This was a great read Duncan! I work in a plant nursery so I often feel torn about the advice people want and what I am "supposed" to "sell". I have an interesting example from the other day where I lost a sale for some Eco-Neem because honestly a few holes in your sage leaves is nothing to worry about - but spraying neem on them and using them in cooking IS something to worry about. I am lucky that I can steer the sale to something else more useful/less harmful if I have to - so am doing right by work but better by the customer - instead of a tub of fertiliser, what about a bag of manure (if you think you need something) - no beans seedlings, but we have different seeds. What I have found is people just want "something". I am one of the annoying staff in that I like to try and educate people - I often show them your website too - as I find you have good practical and relatively local info to refer to. And carrot seedlings.....don't get me started!
Thanks for such great work 'at the coalface'. We need more people such as yourself spreading the good word and educating people that growing food can be as simple and gimmick-free as they like.
Thanks also for promoting my work. I really appreciate it more than I can convey.
Keep at it, every gardener we can convert to a more relaxed way of doing things is a win.
Dear man, you have just totally confirmed all my gardening prejudices! Ha ha ha!
But, I did manage to 'kill' a couple of blueberries before I tried growing them in wicking beds, where they have done spectacularly well (in a 'soil' made mainly of oak leafmould, for the record.)
But maybe what killed the first ones was just LACK OF WATER, not lack of wicking bed. Who knows?
One purchase I don't regret is a bunch of Trichogramma microwasps for the orchard. That was about 5 years ago, and we've had no codlin moth ever since. We have a lot of apples. We never spray anything in the orchard.
In the veg patch, I now do mainly no-dig, and mulch - at 78 I'm getting a bit too lazy to dig, I suppose. (I never 'turn' the compost heap, either! Shock, horror!) And everything is going just fine. I no longer care about spots on the apricots, the odd weed, or holes in the silver beet. I do get a bit peeved when blackbirds strip the berries, so I tolerate nets on those, though they are a dratted nuisance...
But, I'll know I'm getting too old when I can't be bothered playing in the dirt any more!
I do like to ignore rules. And sometimes it pays off nicely. I tried planting beans late in the season (January) - well past the advisory planting time for my area - and found that I had beans to pick well into June. I plant a late crop every year now, and if we have a long, warm autumn we have fresh beans until winter. Sometimes autumn arrives sharp and cold: it doesn't work so well as a strategy then, but in January no-one knows what kind of autumn we'll have, so I plant beans.
I love this story Olwyn. It typifies my approach to gardening. Ignore the naysayers and have a crack. It might not work all the time, but you also might just find a new way to do something. Well done and thanks for sharing.
I am testing it out too, late planting beans and corn, even chucked in a few tomatoe seedling still lying around doing well. And trying for a couple of more cucumber plants. If the autumn nights get cool, you can always cover with a sheet of plastic (reuseable).
You never know, do you? Somehow a self-sown tomato seedling survived (in a pot with a fig) through winter. Today I picked the equivalent of two punnets of cherry tomatoes.
Hi Duncan, the post I just received has to be the best one I've read. Honest, clever, witty and so so true. I have to agree with all you said in it. I'm 73 and been gardening for quite awhile and couldnt have put it better. The points about the industry telling and selling us unnecessary hogwash is so very true. I am not a paid member as its just another expense for me but I love getting the posts from you that I do. Thanks for your hard work.
The best one you've read? Wow, thanks for the fantastic review.
I appreciate the support of all of my readers. My main aim is to get more folks with their hands in the soil, growing food. Both paid and free subscribers are equally as important.
Thanks for your support and happy gardening in 2026.
What a terrific article. You have hit the nail on the head. I have until recent years (when finances aren't so constrained due to children growing up etc.. )been a “poor gardener “ l just didn't have the funds to buy into lots of sprays / potions and every gimmick gardeners were told we must have. Its made me a better gardener.
You never stop learning, l love your articles, they are making me a better gardener ,l am using my “ local garden” knowledge much more. The final results are improved but still we can have a bad year like l did for tomatoes last year. I did get tomatoes but very late in the season.
