August 3rd 2026: I planted 4 dwarf bean seeds today.
August 12th 2026: Holy crap they’ve sprouted and growing quickly.
August 17th 2026: These are the biggest seedling I currently have, and Angus is shocked. I too am shocked. It is already several centimetres tall with large broad leaves. Certainly an overachiever.
When I decided to start growing vegetables I had read and been told multiple times, don’t start with too much. Pick one, two, maybe three vegetables you’d like to eat and expand from there. Well, I didn’t listen. I don’t like starting anything, especially new hobbies, minimally. I’m a maximalist from day one, which isn’t great for the purse strings but thrilling for the soul.
This sort of attitude has caught me out from time to time. My obsession with crochet had me forking out a horrific amount of money on premium wool and a million hooks in different sizes, just in case I’d make something that needed it. Truth was I only ever used the one size hook for every project, and while the wool was expensive, I did make a gorgeous crocheted blanket I was very proud of.
Now what does crochet have to do with gardening? Nothing, in all honesty. But everything to do with how I approach learning something new.
A year before I’d moved into the house I’m currently renting, a year before I even had a backyard, I dreamed of growing veggies on my apartment balcony in Sydney. Boldly, I ordered a number of seeds online; spinach, lettuce, chillies, dwarf bean, multiple varieties of tomatoes. It was in a word, ridiculous. Ridiculous, because the apartment balcony was tiny, there was no way I was going to pull off those compact gardening ideas I’d seen on Pinterest. Ridiculous, because the conditions in that space were very harsh, baking sun off the brick and tiles coupled with strong winds and the stronger willed birds that nested in the trees next to it. Ridiculous, because I was just too busy to actually take care of it.
Did I plant any of those seeds? No. But I did start with a chilli plant and some herbs I’d bought from Bunnings to see if I could grow anything at all. I got a few chillies over the few months the plant lasted, and made a lovely pesto from the basil. But before winter had even arrived, they’d all died and I can’t say it was because I looked after them perfectly. I did not.
Fast forward to a month before leaving Sydney, knowing I was moving into a house with backyard space I had dreams of gardening all over again. I bought more seeds online; nasturtiums, marigolds, three capsicum varieties, two cucumber varieties, three carrot varieties, onions, basil, two zucchini varieties, and an eggplant. Combined with the seeds I bought the year before…it was overkill. Utterly mad for someone who’d a) never had to manage a whole backyard and garden, and b) had never grown anything successfully from a seed.
A few people asked me if I was being overly ambitious. And the answer? Of course. That is simply my nature when throwing myself into new hobbies. Headstrong and perhaps a bit wilful, I go big. After all, what have I got to loose but some of my time and a little bit of money. At the end of it, whether I continue long term or not, I have nourished my soul with the activity. And to me, that is worth the while.
When we moved into our house and I began setting up the garden for growing veggies, it was a very cold July, and I started seven different vegetable seeds indoors. I was winging it in all honesty. Little knowledge, probably the wrong seedling potting mix, pretty bad at judging the depth to sow. About a week after I realised I needed to buy a heat mat to help them along as it was too cold in my living room despite the sunny spot. Then the spinach sprouted and I was addicted. Every morning I’d check the little cardboard pots I’d sown, water them, and hope another sprout would pop up. When a capsicum sprouted I was like a kid at christmas. My phone was quickly building up a collection of daily photos documenting the growth.
Seven varieties. Two never germinated, the onions and the marigolds. Frustrating to say the least after such success with my other plants. Of the ten lettuce seeds I planted, one germinated and it was the saddest, stunted thing.
Some would say I had overcommitted on my first attempt. I had to dispose of a good ten to twenty failed seed pots.
I committed more.
In early August I started more veggies indoors on the heat mat, learning from my experience with the first lot. I changed my potting mix, I adjusted the heat and moisture. I planted nine more varieties of plants. Of those, only one didn’t germinate (and I suspect it was due to the age of the seeds I’d had). In mid August I sowed several seeds outdoors in my raised veggie bed for the first time; heirloom, black nebula and luna white carrots, and the lettuce. I attempted the lettuce again, because I was determined to make a salad just once to see a joke with a friend through.
As of yet I cannot say how successful any of these will be in the long run. But I gave it my best effort. I gave it my learning effort. I gave it my overcommitment in an attempt to grow fast, but in doing so, I’m learning to take things slow. My knowledge in the weeks since I started has exploded exponentially. I have read countless articles and growing guides. I’ve researched the varieties I’m growing to learn how to improve their chances. I turned into my nan and watched a horrific (amazing) amount of Gardening Australia in a short amount of time. I slowed down. There is only so much you can do on any given day, especially in the seedling stage. You nurse them, but you also leave them to do their thing. On one hand I found myself overcommitting to the volume of seeds and varieties I’d decided to grow. On the other hand, I gave myself a choice in variety for what I will transplant into the garden in the coming months.
Either way, I have found a great joy in the art of the process. Yet I can still learn more patience. It is possibly deranged how much I stare at those little sprouts each day trying to tell if they’ve grown a smidge more.
But those beans…they are growing too fast. It’s rather amazing to watch.
Grow madly you wonderful human being! Your Nan is so proud of you! Thoroughly enjoyed your reflections.
Thanks Nan 🙂 Got the gardening bug bad now!!!