Hi there everyone,

I'm hoping to engage in a respectful conversation with others, so please keep that in mind when contributing comment(s). I'm not here to speak negatively about anyones gardening habits as I'm a big believe in your own garden is YOURs to manage however you see fit, so please understand this isn't an attack at anyone who chooses to use pesticides, fungacides, herbicides, etc within their garden. Just moreso looking for some discussion about why to use this vs organic/chemical free methods such as time, equipment and what most deem 'less harmful', i.e., the squishing of bugs, digging out weeds, etc.

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I've always loved gardening, and grew up with a family who loved growing roses, tomatoes and loads more. Now that I have my own space to tend to, over the last 10 years I've begun my gardening journey.
Originally I was very eager to have what I would deem a nice, pretty, neat garden. I was determined to get it looking like the instagram and pinterest posts online. Lush garden beds overflowing with healthy, perfect produce. Immaculate lawns and more.

How quickly I was humbled.

I remember being frustrated one day and spraying some herbs that were overrun with pests. I grabbed the pyrethrum spray and eagerly began spraying, essentially dousing the plant. That'll get them, I remember thinking. It was only after this I noticed deep within the foliage an adult praying mantis. I desperately tried to save it by moving it away to another plant, only to realise I had unfortunately killed this beneficial insect by reaching for the bug-killing spray. It was then that started my organic, chemical free gardening journey, as I had realised that perhaps if i'd waited some time, the praying mantis might've dealt with the issue for me.

It hasn't been an easy journey. I definitely do not have pinterest or instagram worthy gardens, and although lovely, I have made peace with the fact they will likely never look like that. I have started and restarted garden beds numerous times, planted seedlings numerous times and have definitely been frustrated beyond belief. I can't tell you how many times I've experienced planting a seedling, only for it to die or be eaten by pests, only to then have to restart the journey.

On the flip side of this, not using chemicals has seen the return of a lot of beneficial invertebrates in my garden. I now have many small garden spiders, dragonflies, native blue banded, leaf cutter, resin and teddy bear bees, lady bugs and more.

Recently I noticed my David Austin Bathsheba rose had an aphid problem. The ants were farming them and of course they were more than happy to hang out on the buds. I had recently acquired a Tetragonula Carbonaria hive of native stingless bees (sugarbag bees) and had been educating myself further on the risks of even fungacides and herbacides to these invertebrates. I decided instead to pop on a podcast and go out with a gloved hand and 'smush' the aphids or cut off the stems/buds that were too far gone. I then used the hose on the jet setting and blasted off what I could. The next day they were nearly gone. The day after that, I noticed some small crab spiders moving in and making good use of them, and then the day after that hoverflies were hanging around, eager for the easy meal. I have to say now that it is thriving and growing beautifully and I can't help but wonder if it's because of minimal help and leaving it do the 'balance of nature' per se. (Of course it should be noted that this method doesn't always work and sometimes the plant is lost).

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I watch a fair amount of australian youtubers that are into gardening as well as other gardeners on platforms and one thing I have noticed is that most (not all) are very eager to promote the use of fungacides, herbicides and pesticides as their method of getting rid of pests. I'm noticing these are much more promotoed than say 'bugsforbugs' and/or methods like milk for powdery mildew, for example.

This leaves me feeling really confused and conflicted. There are so many of us that are eager to 'save the bees' and not contribute to soil degradation, yet we easily reach for the quick and efficient pest or weed control methods. Which poses the question, is pest management meant to be quick and easy? Is weed management meant to be quick and easy? Is gardening meant to be quick and easy?

With the acquisition of my bees, I've been researching how fungacides and even herbicides can carry  insecticidal properties. I've been learning how these products contribute to soil degradation too.

Just recently I had a conversation with a family member who wanted to "restart their front garden" and was looking for my help. I agreed and we began brainstorming plants. They then went on to say that the weeds were "not going to be a problem" because their plan was to routinely "just go out and spray a bit of roundup on whatever comes up". I found this really counter productive to the gardening experience. Isn't the whole idea of gardening to spend time in your gardening tending to it? Doesn't gardening take time? Isn't this how we learn and grow (pun intended) as gardeners? By, in this example, spending time in our front garden pulling those weeds and, in addition to doing the fun jobs, also spending our time doing the 'not so fun jobs' and learning?

On one side of the coin, I definitely can see how certain products have their place and how easy they are at applying and using within the garden. On the other hand, with what I have been learning, and how eager I see people are to use these products, it's worrying for the future of our gardens and the creatures big and small that live within it.

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I'm curious to know others thoughts on this topic and I am eager to learn/understand more.

Not sure if this is the right sub so feel free to direct me elsewhere if required.

My partner and I are pretty new to gardening and we have a couple of fruit trees (apple, pear and plum) that are shedding like crazy.

Most days right now I’m picking up at least 40+ pieces of fruit that have fallen to the ground either because of birds, bats & possums or seemingly, their own weight on the branch.

The green bin, especially this last week with the heat we’ve had, smells like cider (not a bad thing) but every time I open it up, a whole lot of small insects come flying out. I assume they’re codling moths (happy to be corrected).

I’m wondering if there’s something I can put in the bin to kill them off, preferably non toxic.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Let me preface by saying I know nothing about gardening.

I planted a garden bed with some tractor seats, summer scent plants, elephant ears and taro varieties. They are all still alive but there’s some things I’m starting to notice that make me believe they are not healthy or I’m having a pest problem. This includes, holes in the leaves (something eating it?), white powdery stuff, eggs under the leaves and brown patches.

