Growing

Find my posts about our garden here


June 2012
Here's our backyard in June 2012, about 2 months after we moved in.
December 2013
And here it is 18 months later, in December 2013. You can flick through the progress shots here


It's really hard to find information on the internet about gardening in Townsville, and our climate here is fairly unique - tropical, but dry for most of the year, with some ridiculously wet periods. I make no claims to being a good gardener, especially since we've really just begun to have the space to grow things, but as we work out what grows for us and what doesn't, I will come back here and give some updates. This is as much a reference for Andy and I as it is for others to peek in on our greenery. I'll put any notes along side, but this will not be any kind of comprehensive gardening manual! 
Almost-ripe peanut butter fruit.


This is what we have tried to grow, or are growing, so far.

Fruit Trees & Shrubs
Cinnamon
Planted April 2013
Cassava
fast growing screen plants
Grumichama - black
Planted in January 2013 - very slow first month, and then lots of new growth
Avocado - wurtz
Don't plant in full sun in Townsville summer. Don't overwater.
Mulberry - dwarf black
Very fast grower - sweet fruit. Pick berries as they ripen and store in the freezer until enough for baking
Custard apple
Grown from seed (gifted from a friend) - planted November 2013
Lime - Australian blood lime
Growing pretty quickly - this is a cross between an Indian Rangpur and a native finger lime
Mulberry - red shahtoot
Planted in April 2013, a few fruits in October 2013. Andy says they taste like a rainbow.
Ice cream bean
One of the first things we planted, in mid-2012, steady grower
Mandarin - dwarf imperial
Planted winter 2013
Abiu
Planted April 2013
pineapple
We plant the tops anytime we buy fruit from the market.
Star apple
Slow to start (planted in June 2012, and then it was nearly killed by a digging dog) but put on lots of growth in spring / summer
Dragon fruit - yellow pitaya
Planted in pots in May 2012 and they struggled; put into the ground in December 2012 and they are doing much better
Dragon fruit - red
Planted in pots in May 2012 and they struggled; put into the ground in December 2012 and they are doing much better
Passion fruit - yellow
Slow to start (planted in winter 2012) but put on lots of growth in spring / summer, prolific fruiter in late summer / autumn
Passion fruit - purple
Planted October 2013
Guava - apple
Fast growth - planted mid-2012, fruit by late 2013
Achacha
Grown from seed
Bananas
We've planted suckers since May 2012, anytime friends are giving them away. Fruit takes 3 or 4 months to ripen but can be harvested a hand at a time to avoid banana glut
Coffee
Fairly vigorous grower when in part-sun; full sun makes it go yellow-ish and a bit leggy
Lime - West Indian (Key lime)
Going okay but not great - probably more to do with soil than the plant itself (planted in spring 2012)
Star fruit
Grown from seed (Permaculture swap) - planted November 2013
Pomegranate
Planted January 2013, semi-deciduous in dry season
Pawpaw - yellow
Slow to thrive, starting to take off after nearly a year in the ground - need good compost
Pawpaw - red
Very fast grower - planted December 2012
Peanut Butter tree
Planted January 2013 - doubled in size in about 3 months, small amounts of fruit ripening within 11 months of planting. Fruit taste like cooked sweet potato
Grumichama - orange
Planted April 2013
Mandarin
Grown from seed (gifted from a friend) - planted May 2012
Lemon - Eureka
Very fast grower - planted June 2012
Jack fruit
Planted January 2013








Veggies, Flowers, and other Things - This is too much work to keep up to date, because the plants change too regularly! But I will leave this list here as a record of our first year of growing things. Check the posts tagged with garden to see what goes really well since then.
Plant (variety)
Season
Notes
Aloe Vera

doesn't love direct sunlight
Amaranth (mekong red)
winter
Didn't germinate! I think because it got too cold straight after we planted the seeds, and really rainy
Amaranth (red calaloo)
winter
slow to come up in the cold weather
Amaranth (red calaloo)
spring

Basil
all

beetroot
winter-spring
Didn't form bulbs
bougainvillea


calendula
winter
Slow to start but lots of big flowers once it got going
calendula
spring

capsicum


Chilli (bird's eye)
all

Choko
winter-spring
grew vigorously for a while and then died off before fruiting
coastal grevillea


cucumber
all
vines are relatively short lived, but fruit prolifically while they are alive
Dill
spring
likes lots of water
Eggplant (the big purple ones)

Has been flowering and fruiting for about 6 months non-stop
garlic chives


geranium
spring

Hibiscus


jicama
spring-summer
took >2 months to germinate from seeds
Kale (black tuscan)
winter

Kale (red russian)
autumn

Lamb's wort
winter-spring

lemon grass


luffa
spring -summer

marigolds
all

mint

Dried out a lot and died back in the build-up to the wet season
mizuna


Nasturtium
winter
A bit slow to come up but once they got going they went super well
Nasturtium
spring
In a garden bed that gets lots of direct sun, so they are a bit less thrivey and want more water
Okra
spring-summer
grows quickly, fruits early, susceptible to root knot nematodes
Oregano

vigorous pot grower
pansies
spring

Parsley


peanuts
winter-spring
Harvested in November-December
perennial coriander


Pigeon Pea

great bushes with lots of pods
Pumpkin (butternut)
winter
really vigorous growth, quick to die off
Pumpking (uchiki kuri)
winter-spring
slower to start, lots of flowers
radishes (sparkler)
winter
super fast to harvest
radishes (sparkler)
spring
super fast to harvest, needs a bit more water
radishes (sparkler)
summer
too hot
rocket
spring - winter

rosella
spring-summer
grows well from seeds, buds on early
Roses


Snake beans (black)
spring-summer
Not coping well with dry hot weather, maybe not in good soil
soy beans
winter
They did okay but not great, started dying off when it warmed up a little
Spring onions
winter-spring
Struggle street - need more nutrients than they got maybe?
sunflowers
spring-summer

sweet leaf

got off on the wrong foot when Tika dug it up, but starting to grow again
sweet potato (orange)
all
slow to start, vigorous in summer
taro
summer
garden bed too dry for corms to grow successfully
Tea
spring
dead.
Thyme

vigorous pot grower
Tomato (apollo improved)
winter-spring
vigorous producer, less quality flavour, more resistant to fruit fly
Tomato (black russian)
winter-spring
big delicious fruit, v susceptible to fruit fly
tomatoes (cherry)
winter-spring
natural sprouters, quick to fruit and prolific
Vanilla orchid


Vietnamese mint
winter-spring
died off in dry hot time
yacon
spring
Only two rhizomes grew, and this was 6-18 weeks after planting
zucchini (black jack)
winter
vigorous producer, some susceptibility to fruit fly, died back when weather warmed up but maybe it was just at the end of its life?
zucchini (golden)
spring-summer
no fruit set without maggots



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