Welcome to the Melbourne Community Daily Discussion Thread.
Not sure about the spiders and bugs, they are pretty much part and parcel with being outside.
In regards to learning to garden, I learned most things through books and constantly reading about it, combined with continual practice. Things will continually die, fail to sprout, bolt to seed before you can eat them, get infested with pests and eaten by wildlife. The trick it to keep working at it and improve the percentage that is successful.
I would recommend you start with an actual book or two - there is tons of information on the internet, but a decent book has been structured to provide all of the basic information you need in a coherent order. Some of the info online is also of somewhat dubious accuracy.
It’s been a while since I looked at any. I’d head to the library and look for anything that is along the lines of a “complete guide to gardening”. Just make sure you are aware of whether it is Australian or from the Northern hemisphere, as it can get confusing with the seasons opposite ours - although the basic information will still be relevant.
