How to get the most success from your summer gardening | Gardening 101 | Gardening Australia

Millie gets stuck into some productive garden preparation to ensure there is food flowing over many months to come. In this cool climate, the warm season is incredibly short, so gardeners need to be strategic, and take advantage of every space. Subscribe 🔔 ab.co/GA-subscribe
Tomatoes are a staple of most summer gardens, and in warmer climates, they will be well established. But in Millie’s cold climate, they are only now going into the ground having been raised undercover to an advanced stage. Millie is using a steel stake which should last forever and can be washed and stored at the end of the season. Once they are planted, they will grow quickly and need to be pruned and trained.
When it comes to pruning, many garden varieties are indeterminate, meaning they will continue to grow and fruit along the main stem. To concentrate energy into the growing tip, remove any lateral shoots, those that occur in the leaf axils. It is also important to remove any foliage that is touching the ground, as this can be a pathway for fungal infection, but also the lateral branches to concentrate the energy into the main stem.
While the air temperature has warmed, for most plants it is the soil temperature that is most important. Millie uses a thermometer to monitor conditions underground. She also looks to plants in the garden to indicate seasonal changes. Some self-seeded nasturtiums have germinated, indicating that the soil is warm enough for things like beans, basil and cucurbits. Mulch is only thinly applied to soil to ensure the sun will continue to warm the soil.
To prepare an area of lawn for pumpkins, Millie makes a large pile of organic materials. She starts with a layer of cardboard which is moistened and covered in aged poultry manure. Next is a drainage layer of woodchips and brassica stems. These are also mixed with compost and aged manure. Finally, the pile is covered with a thick layer of straw. Four pumpkin seeds are planted into a deep pocket of compost and soil.
To get the very best value out of these few warmer months, Millie plants shoulder crops between the main plantings. In the bed that grew winter brassicas and will soon be planted with radicchio, there is a quick crop of ‘Green Mignonette’ lettuce. This particular variety can only be grown in this short spring season but as a fast-maturing crop, makes productive use of the space.
And as well as focusing on summer crops, Millie is also sowing for winter! Brassicas like Brussels sprouts and some varieties of broccoli are already sown, and it is time to start radicchio. Sow seeds into large individual cells, as the seedlings prefer not to have their roots disturbed. Thin to 1 plant per cell when they germinate and in 2-3 weeks, they will be ready to go into the garden. Most radicchio varieties have two distinct growth phases producing large, coarse leaves over summer and then distinct coloured hearts once the shorter, cooler days come.
Featured Plants:
TOMATO ‘COSTOLUTO FIORENTINO’  - Solanum lycopersicum cv. 
NASTURTIUM  - Tropaeolum majus cv. 
(Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area) 
PUMPKIN ‘QUEENSLAND BLUE’  - Cucurbita maxima cv. 
BROCCOLI ‘SPIGARIELLO’  - Brassica oleracea cv. 
LETTUCE ‘GREEN MIGNONETTE’  - Lactuca sativa cv. 
RADICCHIO ‘SVELTA’  - Cichorium intybus cv. 
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[@catpony1720]

What an amazing garden! Thanks Millie

[@moirakemp867]

Living in South Africa and being a small home gardener, i breathe in every and any Southern Hemisphere gardening video i can and found this one very informative. Thank you. Where in Australia was this video made please, as you talk about a cool climate and short growing season. Could this be Tassie perhaps? I found, growing my pumpkins, cucumbers and sweet potatoes directly in my home composting heap, produced great harvests. Please, let the wonderful video`s keep coming. Greetings from Port Elizabeth, South Africa

[@kardicat9055]

Close it’s in Victoria.

[@zonabrown9241]

Its in Victoria

[@Bunno1177]

Says location at beginning of video

[@chezelleconroy2951]

Thankyou Millie!

[@tonyneville4425]

Such a cold spring and cool start to summer in my area

[@scottnewman8851]

thankyou for your great tips. Wish you had your own show.
Would love just to see your daily routine in your garden.

[@missprettyplants7217]

Lovely tips! and what a healthy garden ❤️

[@user-dn7vb8nc9b]

I love your videos , they are sooo goood presented, Thanks

[@FourSeasonFarming]

Thanks to show us the tips in a hot time of the day

[@linklanre]

Thank you so much for the valuable information on this channel

[@kikiKaysie]

Thanks for the tips ❤

[@ausblue1]

thank you

[@jeffmartin693]

Very good!!

[@Abangsaury]

Nice vidio

[@kitrobbo1696]

Goog show how long is your reo bar for the tomatoes cheers kit

[@UrbanHomesteadArtist]

Is this in Melbourne? I’m wondering with the delay in warm weather if we get a longer summer so too early to start winter vegetables.

[@uschiaala]

I think Millie is in Kyneton, VIC.

[@jamal1125]

Yeah I'm wondering to what's the location