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Gardening Quote Duncan Cocking

Published May 30, 2025 at dimensions 1200 × 1200 in Planning Your Backyard Orchard.

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That’s the fun of gardening. There are patterns you can observe, but there are always curveballs. You might learn what to expect, but you’ll never know what you’ll actually get.

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leafrootfruit

📨 Yesterday I emailed my newsletter subscribers

📨 Yesterday I emailed my newsletter subscribers with an offer of tomato seeds.

🎂 June is my month of anniversaries.

🥕 This June marks six years since my partner Caryn and I bought our forever home in Kyneton. It marks 11 years since I started my Leaf, Root & Fruit business. It also marks two years since I sent my first email from the Substack platform. I’ve showed up and emailed my subscribers every week, without fail. I’ve now shared 171 Substack articles to help you to grow your own food. I’ve enjoyed the ongoing connection that I’ve fostered with you. Thanks for sharing the journey.

🎁 To mark the occasion and to express my gratitude, I'm sending subscribers a gift of tomato seeds saved from my garden. If you're not yet a subscriber then it's not too late. Find out how to claim your seeds here:

➡ https://open.substack.com/pub/leafrootfruit/p/seeds-of-gratitude?r=2aoogj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=webr=2aoogj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

🌧 I measure the rain every morning at 9am. This

🌧 I measure the rain every morning at 9am. This morning, I tipped 7 mm out of the gauge. Looking at a snapshot of yesterday’s falls across the state I can see that I was right on the cusp of much more rainfall. Just south of us there were recordings in the low thirties. I could feel ripped off, or frustrated that it wasn't more.

🚱We might have only received 7mm yesterday. But if you had said to me on Thursday, that over the long weekend 37.5 mm would fall on my property I would have laughed at you. So many times, this autumn the rainfall forecast was a false prophet.

🎉 But not this time.

✏ Seven millimetres is twice as much rain as I recorded for the whole of May. I’ll happily record it on my rainfall chart thanks.

🌞 It looks like there might be a few more showers on the way today, but right now it’s sunny. I’m going to take the opportunity to get out into the garden and appreciate all the rain that fell over the last few days.

❓ What about you? How’d your rain gauge go this weekend? Are you singing in the rain or despondent in the dust?

🎂 June is my month of anniversaries. 🏡This

🎂 June is my month of anniversaries.

🏡This June marks six years since my partner Caryn and I bought our forever home in Kyneton. Angus was two and Emily still in utero. Now they are both in school and our Melbourne life is a distant memory.

📨 It marks two years since I sent my first email from the Substack platform. I’ve showed up and emailed my subscribers every week, without fail. I’ve now shared 171 Substack articles to help you to grow your own food (access them all here: https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/). I’ve enjoyed the ongoing connection that I’ve fostered with you. Thanks for sharing the journey.

🥕 It also marks 11 years since I started my Leaf, Root & Fruit business. I recently re-read last year’s post reflecting on my first 10 years of running the business. It reminds me of the bumpy ride and how much I’ve grown – both in the garden and personally. I've been gardening since I could walk. But this hasn't always been my paid job. You can read about my gardening journey here:

➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/happy-birthday-to-leaf-root-and-fruit

Another 12.5 mm overnight here in Kyneton. That's

Another 12.5 mm overnight here in Kyneton. That's a total of 30.5 mm for this rainfall event. AND it's still falling. There's a very promising radar for the day ahead.

Please keep sharing your tallies. I love seeing how much rain has fallen across the state and beyond. Don't forget to include your location.

#jumpingforjoy #sendmorerain #Victoriandrought #happydays

🍊 Citrus surprise ‼️ 😎 The mild autumn

🍊 Citrus surprise ‼️

😎 The mild autumn has confused my citrus and therefore me. I know the annual patterns for citrus in Melbourne. They’re predictable. But here in Kyneton, citrus growth patterns are unique. This year I’m appreciating how wildly erratic those patterns can be. Here in my cool temperate climate, citrus typically ripen later in the year. Most notably, the sweet citrus, such as oranges and mandarins, ripen in spring. I love citrus and I’m keen to find varieties that will ripen in late spring when the days are warmer. It should lead to sweeter citrus, which has so far eluded me (you need heat for sweet citrus). But I can’t reliably extrapolate data from elsewhere to help with choosing those varieties. Regardless, I’ve made some educated guesses and planted a few different candidates.

