Grow Lettuce In Pots!! - Apr 10, 2026

Dear gardening friends
I spoke to a customer recently who told me she had never planted a tree. I was shocked, she was at least 70.

We've grown Native Frangipani trees here from seeds and this amazing fast growing tree has the most beautiful highly perfumed yellow flowers!!!!

We've grown them so your children can come in here, and pot one up to take home for free. We don't care how many kids you have.

They can take their tree home and care for it. By late spring they will be big enough to plant in your garden. They could take them to school and plant their tree. They won't be 70 telling people that they have never grown a tree.

We have over 100 seedlings. Native Frangipani is one of the hardiest evergreen trees. It grows about 6 metres high in Western Sydney and 3 metres wide. It's super fast growing.

Botanically known as Hymenosporum flavum. This native tree grows beautifully in Macarthur. My neighbour has planted them and that's where I got the seeds.

Just had the nicest family call in to pot up their free Native Frangipani trees. They were full of life and they had such beautiful manners.

Mannix, Sloann and Finntan go to Barramurra Public School in Oran park. Mannix plays the Clarinet and Finntan plays the Trumpet.

They both want to be Rugby league players when they grow up, they follow The Tigers of course. Finntan knew all the players names and numbers. I told him I was going to write a story about his family, he was very interested about that. "What story would you write about us?".

Sloann played soccer and she's the striker so she scores lots of goals. Finntan was very proud of his sister and helped talk her up, but Sloann had no trouble telling me her story.

Mannix and Finntan are twins, my father was a twin so I'm interested in this. Both boys look very sporty, are you fast runners? "Yes", they both reply.

These kids spoke so confidently and beautifully. They are a credit to their parents and school.
They will be coming back, we are friends now.
I hope Finntan enjoys this story.

I called into Some Cafe in Collector over Easter and spotted this amazing Salvia "Hot Lips" flowering it's head off. It gets so hot and cold here, but this Salvia is flowering in profusion.

I'm not sure how often this would get watered, these plants are just so tough.

A friend of mine was given a tray of Salvias in different colours, he couldn't believe how weedy they looked, he really didn't want them. But he planted them in his garden, he's become a Salvia lover now, he talks them up like he invented them.

These hardy shrubs are a gardeners friend, they grow in those hot sunny spots where other plants fail and they flower almost non stop.

Cut them back when they look tired, mulch them with Tim's Cow Manure, and they come back to life magically. They sprout new green or grey growth, and flowers soon follow.

These plants make you smile, they are the gardeners giver, they never give up.

You need to start a collection, don't be put off by their weedy look at the start, they will surprise you with love and flowers. They will surprise you!

I'm growing Iceberg Lettuce in a big Terracotta pot and it's been such a success story, I wanted to share it with you.

You don't need a garden to grow vegetables, you can grow them in big pots. They don't have to be fancy, they just have to be wide pots so they catch the rain.

I've filled mine with Tim's Best Potting mix, I've actually just topped it up because I've been growing Lettuce in here for years. As the potting mix composts, the level drops, so you simply top up the pot just before planting.

Choose your favourite Lettuce variety, tip the punnet out then carefully remove the plants gently trying to keep soil around the roots. Poke a hole through the Sugar cane and plant your seedling. Water daily for a week. Don't forget the Multiguard snail pellets.

These Lettuce will be ready to eat in 6-8 weeks.
You can grow just about everything in pots.
Grow them in sunny spots.
Get your kids gardening.

It's time to plant Broccoli and other winter vegetables. The nights have turned cooler now, so that means it time to plant Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Broccoli, Broccolini, Brussel sprouts, Peas, Sugar Snap peas, Celery, Carrots, Chives, Leeks, Spring Onions, Lettuce, Kale, Garlic, Strawberries, Silverbeet, Spinach etc.

You need to improve your soil with Tim's Cow manure. Dig one bag for every 2m2. Cover soil with Sugar cane and water well. Plant your seedlings through the mulch. Don't forget the snail pellets or they will get eaten over night.

To stop Caterpillars eating your leaves dust with Yates Tomato and Vegetable dust every 4-6 weeks. This product is amazing.

We have lots of new plants for autumn planting, come and see us this weekend. There's lots of rain around to help your plants grow.

Happy gardening
Tim