I've converted my front yard to be mostly edible plants, I think they are often underrated in how ornamental they can be.

Well, the next best thing.

Hibiscus heterophyllus.

How does your garden grow?

Welcome to the weekly discussion thread for the Gardening Australia community. Use this post to dscuss anything garden related that you don't think justifies its own post.

University of Tasmania currently have a Certificate and Diploma in Sustainable Living available with a HECS waiver - meaning that if you are eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place you can enroll and they will waive the student contribution. The courses are fully online with no fixed times you need to be available, so are quite flexible to fit around other commitments.

Many of the courses are practical and the assignements relate you your own situation and local area. I am just finishing the Science of Gardening subjects, which has deepened my understanding of how plants grow and the interactions between different organisms in the garden. The assignments have included things like assessing the soil in my garden, and the final assignment is pulling together everything to create a comprehensive design plan for my own garden.

There are also subjects on sustainable housing and biodiversity, if you are interested in doing some study I highly recommend looking into this.

Welcome to the weekly discussion thread for the Gardening Australia community. Use this post to dscuss anything garden related that you don't think justifies its own post.

Welcome to the weekly discussion thread for the Gardening Australia community. Use this post to dscuss anything garden related that you don't think justifies its own post.

My zucchini produced a beautifully matched set of flowers yesterday morning.

The one on the left is female, the one on the right is male - you can tell the difference as the male has only a single stamen in the centre. You can also tell the difference if you look behind the flowers, the female has a tiny zucchini attaching it to the plant, the male has a normal stem.

If your baby zucchini are withering on the vine rather than growing you need to hand pollinate them. You can either pull off the male flower, remove the stamen and brush it onto the centre of the female flower or use a brush to transfer the pollen (the flowers wither soon anyway, so I just remove the flower).

A gravel wicking bed. The soil is 100% gravel by volume with 15% compost and biochar filling the gaps.

Is there any way to salvage a coriander plant when it does this, or am I best to mulch it and start from scratch?

My parsley is looking like it is about to do the same thing. Is there any way to prevent it and help it continue producing?

Welcome to the weekly discussion thread for the Gardening Australia community. Use this post to dscuss anything garden related that you don't think justifies its own post.

Bot #001 has identified today as Wed

I've certainly had plenty of these butterflies around my place. I'm hoping that there are enough predatory insects built up from snacking on my aphids that will cross over to butterfly larvae.

I would like a place I can talk about the random happenings in my garden that don't justify a stand alone post. Exciting things like my tomato plant finally growing, or the sadness that my snow peas seem to be dying off prematurely.

Would anyone else like to share their gardening snippits? If there is enough interest I can set up a regularly weekly thread (@[email protected] I presume that will be ok?)

Pic is just for interest - this is the collection of gardening pictures I put together to illustrate my garden design goals for a recent assignment.

After a month, I think it's going well. Time will tell. Any tips, tricks or advice, let me know.

Basically Macquarie University and the EPA are partnering in citizen science programs to receive soil and dust samples for testing. This is to provide them with contamination data around lead and other metals, and in return you receive a report about the safety of your soil and what to do if it’s unsafe.

VegeSafe through the Environmental Science staff at Macquarie is open to all Australians and they request a donation starting at $20. Victorians are encouraged to go through GardenSafe.

GardenSafe through the EPA is geared at Victorians, apparently has some extras and is free other than the postage to submit soil samples.

There’s another one less relevant to this instance called DustSafe that tests household dust. They have testing facilities in England, Australia and USA, and ask for a donation starting at $20.

All three programs and links to submit samples can be seen here.

Edit: Soil contamination also affects backyard chickens and their eggs

Researchers have expressed alarm at the uncovering of thousands of online advertisements selling invasive plants that pose a risk to Australia’s wildlife.

I'm considering removing the front fence (which is a criss cross pattern made of wood) at the front of my house (its literally only 1m high, there is no gate, and you can walk around it using the driveway. This would allow me to create a path from my doorway, directly to the footpath, and replace the grass with Trees native shrubs and flowers. I'd then grow a small hedge where the fence was.

Just wondering whether the fence adds any real value to the property, if I replace it with a hedge anyway?

Just putting it out there that your local library or council may run free seed libraries.

You borrow some seeds, plant them, then allow some of the plants to set seed and donate them back to ‘return’.

They may also run community gardens or events to help you learn. Some might even accept unused seeds from packets. (They will probably prefer those be heirloom seeds though, as those seeds will grow true when saved. Hybrids aren’t good for the purpose.)

Here are a few links as a starting point. This isn’t exhaustive though so if your area isn’t listed on here check your local library or council to see if one is on offer.

https://localfoodconnect.org.au/local-food-directory/seed-libraries/

https://www.yourlibrary.com.au/seed-library-2/

My parents ripped these wayward Elephant Ears out of their garden. If I cut the bottom part off where there are roots and pot them up will they sprout back?

cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/683614

Saving the planet starts in your own backyard and the University of Tasmania's Sustainable Living courses can equip you with everything you need to know to put your green thumb to work.

As both courses are eligible for a 100% HECS and Student Services and Amenities Fee waiver, this means you can study Sustainable Living without paying a thing.

Among the topics available to study are Backyard Biodiversity, and the Science of Gardening, which have become popular options for those wanting to learn ways to be more sustainable at home.

If you want learn how to lead the sustainability charge from your own home, a Diploma or Undergraduate Certificate of Sustainable Living can equip you with the knowledge you need.

I am starting to make plans for the summer vegetable garden, and one of the big issues I will face will be too much sun. I need to work out ways to provide shade to the main garden, most of which gets full sun. I don't have money to spend on anything too major, but I have some shade cloth and bamboo so will hopefully be able to rig up something that works without impeding access too much.

What does everyone else do to protect their vegie garden from excess sun over summer?

You'll have to click the article for the 10 tips!

Whether you're greening your backyard, balcony or back paddock, our tips for plastic free planting not only reduce waste, they can save you money too.

Avoid accumulating black plastic seedling trays or punnets and save money by raising your own baby plants from seed! Seed is often sold in paper packets that can be recycled or composted - no plastic.

Our tips so far have generally been cheap as well as plastic free - this tip is about when it pays to spend more.

Rather than buying compost and other soil improvers in packaging, a plastic free option is to try making your own, enlisting the help of worms and other decomposers! A healthy compost heap is a great asset, transforming your food waste into a nutrient-rich resource for free.

These are just a few tips to get you started - but we're sure you can come up with quite a few of your own plastic free ideas for greening Australia.

Just when I was complaining about the warm winter yesterday.

Anyone have a resource that tells you what things are good to plant for different times of the year?