I have only picked a couple of tomatoes so far this season but this is normal for my garden! I usually start picking mid January and still have tomatoes till l need the area for winter veggies. If l listened to others or many gardening shows/ magazines.. I would be made feel something is wrong with my tomatoes… there isn't.. Its normal for “my garden”
Thanks Duncan for continuing my garden education, l am loving it. Keep up this important work
I grew up with older Italian neighbours - my own parents and grandparents! I like to say that whatever spaces couldn't grow food for them were concreted over 😅!
Not all advice was great though. My father-in-law considered that anything that moved in the garden was an enemy and he would go to great lengths to kill any poor insects - as well as earthworms 😪. So all advice needs to be tempered by a bit of sense...
Excellent article, just to remind us to keep going, keep trying and keep experimenting. I moved into my current rental 3 years ago and it has taken me a couple of summers to get it right. I already picked cucumbers, zucchinis, lettuce, spring onions, beans, spinach, sorrel, parsley, and even a few little tiny tomatoes. I find that rain water does make the plants grow better than chemical enhanced tap water and I think this differs from each area. I try to keep the rain water up on seedlings until established and the hot weather gets in then it is time for tap water. I am currenlty getting tips from my 80 year old Italian neighbour, he has a cage full of beans trying to get out of the cage and tomatoes are looking good too. Protecting from possums is a big thing too. I am very excited this year, I might even get a watermelon, tiny babies are appearing.
Fabulous as always Duncan, a true honest comrade assisting us to grow what we eat.
Agree it aint that hard if you pay attention, notice everything and don't overthink it. The human mind exists to solve (aka create) problems, and its default is to 'react' and call most things a 'problem'. Chill, wait, and see what you are 'inspired' to do, most of the time it will be nothing, there is no problem. HNY
I appreciate your honesty Duncan. I found your words reassuring as a beginner gardener and as someone wondering whether to invest in a wicking bed. This would be a great article for The Guardian or The Age.
As a fellow workshop presenter (with nothing to 'sell'), I believe the reason people want answers or quick fixes is that there has been a generational dearth of information. Traditionally, information, local knowledge and experience has been handed down through the generations. Now it's no longer so, given that produce gardening experience bypassed a couple of generations with the rise of supermarkets and the abundance of readily available fresh food (albeit flavourless 🤔). And circumstances have changed too, with smaller land holdings (eg balcony gardens) so the gardening landscape is now very different. It's unfortunately too easy to sell to those with no background...
Spot on Maria. I agree that generally speaking, there's been a few generations (mine included) who didn't listen to the advice being dispensed by their forebears. Now a lot of inter-generational wisdom has been lost. We've both built business that help reconnect folks to that temporarily lost gardening wisdom.
I talk to the older neighbours like my Italian neighbour, they love it if you comment on their garden and get started with conversation. They might even invite you in the back garden where all the magic happens.
Chatting to locals is where it is at. I always recommend growing some food in the front yard. It's a sure fire way to start conversations with passers by and create some wonderful connections.
This was a great read Duncan! I work in a plant nursery so I often feel torn about the advice people want and what I am "supposed" to "sell". I have an interesting example from the other day where I lost a sale for some Eco-Neem because honestly a few holes in your sage leaves is nothing to worry about - but spraying neem on them and using them in cooking IS something to worry about. I am lucky that I can steer the sale to something else more useful/less harmful if I have to - so am doing right by work but better by the customer - instead of a tub of fertiliser, what about a bag of manure (if you think you need something) - no beans seedlings, but we have different seeds. What I have found is people just want "something". I am one of the annoying staff in that I like to try and educate people - I often show them your website too - as I find you have good practical and relatively local info to refer to. And carrot seedlings.....don't get me started!
Thanks for such great work 'at the coalface'. We need more people such as yourself spreading the good word and educating people that growing food can be as simple and gimmick-free as they like.
Thanks also for promoting my work. I really appreciate it more than I can convey.
