Was at Bunnings yesterday 26-05-2018 . They had Tahitian Lime trees on special . Will get one through the week and put it into a bigger pot and see how I go . I’m no green thumb by any stretch of the imagination .
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When planting it into the bigger pot mix some Blood and Bone into the soil mix. Not too much, a handful or two is enough if it is going into it’s final pot. That will encourage root growth and will help avoid the stress of replanting. Water well and then every second day just ensure it stays moist but not saturated. After about 3 weeks it should be good then to only water to keep barely moist. When picking the pot try for something at least 2 or 3 times the diameter of the size of the current pot. If it just a seedling you can plant it in a much larger final pot size that suits it’s expected size but it is much easier to just re pot into something a bit bigger to conserve water usage until it is big enough to plant into it’s final pot. Don’t use potting mix alone, either use a bag of good quality Garden Soil or a mix of mostly soil with some potting mix.
A sprinkle with a Seasol solution every fortnight will also help it establish and help it produce good growth.
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I bought a large packet of pigeon peas, and unfortunately it seems they are “unlikely to do well” in temperate climates, according to the packet. They grow well in tropical and subtropical regions, neither of which describes my location!
I’ll hang onto them for now and try planting some in Oct/Nov when things warm up again, as requiring a 25C soil temp for germination means they are unlikely to survive in the aqauponics when the water is currently down as low as 8C, and likely to cool down to nearer 5C in coming days.
I’m hoping that they will survive if I can get them started in spring, as the bananas grow well most of the time in the open ended greenhouse, even with major setbacks due to frost and snow in winter.
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If you have a northern or western wall that gets good sunlight (esp. if brick) for growing the peas against, this can be used to assist as this will radiate out heat on the cooler nights.
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They are actually hardier than most think. They survive desert night temps eg below zero quite well. Mostly it is getting them started so they are robust enough to handle their first winter, so if you can, pot them until they get a bit of a go on. Snow will probably be too much but frost after they are established enough they tolerate and are just more slow growing in those colder areas. They grow them in the more temperate US zones in permaculture. If your Bananas can tolerate it pigeon peas will do well.
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OK, I might pop a few seeds in and see how they go 
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CHOICE has an article about starting a veggie garden - here are our tops picks for cost-effective vegetables to grow in your garden. Do you grow these? Or do you have any other thrifty gardening tips?
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Possibly a more specific ABC Gardening Australia link to that provided at the bottom of the article is their
Click on the Vege Guide Web link on this page for when best to plant vegetables, herbs and fruits.
Many vegetable patches fail because one plants at the wrong time of the year. Success can be improved when seed/seedlings are planted at optimal times based on your location in Australia.
Also, ignore what the local nursery/plant section of supermarket or hardware store has a seedlings, as often seedlings for a particular vegetable are provided all year round. Because seedlings are available for purchase, does not mean that they will grow or it is the right time of year to plant them (note: these seedlings will have been propagated/germinated in controlled environment glasshouses, where germination occurs irrespective of the ambient air or soil temperatures). Use a seasonal/monthly planting guide instead.
The last thing is often better success is achieved by planting seeds rather than buying seedlings. Not only are seedling a lot more expensive, many plants (especially root crops) don’t like their roots disturbed. When disturbed, the plants either perform poorly, die or one had deformed produce.
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Unfortunately, we have not been very successful in growing herbs and vegetables at our current home.
The pumpkins and zucchinis did not produce fruit due to a lack of Italian honey bees to pollinate them.
The tomatoes died from wilt.
The lettuces very quickly ran to seed.
The papaya trees were continually attacked by flying foxes and white tailed rats which splattered the fruit around the swimming pool.
My wife took over our Birdies raised garden bed which I had herbs planted in and planted cordylines in it.
So we now just have only tropical plants and buy our herbs and vegetables.
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The cucurbits family (pumpkin, squash, zucchini, melons) often won’t self pollinate or pollinate well through insects. I would suggest that one gets a soft fine paint brush (art supply stores and hardwares have these cheaply) and then use the paint brush to move the pollen from the male flower (which has the anthers containing pollen) to the female flower (containing the stigma). It is also best to cross pollinate (between plants rather than the same plant).
One can alternatively break off the male flowers, strip the petals and use the exposed anthers to also polinate, by rubbing the anthers on the stigma. The pollen is the yellow powdery stuff a flower makes.
It is also best to use pollen from freshly opened male flowers and also pollinate recently opened female flowers early in the morning (withina few hours of sunrise).
This should maximise the chance of flowers being pollinated and thus producing fruit.