I’ve looked into pests but so many of the symptoms of pests look the same to me. If anything looks obvious to you, please let me know!

Im hoping to buy larger fruiting fruit trees in the next few months.

Looking for recommendations on the best place in Perth to source them.

Thank you

Good evening Redditors, The girlfriend and I bought a house about a year ago in the Northern suburbs of Perth, with an incredibly sad and neglected lemon tree in the backyard, it was all leggy and had been heavily cut back to basically just trunks (yes,plural) / branches....so, we watered it, we gave it love, it's bounced back great.

BUT - one year on, it's showed no signs of flowering or fruiting, just vigorous green growth.

Observations: Long spines / spikes The leaves (When crushed) smell very much like lemon leaves There appears to be dead wood in the centre, with the new "trunks" from below this point..(see photos)

So I guess the question is, are we simply growing some random lemon scented rootstock? Or is there a chance there is still a lemon growing in here somewhere, and the tree is still just recovering from its previous abuse/neglect?

Any insight from the brains trust would be greatly appreciated!

I am trying to get a lot of friendly bugs into the garden to eat the pests, what would people recommend as the best flowers to attract the good bugs?

I have a black mulberry tree in a coastal location of South Australia. It’s canopy would spread around 6 metres and I estimate it’s approx 100 years old. It always provides an abundance of fruit without much care from me. This year I’ve noticed half the crop (especially the more exposed areas of tree) appear dried up and almost sunburnt?? Some of the branches are covered in moss and they tend to be more brittle also but this may be an unrelated matter. Not sure if it’s a fungal disease I read about called popcorn disease. Would it be beneficial to gently remove the dried/dead leaves and fruit? Given the tree is fruiting I imagine this may encourage a better yield? Any tips would be appreciated!

Hello. I'm new to gardening but I've been volunteered as the groundskeeper for my son's community kinder and hoping to get a little advice.

There is a an empty flower bed near the entrance that is just gathering weeds so id like the fill it with something low maintenence, easy on the eye and cheap (paying out of my pocket).

The dimensions are about 3m x 0.5m and it gets a decent amount of sunlight. Don't want anything too tall as it backs onto a window (maybe no higher than 0.5m).

Any thoughts on what I could put in that might discourage weeds and look decent? I'm in Melbourne btw.

Thank you.

Just wondering what brand/model think are the best hedge shears under $80, max $100 but they have to be near perfect.

Looking for something with good hardened steel that retain edge and do not bend and can cut thicker or harder branches when needed. Telescopic is always a bonus.

According to some I have used and reviews on Bunnings & Amazon etc, alot seem to be closer to mild steel and not hardened correctly and seem to bend or warp when attempting to cut anything substantial and lose their edge quickly.

Morning All 👋 I have a potted pineapple that looks to be producing a baby. I'm looking at the leaves and my question is: too much water, too little, does the plant need food, is a re-pot required? It's taken 4 years to get to this point. The pot gets lots of direct sunlight for ~6 hours / day. I also relocate the pot to a shade shed and sit it on a high shelf during winter as we get frosts. Any tips and tricks? TIA

Hey all!

I’m new to gardening and have planted one tomato plant but something is destroying my tomatoes. Is this from caterpillars? If so, how do I get rid of them? I keep picking off the tomatoes that look like the above.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Sorry video isn’t the best. Might be able to get some more photos today. I saw it in Geelong but I don’t think it’s native to the area as I’ve never seen it before. It’s really smooth

Hey guys, Found this sack on my Lilly pillys. What is it?

UPDATE - appreciate all your feedback and will reconsider this idea. I do ideally want to keep her skeletal remains but it seems it may not be possible. My parents buried our dogs in the yard with no problems using lime on top, I will consider this, or see if I can come to terms with cremation. There is a taxidermist here who could help but the process for that seems invasive & I want to honour her remains. Thanks to all you green thumbs for taking the time to reply

My precious old girl is not long for this world. She is about 9kg but losing weight, so not sure what she will weigh when the time comes...

My partner suggested burying her in an big terracotta pot and growing a tree on top as a memorial

So that if we move I can take her with me and I dislike the idea of cremation

Does anyone have any advice on how to go about this?

Others online have done it with small animals like rats etc

Would the pot need to have drainage holes, worms added and anything like lime? Would she need to be wrapped in a biodegradable shroud?

Would the pot need to be in the shade all the time or is some morning sun ok?

If anyone had done this or can provide advice during this difficult time it would be most appreciated

A couple of weeks ago they were giving away the potted plants that made up living xmas trees at Barangaroo. I grabbed this guy, no idea what it is. Any ideas?

They were saying it was native but I'm not sure. They said they were all natives and that was definitely not the case.

So im a new relativly young gardener in perth wa and im thinking about about growing giant pumpkins next season has anyone grown giant pumpkins succesfully if you have please give me lots of advice. When to sow seeds, what varieties, fertilizers, shade soils all of that stuff thanks heaps.

Hi everyone, I’m looking for some help in creating a yard routine. My dear husband passed away 3 months ago and always looked after the lawn, it was his pride and joy, while I loved the result I never paid any attention to how he did everything. It would break my heart if the lawn went to ruin so I want to keep it in good shape, obviously it won’t be as good as he did but as long as it’s green thick and relatively weed free I’ll be happy. I have a couple of citrus trees and a rose bush otherwise it’s all about the lawn. Can anybody give me advice on a routine suitable for a beginner? I live in Brisbane.

Need help to

How should i plant my new tube stock natives?

As in, can they go straight into the garden bed or should i plant them into some self watering pots first to let them mature a bit?

Thank you.