Sal the Gardening Gal

Sal the Gardening Gal Join me in the veggie patch; growing food naturally 🌿 Jambinu (Geraldton) Midwest WA 🧡 Growing plants and more importantly, food, is my passion in life!

My family and I live on a 10-acre block tucked away in the sand dunes, just south of the city of Geraldton in the Midwest of Western Australia. The Midwest is a "drylands" region and can sometimes be a hot, harsh, very windy but also beautiful part of the world. Growing food in this climate can at times be challenging but not impossible! I believe that growing your own food can bring so much joy t

o a household! It connects you to your home, local community, the seasons, nature, it is a physical, mental and emotional bond, between your family and your food. Gardening gets your body moving, your brain glowing (working in the soil helps your brain to release serotonin, the happy hormone, the same action as antidepressants), it's fun and at times challenging but mostly incredibly rewarding. My goal is to empower others to get growing in their garden, using local products and resources, working with tight family budgets, in all different kinds of spaces, working with nature and the elements to grow food sustainably. Let me take you down the garden path and into our veggie patch with the hope of inspiring others to pick up a garden fork and get busy too. Sal the Gardening Gal

📣📣📣 Calling out to all Beachlands crew 📣📣📣 Beachlands Primary School are looking for some hands on deck to help w...
07/07/2026

📣📣📣 Calling out to all Beachlands crew 📣📣📣

Beachlands Primary School are looking for some hands on deck to help with the early stages of their new edible garden! We will be building the raised beds, filling them with soil, prepping for tree planting and getting things ship shape before the students are back next term.

9th and 12th of July from 10-12

Many hands make light work and the vibe will be high 🌱

Hope to see to you there 👩‍🌾🪏🫜

Back in the Midwest after a much needed break away into the forests down south 🍄‍🟫💕🌱Honestly there’s nothing quite like ...
02/07/2026

Back in the Midwest after a much needed break away into the forests down south 🍄‍🟫💕🌱

Honestly there’s nothing quite like a mossy scarp to get my heart rate going! There’s so much beauty in the macro world - carnivorous Drosera, winter Helmet Orchids and of course the wide array of FUNGI.

Every year we make the trip down to spend time amongst the mushrooms, and as weird as that might be to some, it’s proudly become one of our most treasured family traditions. Watching my girl light up and be just as happy and excited for a mossy log really makes my heart sing!

Each time we find new species and specimens, this year we stumbled upon the Pagoda Fungus (Podoserpula pusio) - what a kick that was!! So freaking cool.

The forest, the clean air and the spark that ignites when we find a fresh mushroom is just what we needed. A reminder that nature really is a coming back to home for us 💚

The most colourful Autumn I’ve ever seen in the Midwest, what a special time of year for us here 🌈🌱💕Still no real rain f...
16/05/2026

The most colourful Autumn I’ve ever seen in the Midwest, what a special time of year for us here 🌈🌱💕

Still no real rain for the season or on the horizon, fingers crossed for moody days soon hey, still the weather has been divine for both beach and gardening, the perfect combo!

I’ve turned my Retic off for the season as the water bills are eye watering. The veggie patch soil sure has been dry so if others are in the same boat I’ll share a tip that I personally use and get great results from. Organic or natural dishwashing liquid, a big thick squeeze and deep soak/ sud up with the hose, it helps to break down the layer on our sandy soil and allow for water to soak into the deeper layers of the soil profile. Only use organic or grey water safe though, a stronger/ harsher chemical can ruin all soil microbes and cause more damage than good. My go to is from Chemist Warehouse. Not everyone agrees on this method but talk to old Nonnas and they will swear you on this! Give a few deep soaks over the course of the day and your soil will be looking and feeling very hydrated 💧

Lots to do and grow at this time of year - leafy greens, coriander, dill, beans of many varieties, cabbage, kohlrabi, potatoes, leeks, carrots, beetroot, turnips and Swedes. To name a few novelty seasonal veggies.

I planted a Slovakian Tomato and it is thriving, it’s a cold climate variety that tolerates frost and is determinate, the perfect low maintenance winter tomato in my opinion.

Hundreds of passion fruits slowly on the ripen, our vine has grown around the trampoline, tempting us on our afternoon jump sessions.

Citrus are starting to ripen, papaya still producing and our neighbours mandarins are ready also - just in time for the flu season!

I’m loving growing flowers this year, handing out bunches whenever the opportunity arises, perhaps flower gardening is the next phase of life! The butterflies have been spectacular, dancing amongst the colour and feeling like a real life fairy tale!

Last but not least was a fun little visit to the studio to join Dana for her brekky show and talk veggie gardening in our region, thanks for having me!

Take care all 🌱💕

It’s safe to say we are officially in our glorious veggie gardening season here in the Midwest, yeeehaaa 🤠. I can’t help...
12/04/2026

It’s safe to say we are officially in our glorious veggie gardening season here in the Midwest, yeeehaaa 🤠.