Keep at it, every gardener we can convert to a more relaxed way of doing things is a win.
Hi Duncan,
Dear man, you have just totally confirmed all my gardening prejudices! Ha ha ha!
But, I did manage to 'kill' a couple of blueberries before I tried growing them in wicking beds, where they have done spectacularly well (in a 'soil' made mainly of oak leafmould, for the record.)
But maybe what killed the first ones was just LACK OF WATER, not lack of wicking bed. Who knows?
One purchase I don't regret is a bunch of Trichogramma microwasps for the orchard. That was about 5 years ago, and we've had no codlin moth ever since. We have a lot of apples. We never spray anything in the orchard.
In the veg patch, I now do mainly no-dig, and mulch - at 78 I'm getting a bit too lazy to dig, I suppose. (I never 'turn' the compost heap, either! Shock, horror!) And everything is going just fine. I no longer care about spots on the apricots, the odd weed, or holes in the silver beet. I do get a bit peeved when blackbirds strip the berries, so I tolerate nets on those, though they are a dratted nuisance...
But, I'll know I'm getting too old when I can't be bothered playing in the dirt any more!
Keep playing, and Best Regards,
Rose
Hi Rose,
I'm glad that the post gave you a good laugh. Thanks for sharing your wisdom and insights.
Happy gardening
Duncan
I do like to ignore rules. And sometimes it pays off nicely. I tried planting beans late in the season (January) - well past the advisory planting time for my area - and found that I had beans to pick well into June. I plant a late crop every year now, and if we have a long, warm autumn we have fresh beans until winter. Sometimes autumn arrives sharp and cold: it doesn't work so well as a strategy then, but in January no-one knows what kind of autumn we'll have, so I plant beans.
I love this story Olwyn. It typifies my approach to gardening. Ignore the naysayers and have a crack. It might not work all the time, but you also might just find a new way to do something. Well done and thanks for sharing.
I am testing it out too, late planting beans and corn, even chucked in a few tomatoe seedling still lying around doing well. And trying for a couple of more cucumber plants. If the autumn nights get cool, you can always cover with a sheet of plastic (reuseable).
You never know, do you? Somehow a self-sown tomato seedling survived (in a pot with a fig) through winter. Today I picked the equivalent of two punnets of cherry tomatoes.
Funny the self-sown tomato I found that survived over winter was and is the first to fruit. It is cherry type too, they seem to very tough.
Hi Duncan, the post I just received has to be the best one I've read. Honest, clever, witty and so so true. I have to agree with all you said in it. I'm 73 and been gardening for quite awhile and couldnt have put it better. The points about the industry telling and selling us unnecessary hogwash is so very true. I am not a paid member as its just another expense for me but I love getting the posts from you that I do. Thanks for your hard work.
Regards, Christine
Hi Christine,
The best one you've read? Wow, thanks for the fantastic review.
I appreciate the support of all of my readers. My main aim is to get more folks with their hands in the soil, growing food. Both paid and free subscribers are equally as important.
Thanks for your support and happy gardening in 2026.
Duncan
What happened to 2025? lol
oops, yup, getting ahead of myself again.
What a terrific article. You have hit the nail on the head. I have until recent years (when finances aren't so constrained due to children growing up etc.. )been a “poor gardener “ l just didn't have the funds to buy into lots of sprays / potions and every gimmick gardeners were told we must have. Its made me a better gardener.
You never stop learning, l love your articles, they are making me a better gardener ,l am using my “ local garden” knowledge much more. The final results are improved but still we can have a bad year like l did for tomatoes last year. I did get tomatoes but very late in the season.
I have only picked a couple of tomatoes so far this season but this is normal for my garden! I usually start picking mid January and still have tomatoes till l need the area for winter veggies. If l listened to others or many gardening shows/ magazines.. I would be made feel something is wrong with my tomatoes… there isn't.. Its normal for “my garden”
Thanks Duncan for continuing my garden education, l am loving it. Keep up this important work
Hi Nola,
Thanks for your kind words of appreciation and encouragement. I’m glad that the post “hit the nail on the head”.
