September

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. 

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.

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 alternative leaves you might consider rather than just lettuce.

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

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.

My solution is choice; I choose varieties of small tomatoes because I find they're less attractive to fruit flies. And there are loads of cherry-sized tomatoes to choose from. My Roma tomatoes do get stung, but not to a point where the crop is destroyed. Pick up infected fruit and dispose of in a sealed bag.

To get seeds and cuttings bouncing away, some extra warmth may be required. A simple cold frame can be made with either a window or a picture frame. It'll ensure plants have the best opportunity over the next few weeks with some cool nights. Beware, they may "cook" during the day - so open the lid during the main part of the day.

I've been taking cuttings of basil, thyme,  westringia, cat's whiskers, nutmeg bush, grevillea, myoporum and lemon balm.

Plants that could suffer from torrential downpours - lavender, artemesia and other grey-leafed plants could be propagated now so you'll have some replacement plants in the event of a big rain event.

You might be surprised to see how easy striking plants can be - I do most of mine in a glass of water.

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".