I stopped in time. I only had to pay $500 for the terrible soil to be removed. #hugemistake
The best thing that I did was I kept having a go and growing new things and then a major turning point came a few years ago when I stopped what I was doing, stepped back and realised: gardening is incredibly easy and consists of 5 steps that anyone can do. Once I realised that, all the confusion that I’d had over the years went away and it became a simple process with the same outcome every time.
If you are wondering what my 5 steps are…I’m in the process of creating some simple online workshops to share them. In the meantime, I’ve included 10 garden pointers I learned along the way — that I wish I’d known a lot earlier, below!
Some of the vegetables I’ve grown in my backyard (above) from tomatoes to carrots to tatsoi to broccoli
Homegrown dahlias that grew over my head!
Dahlias, zinnias and sunflowers (above) I’ve grown over the years
10 Things I’ve Learned In 10 Years | Garden Edition
#1 It takes 3 months to get from a seed to a fully-grown vegetable or flower. I honestly thought it took 1 week when I started!
#2 One seed equals 1 whole plant. No need to throw heaps of seeds in when planting your garden.
#3 All plants/veggies/flowers really need is direct sunlight (not through a window) and watering everyday.
#4 In Brisbane, Autumn is best for growing veggies and Spring/Summer for flowers. See my 2023 Planting Calendar.
#5 Save yourself years of trial and error and get someone to show you what to do! See My Brother’s (Gardening) Story.
#6 All living things are sacred. I will never use chemicals on my garden or kill any “weed” or “pest” ever. See My One Rule.
#7 It’s the same process to grow all things: sunflowers, basil, tomatoes. See my how-to videos on YouTube.
#8 Plant what you actually eat. For me that’s broccoli, spinach, rocket, carrots and celery.
#9 Make life as easy as possible: I have my pots/raised garden beds close to me (not a back corner of a garden) and near a tap or hose.
#10 Homegrown everything takes 1000% better. And there is a reason for that.
*Check out how I plant seeds and grow veggies and flowers IRL on my Salisbury Grange YouTube Channel.
With my number one garden supporter: Banjo! born to be a farm dog
Looking for more information? Check out Where I Buy Organic In Brisbane (While I’m Waiting To Grow My Own) or my take on Growing Sunflowers In Brisbane: A Seedling Guide.
