SOW EASY
Watching spring unfold has a thrilling e ect on gardeners – it makes us want to get out there and grow more plants! e simplest, cheapest and possibly the most satisfying way to grow plants is with a packet of seeds. You put them in, watch and wait, then hopefully have some babies to raise.
As a gardener and farmer, Tino Carnevale is highly attuned to the vagaries of a seed’s passage from a little pod of promise to a fully
edged plant. In our cover story, he explains what happens when you push a seed into soil, how it needs moisture, air and food, in that order, and how to get the best out of your sowing. We have a troubleshooter, too, and following that, a story from Sophie
omson on heirloom seeds and why it’s worth preserving heritage varieties of fruits and vegies. Your seed stories start on page 33.
My mum always used to ‘do the beans’ – and still does – and it turns out she’s not the only one. e writer of our growing guide for beans, Elizabeth Swane (page 62), has also grown up with the sight of her mum topping and tailing the beans onto newspaper, then putting them through a special gadget to remove the strings. Perhaps this is what we call ‘heirloom cooking’? We know that many of you like to cook, especially with produce you’ve grown yourself, and on page 54 we introduce ‘the seasonal cake’ – a slice of yumminess made with some of the season’s harvest. is cake garnered rave reviews in the o ce!
Another new item this month is a change from a single ‘plant of the month’ to several plant pro les. Turn to page 18 for your plant hit – you’ll nd jasmine, lithops (yes, what’s that?) and two new double lavenders. ere’s more for plant lovers in the cottage garden on page 26, a story on native orchids (page 48), and a pro le of a cacti and succulent garden in Victoria that knocks visitors’ socks o (page 44). See you next month for more springtime inspiration.
Jenny is waiting to see if last year’s corn owers come up in her garden again. She yanked the plants out last summer and scattered the seed over the beds. ey’re a great ‘volunteer’ plant, so ngers crossed!