🤯 Well, this year everything in my trial has gone out the window. My Okitsu Wase mandarins are already ripe. That’s a lot earlier than they have been in the previous two years. The fruit is tangy and I’m interested to see if the sweetness increases any further, but it’s going to take some nerve to hold off harvesting. Mandarins aren’t great keepers. There is only a fortnight of optimal ripeness before they start to turn dry and puffy.

🤷 I’m not sure how long to leave them to sweeten up on the tree. The kids seem happy enough to eat tangy mandarins and I don’t mind them either. But I wonder if they are at their full sugary potential yet. Will patience reward or punish? To find out, I plan to harvest a few each week – although the kids are already sneaking extra fruit straight from the tree and I don’t have the heart to stop them.

📅 If trees such as this mandarin are any indication, then I may never have a set season for harvesting citrus in my garden. Citrus season needs to be renamed citrus surprise.

Read more about the challenges of growing citrus in a cool-temperate climate here:
➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/growing-citrus-in-a-cool-temperate-climate

♨️There’s plenty of advice that’s also applicable to warmer climates, such as Melbourne’s.

🌧🎉 How good is this rain?! ☔👍 🍂 Thi

🌧🎉 How good is this rain?! ☔👍

🍂 This morning I’ll have to clear the gutters. We have many deciduous trees around the house and the gutters quickly fill with leaves at this time of the year. Every time rain was forecast, I’d diligently clear them. And every time rain was forecast it didn’t fall.
This time I left the leaves in the gutters to tempt fate. To encourage the rain. And just like all those folks washing their cars, planning to camp and doing rain dances – it worked! After months of drought it has finally rained. I am so relieved.

🛌🏻 I went to bed with the sound of rain on the tin roof.

⏰ I woke up to the sound of the rain.

😁 Bliss.

🪣 This morning, I evicted the spiders from my gumboots, dusted off my raincoat and went straight to the rain gauge. At 9am I tipped out just over 18 glorious millimetres. I’ve jumped in puddles and rejoiced at the good soak that we received overnight. I’ve knocked on all the tanks. They are still a long way off full, but I’ve finally turned off the irrigation. Hopefully that’s it for the season. Hopefully the bore pump can stay switched off.

⛺ The best news is that there is still plenty more rain to come this weekend. Sorry, not sorry to anyone away camping for the long weekend.

❓ How much rain did you receive?

😰🍋 Shivering citrus trees ‼️ 🍊It’s

😰🍋 Shivering citrus trees ‼️

🍊It’s peak citrus season. I’m harvesting lemons, limes, oranges, mandarins and even finger limes from my citrus grove. (Yes, you can grow citrus in Kyneton, more tips to help you do this here.) As we head into winter, the leaves on your citrus trees are probably turning a bit yellow. Some of them may even be dropping off the tree on windy days.

👍 This yellowing of leaves is normal. Citrus trees originated in the subtropics. However, my citrus trees are not growing in a subtropical climate. Mine are growing in a cool-temperate climate. The trees have not evolved to cope with the cold winters of south-eastern Australia.

🍃 Citrus trees respond to cold by shedding some leaves. Most leaves turn pale green, or even yellow. The symptoms look very similar to those of several nutrient deficiencies but are caused by the cold weather.

💩 All the fertiliser in the world won’t fix them. Yet I see countless social media “experts” doling out advice that the tree is deficient. “Give it some Epsom salts,” they say.

😎 The only thing your citrus really needs is a good dose of warmer weather. In spring, the tree should bounce back and regain its healthy coverage of dark green leaves. All without any intervention on your part.

📖 This post explains in more detail why the citrus tree leaves are yellowing at this time of year and just how harmful using Epsom salts can be.
➡ https://www.leafrootfruit.com.au/the-danger-of-adding-epsom-salts-to-the-garden/

🥕 This month, I’ll lift the remaining carrots

🥕 This month, I’ll lift the remaining carrots for long term storage. Carrots are supposed to be biennial plants. That is, they grow for one year and then flower in their second year. But I find they flower like clockwork at the end of their first year. In warmer climates, such as Melbourne’s, you should be able to keep them in the ground for a second year.