There’s never a perfect season. As I said in the article: “You might learn what to expect, but you’ll never know what you’ll actually get”.
That’s the fun of gardening!
Happy gardening in 2025 and thanks for your support.
Duncan
I grew up with older Italian neighbours - my own parents and grandparents! I like to say that whatever spaces couldn't grow food for them were concreted over 😅!
Not all advice was great though. My father-in-law considered that anything that moved in the garden was an enemy and he would go to great lengths to kill any poor insects - as well as earthworms 😪. So all advice needs to be tempered by a bit of sense...
Yes, there's a lot of wisdom in the advice from past generations, but as you say, sometimes a filter of common sense needs to be applied.
Excellent article, just to remind us to keep going, keep trying and keep experimenting. I moved into my current rental 3 years ago and it has taken me a couple of summers to get it right. I already picked cucumbers, zucchinis, lettuce, spring onions, beans, spinach, sorrel, parsley, and even a few little tiny tomatoes. I find that rain water does make the plants grow better than chemical enhanced tap water and I think this differs from each area. I try to keep the rain water up on seedlings until established and the hot weather gets in then it is time for tap water. I am currenlty getting tips from my 80 year old Italian neighbour, he has a cage full of beans trying to get out of the cage and tomatoes are looking good too. Protecting from possums is a big thing too. I am very excited this year, I might even get a watermelon, tiny babies are appearing.
Sounds like you are kicking some great goals in the garden. Well done and thanks for sharing your experience.
Good luck with the watermelons and happy gardening in 2025.
And thank you for the great articles, looking forward to more. Never stop learning.
Fabulous as always Duncan, a true honest comrade assisting us to grow what we eat.
Agree it aint that hard if you pay attention, notice everything and don't overthink it. The human mind exists to solve (aka create) problems, and its default is to 'react' and call most things a 'problem'. Chill, wait, and see what you are 'inspired' to do, most of the time it will be nothing, there is no problem. HNY
Hi Jillee,
Thanks for the wonderful feedback. I'm glad the post resonated with you.
Happy New Year and happy gardening!
I appreciate your honesty Duncan. I found your words reassuring as a beginner gardener and as someone wondering whether to invest in a wicking bed. This would be a great article for The Guardian or The Age.
Hi Phillipa,
I'm so glad the article has hit its target. My aim was to reassure beginner gardeners such as yourself to just have a go.
I'll let you know if one of the papers come knocking ;-)
Happy gardening in 2026.
Duncan
You can make your own wicking beds much cheaper and they are great for certain things like celery and deep rooted veg.
You sure can, but you also don't need to. Raised beds and in the ground are fine also. They all work!
As a fellow workshop presenter (with nothing to 'sell'), I believe the reason people want answers or quick fixes is that there has been a generational dearth of information. Traditionally, information, local knowledge and experience has been handed down through the generations. Now it's no longer so, given that produce gardening experience bypassed a couple of generations with the rise of supermarkets and the abundance of readily available fresh food (albeit flavourless 🤔). And circumstances have changed too, with smaller land holdings (eg balcony gardens) so the gardening landscape is now very different. It's unfortunately too easy to sell to those with no background...
Spot on Maria. I agree that generally speaking, there's been a few generations (mine included) who didn't listen to the advice being dispensed by their forebears. Now a lot of inter-generational wisdom has been lost. We've both built business that help reconnect folks to that temporarily lost gardening wisdom.
Keep up the good work in 2026.
Duncan
You're getting a bit ahead of yourself. I'm just looking towards 2025 🤣🤣
Ah yes, indeed. All the years are blurring into one now. It must be a sign that I'm getting old. Enjoy 2025 and 2026!
I talk to the older neighbours like my Italian neighbour, they love it if you comment on their garden and get started with conversation. They might even invite you in the back garden where all the magic happens.
Chatting to locals is where it is at. I always recommend growing some food in the front yard. It's a sure fire way to start conversations with passers by and create some wonderful connections.