Also note that one plant will only carry a limited number of fruit. Therefore ongoing pollination may not produce more fruit on the same plant.
If your tomatoes grown in your area/soil is susceptible to wilt, then it is best to select a variety which is known to be resistant to the wilt (this website may be useful)
Growing lettuce in the tropics and be challenging as they do bolt. Try planting around Easter (April/May), water and use a nitrogen rich fertiliser regularly. This may increase the time to bolting.
Other option is to plant lettuce alternatives or tropical Asian veges instead.
Happens everywhere. Best solution is to bag them in something which is robust enough to keep the critters out.
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Pumpkins and zuccs don’t need Italian honey bees, any kind of insect that will visit the flower will do but it’s mainly standard honey bees. If you don’t have active bees in the area you can play cupid as others have said by introducing the male flowers to the females but this is tedious as you have only a limited time to act. If you find pollination a problem a better way is to make it a longer term project and start with plantings that will attract bees all year round, then go on to bee-pollinated veggies later.
If you are wondering which veggies need bees, when, how, and how much this reference is a classic authority.
Many people make the mistake of growing lettuce in summer with no consideration of bolting. Many cultivars are not really suited to the hot Oz summer. Unless you are in a cool area lettuce have a strong tendency to bolt in warm weather. They are classed as summer veggies but will often stand cold conditions down to mild frost. To reduce/prevent bolting:
- grow them between seasons,
- choose the right cultivars,
- mulch around heavily,
- do not allow to dry out
- and in hot areas cover with 50% shade cloth in summer.
Leaf crops will do fine in part sun unlike cucurbits which need full sun.
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Broadly that’s a good article. Beans and herbs I support completely, lettuces with reservation due to the bolting problem mentioned elsewhere in this topic.
Tomatoes are probably the best return for the starting veggie grower because you can get a good crop in a limited area, they will be better tasting than supermarket ones if you pick good cultivars and you can pick them ripe off the vine. I don’t know why you emphasise cherry tomatoes, you can grow all sizes and the little ones are often filled with a greater proportion of seeds and are tedious to de-seed if that is your need. Tomatoes are very suited to seed saving, you can grow your favourite from one year to the next and they have no pollination problems.
If you don’t have the room or time to wait for the larger brassicas like cabbages, caulis etc try little ones that will be ready in a weeks rather than months. The Asian cabbages and allies come in a myriad of styles, flavours and sizes. Try Bok Choy, Mizuna and Choy Sum to start with. They don’t need much room and are easy to grow from seed with few problems. Try them in the cooler months where your summer tomatoes were. Unless you live in a cold region look out for cabbage butterfly, the grubs will destroy your crop in days. Pyrethrin will kill them but you have to keep spraying and it also kills beneficials. BT avoids that issue but must be applied frequently. Netting to exclude the adults is quite effective provided it stands off. If the adult cannot lay eggs directly on the plants you have no grubs as they cannot hatch elsewhere and crawl in.
You can even grow your own kale. Kale milkshakes! Yummo! I’m excited at the thought of all that green frothy goodness and between-the-teeth fibre.
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An article regarding tips on growing citrus trees.
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Some tips for growing veggies using leftovers.
I am just about to plant some lemongrass which I bought as stalks at a market before putting them in water and then in a pot of soil.
I did that when Bunnings had no seedlings but I later managed to get one which is also going gangbusters.
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A few more food tips.
Making your own sourdough bread.
Cooking veggies.
Growing your own veggies.
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Today’s food tips.
Growing your own plants.
Making your own pantry staples.
Video clip on how to boil an egg.
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/catalogue#view=catalogue2&saleId=32720&areaName=FNQ&page=5
I thought it was amusing until I realised that Woollies probably suspects that the idiots who have stripped the egg shelves bare probably don’t have a clue as to what to do with them.
Hope they know to keep them in a fridge to stop them hatching. 
On Pantry Staples, ice cream usually needs cold storage.
You can grow your own, climate dependant. The Ice Cream Bean Tree!
Just one note for caution. This sub-tropical tree while good at fixing Nitrogen in the soil can get out of control. Similar in rapid growth and spread to the ubiquitous Aussie Umbrella Trees. A neighbour in BrisVegas has one. If you collect the seed pods and consume the pulp, or bin or … compost effectively - all good. The seeds quite readily produce offspring on the other side of the back fence. Not a neighbour friendly tree if it is left rampant. It’s best kept pruned once established, to maintain the size and shape.
P.S. Dairy free, so a great tasting alternative for those who can not or choose not to.
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Another article regarding growing veggies at home.
An interesting article regarding growing food in urban areas.
