Welcome to the Melbourne Community Daily Discussion Thread.
Is there anything you can recommend to a beginner that’s perhaps a little less likely to die? Or should I just go straight to something slightly more difficult (I really want to try my hand at strawberries) and keep trying until I get something from it?
I wouldn’t start with strawberries, they’re disappointing mofos IMO.
Building on Catfish’s other comment, I recommend growing dwarf snow peas from seed. High germination rate, not that many pests/diseases, don’t take up much space, not that picky (just keep it well watered), will twine even on a couple of sticks, enjoys part shade, long growing season (so easy to just keep sowing every 6-8 weeks for a continuous crop), usually prolific and quick to fruit - plus you can eat the shoots as well as the pods :)
They’re a popular choice for kids. Legumes are generally fun. When I was a kid, it was mung beans in a plastic paper cup.
And don’t take it too hard if you kill a plant, EVERYONE has done it regardless of skill level or experience - I have a graveyard of dead houseplants I still haven’t tidied up… Just keep going and you’ll start accumulating successes that you can build on :)
E: I also heartily recommend starting with pots. Just easier to control and manage and a lower rate of encountering insects (usually).
Ah alright. I’m not a huge fan of peas, but I may give them a go even just to try and build my confidence with plants up a little bit. Not entirely related, but will food banks take homegrown stuff like that? I don’t really do peas, but if it’s fruitful and I can’t find anyone who wants them, maybe donating them could be good?
The only thing I’ve tried to keep before was a succulent. I meant to find it somewhere nice in my room where it’d get a bit of sun but I forgot about it and by the time I found it again 4 months later it was long dead and basically dust. I don’t think I’ll screw up that badly again though, my current succulent seems to be doing somewhat okay
cabbage
pretty easy
U wot m8. If you didn’t have a caterpillar problem you do now! I find them impossible to grow at all, let alone to a nice head, without picking off eggs/caterpillars every single morning and even then something else comes and devours it…
