October

Given we live in the subtropics rather than Europe, you might consider which greens you plant, which in turn will determine your success. Some gardeners avoid the bitter greens - https://bit.ly/3OR4Sr0, but I'd suggest they work well with some of your "regular" greens.

Egyptian spinach (Corchorus olitorius) is hardy, tasty and less mucilaginous than other spinach alternatives. It contains oxalates so will need to be blanched before consuming.

Leafy greens are a staple of any summer salad. There are loads to choose from, but you need to consider summer heat and how much sun they'll be exposed to throughout the day.

Dandelion, chicory, and kale tend to be bitter - newer leaves tend to be best in salads. Lebanese cress, red-veined sorrel, longevity spinach, moringa, okinawa spinach are just some other alternative leaves you might consider rather than just lettuce.

Tomatoes and summer generally mean fruit fly attack. Hard work turned into protein by small pests.

My suggestion is to plant cherry tomatoes or smaller. Perhaps Roma tomatoes, but I've found they still get stung. They're great in salads.

Traps can work, but they generally only attract male fruit flies. They're just an indicator to start spraying. If you use traps, hang them away from your tomatoes, rather than encourage the pest into your crop. I DON'T spray, and so don't bother with traps.

Exclusion nets are effective, but given tomatoes need pollination, you may have to do that by hand, because as well as excluding fruit flies, you'll exclude bees.

Hygiene is important, so pick up infected fruit and dispose of it in a sealed bag.

Snake beans are a real performer in subtropical Queensland. They love the heat, they produce prolifically, they're tasty and store quite well.

Exactly what's required in our climate!

They're not without pests - the bean bug and shield bugs tend to attack my snake beans. That could be just an "outta balance" thing in my garden!! 

They will of course need a trellis to grow on, so ensure you have something they can ramble over.

I hear stories regularly of fruit fly stinging pumpkins, zucchini, tomatoes and a range of other vegetable and fruit crops.

That's not my experience, and I'm not sure why.

I have a number of water "features" in my garden, and I don't spray anything other than seaweed foliar sprays.

It's possible that I've encouraged dragonflies and other predators, and they're doing the clean-up of the pests for me. If that's not your experience, consider exclusion nets. Once the fruit has set, tie an exclusion bag around it, and then wait for the fruit to mature. I  think that's a possibility with a cucumber or pumpkin even though I've been dismissive of how many bags you'd need if you were bagging tomatoes.

Top up mulch on your edible patch. Sustainable mulches could include straw, sugarcane, or leaves. If you're using lawn clippings, throw some old leaves onto your lawn before you mow, to ensure a much more open product that won't compact as much when used around your edible beds. If the summer they're predicting arrives, you'll need to have as much organic material as possible to prevent soils from drying out.

Critical to creating a sustainable edible garden, where you don't need to spray for pests, is providing an environment that attracts insects which in turn will assist with your cropping.

Start with plants that attract bees (native and European) that will pollinate your tomatoes, pumpkins and zucchinis. One of the best in my garden is perennial basil - it attracts lots of bees and fragrant leaves for use in the kitchen. And it looks so good!

Put a small water feature in your garden - a saucer, or bowl. Upcycle some old gear, and keep it "filled" with fresh water. It doesn't need to be too deep - otherwise, you might have to include stones to prevent insect drownings. This will provide an environment to attract dragonflies and lacewings. And of course, if you want to attract insects, you'll need to forego spraying insecticides that don't discriminate between the "goodies" and the "baddies".