Spring Has Sprung!
“Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party”
baby marina di chioggia
And party in the garden we will! Here in sunny Brisbane, the weather is gorgeous!! Lovely and warm during the day, with a gentle breeze, and just chilly enough at night to still have a bit of snuggle. If only it could stay this way forever!
Spring is also a beautiful time in the garden, everything seems like it has an extra pep in it’s step. The sun is shining, birds are happily chirping, and the bees are buzzing. Feels like you are staring in your own Disney movie even! It is definitely the perfect time for any aspiring green thumb to get their hands dirty. Plant a few seedlings and you will have fresh and the most delicious tomatoes before you know it!
When it comes to deciding what to plant, we always tell people, grow what you love to eat. It will give you such joy to pick your favourite fruit or veg, plus you will definitely save money because chances are, if you love it, you buy it every week.
marina di chioggia pumpkin
Some new additions for us this spring are bird’s eye chillis, sweet corn, celery, assortment of greens, cucumber, radish, tomatoes and check out this heirloom pumpkin - Marina Di Chioggia, a heirloom sea pumpkin of Chioggia on the coast of Italy. The flesh is said to be rich and sweet, and how cool does it look from the outside! We get really excited when we grow a new heirloom vegetable! A great benefit of growing heirloom varieties is they are open pollinated and you can save your seeds from year to year. Not to mention they will most likely taste better and be healthier for you. We got our seedling from The Edible Landscapes Nursery at Northey Street City Farm. It is one of our favourite places in Brisbane. If you are a local and haven't checked the city farm out, you really need to put it on your list.
If you want know what other yummy fruit and veg are right for planting in your area at the moment, check out the Gardening Australia Vegie Guide (you'll find a neat interactive map).
We would love to hear what you have growing in your pot or patch, or feel free to shoot us a question - we love talking about gardening and growing food ;)