📦 Experience has taught me that any mature carrots in my garden need to be pulled up in June and packed down for long term storage. This enables me to enjoy fresh carrots through spring until the next crop is ready for harvest in December.

🐇 This year I’m in more of a hurray to lift my carrots than usual. For the first time ever, I have rabbits on my property. And just like the ones in a Beatrix Potter book, they’ve started jumping up into the raised garden bed and tunnelling into my carrot patch. I’ve been finding half nibbled carrots everywhere and need to protect my patch.

😡 Like Mr McGregor, I’ve been infuriated by Peter Rabbit invading my patch. But at least my Book Week costume is sorted.

👀 Check out my June planting guide and garden update for for more tales from the patch.

➡ https://open.substack.com/pub/leafrootfruit/p/june-2025-planting-guide-garden-update?r=2aoogj&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

What to plant in June ✅ Here's my guide to some

What to plant in June

✅ Here's my guide to some of the things you could consider planting this month in a warm temperate climate like Melbourne’s:

🥦 Now that we're into winter, your planting options are slim. For readers in warm temperate climates, like Melbourne’s, there's still time to get some late broad beans or maybe some broccoli (particularly sprouting varieties) planted. Leafy greens such as spinach, silverbeet, kale and lettuce will also grow well over winter.

🌱 My planting guide generally refers to vegetables planted in the garden (as opposed to a greenhouse). This planting may consist of seeds directly sown (my usual and preferred method) or plants transplanted as seedlings.

🥕 My Vegetable Patch from Scratch series is popular with both novice and seasoned gardeners alike. It covers everything you might want to know about growing vegetables. It could save you a bit of time and frustration by steering you away from preventable crop failures.
➡ https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/a-vegetable-patch-from-scratch-series

🌳It’s time to get bare-rooted ❄️ The op

🌳It’s time to get bare-rooted

❄️ The optimum time to establish an orchard is in winter (particularly July and August in the southern hemisphere), when deciduous trees are dormant. Then they will have a chance to develop a strong root system during spring, before the onset of summer. Winter is also when there’s the greatest availability of bare-rooted fruit trees. Bare-root season kicks off at the start of June.

👌 If you’re thinking about planting fruit trees, then don’t buy just any old tree from the bargain bin. Make sure it is on the correct rootstock so that it doesn’t grow too big and so that it is going to fruit at a time of year that suits you.

✍I’ve published many articles on backyard orchards. But if you’re short on time and just want a quick overview of what’s important (and what’s not), check out the summary I’ve just written. Regardless of whether you’re planting only one or two trees or a backyard orchard with dozens, this post is a perfect checklist. Have a read before you race out and buy your trees.
➡ https://www.leafrootfruit.com.au/planning-your-backyard-orchard/

How do I label the plants in my garden? I have a f

How do I label the plants in my garden? I have a few different methods, depending on the situation. They all work well to varying degrees, but they also have their limitations and challenges. So I'm on the lookout for some new ways to to try.

Do you have any ideas for what I could use for labelling the trees and shrubs in my garden?

Ideally I’m after a solution that is:
⏳long lasting. I want to produce them all at once and have them last for a few decades
🌬not prone to blowing away in the wind
🐦wildlife friendly (and not tempting to wildlife)
🔭easy to read from a metre or more
🔨simple to install in multiple scenarios such as onto garden beds, on stands at the base of trees, attached to branches or espalier wires
👌good looking
💲cheap and easy to produce.

It’s a tough list of criteria, but I have plenty of clever readers who have provided me with an array of solutions. Do you have any to add?

Read more about plant labelling options and what some of my readers have already suggested here:
https://leafrootfruit.substack.com/p/plant-labelling-options

🕸💎🌹 I enjoyed a foggy start to the day wi

🕸💎🌹 I enjoyed a foggy start to the day with plenty of be-dew-elled spiderwebs and roses. It’s been an unusually warm autumn thus far, with only a few mild frosts. The mornings are crisp (not cold) but result in stunning, calm bluebird days. Autumn is my favourite time of the year.

❓What’s happening in your garden?

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