I can’t help but notice on my regular Bunnings trips that the veggie seedlings are often looking bare, that’s a good thing! People are leaning into growing their own produce, taking control of their food supply, alleviating household pressures and I dare say reducing some stress levels too, win win. 🌱💚 Any excuse to get people gardening is a good one in my book.

I wanted to share some tips for those new to the edible space that I use year round to get the most out of our patch. What do when there is no small seedlings to buy, what to plant during the warmer weather and why, why plant onions that take 10 months to mature when you could plant leeks that’s last years, space savers for the summer, perennial plants that continue to produce for years etc etc.

After quite a few years learning often the hard way my veggie garden must haves are becoming more clear and perhaps those starting out may benefit from some of my failed attempts.

The weather is perfect for getting busy and I’m heading to play in our garden now 🌻💚. Hope you like the tips and if so can share some more soon!

Introducing a very special project I was lucky enough to be part of late last year ~ MayHill Quays 💛An absolutely stunni...
01/03/2026

Introducing a very special project I was lucky enough to be part of late last year ~ MayHill Quays 💛

An absolutely stunning new build, Hamptons style home with arguably the best coastal views in town and a client who was a dream to work with, the goal was simple. Deliver a timeless garden, lush, elegant, high end, low maintenance and resilient enough to endure our coastal summers. My role was to select and install many of the garden plants along with 17 large planters throughout the home and upper balconies.

With hardscape design and elements already installed it was fun to find suitable plants to complement the home and materials.

Front planters included hedges of Raphiolepsis Snow Maiden, Carissa Desert Star and Murraya paniculata - all very tough plants with lush deep green foliage and flushes of white flowers throughout the year.

The large long garden bed at the front was interplanted with combos of Cycas revoluta, Raphiolepsis snow maiden, Kalanchoe silver & copper spoons, Xanadu philodendrons and Liriope - all growing seamlessly together to fill in any spaces and let their unique foliage colours complement one another.

The upper story of the home had a series of areas dedicated to accentuate the large planters - each space posing a different set of conditions to consider. We wanted to make these pots a sight to behold and I’m so happy with how they are settling in albeit some tweaks as the hot summer progressed. Each pot has its own unique plants and feel, under planted with cascading foliage and pops of colour throughout the year.

Spaces include - the semi tropical balcony, the Mediterranean corner, the west facing staircase balcony and so on.

This was a true team effort project with so many different crews on site, it was awesome to be part of. All in all we used around 170 bags of potting mix with many hands on deck moving them around (thank you to the James Groom fellas) and the boss himself Bruce Perry with legend Aaron and of course the multiple trades who made these spaces pop with added retic and lighting.

Such a fun project to be part of and opportunity to show how with the right planning and plants magic outcomes are achieved! 💚

G’day gorgeous gardeners - a late summer check in of what’s blooming in our patch. 🌱☀️🌻It’s been a very lazy and lovely ...
20/02/2026

G’day gorgeous gardeners - a late summer check in of what’s blooming in our patch. 🌱☀️🌻

It’s been a very lazy and lovely summer in the garden. Most years I fret, fiddle and “work” to keep things going, however this year I did the essentials and let nature do the rest for me, it’s been a treat! We have had a few nests of WillyWag tails and most of the babies have hung around to live here, a resident Kingfisher who is slowly getting used to us (he loves the giant grasshoppers), blue banded bees in the basil and apparently a local possum that does night raids on our mango trees!

- African Horned Cucumbers - Holy! H***y by name and by nature they sure are interesting to grow, with very sharp spikes on the prolific sprawling vine and very sharp horns on the fruit. They have taken over a whole bed and are heading sky bound along the towering shade structure. Native to Africa they love our arid summers, quite tart to taste but refreshing cooled down in the fridge and the inner flesh is very pretty/ psychedelic. 6/10 would grow again.

- Solanum season is in full swing, abundant eggplant, capsicum and chilli harvests. I’m just about to start planting some cool weather tomatoes as have had a couple of bad seasons with spider mite in the summer, they’ve been put in the too hard basket albeit some random but delish cherry tomatoes popping up around the place.

- It tastes like summer every evening in this household, the most juicy and flavoursome mangoes for desert. I always feel very grateful to the previous owners for planting these trees for us and our friends to enjoy (thank you)!

- The small guava tree is starting to produce fruit, papaya ripening weekly, ashwaganda ready to dry and store. Mother of herbs is still stunning this late in the summer, so aromatic and lush! Fennel is in seed (great for fresh breath) passion fruit taking over everything including the moringa tree which is now free to flourish once again.

The seasonal change is in the air and it’s time to start getting ready for the winter veggies - sowing brassica seeds/ seedlings and thinking about where the root veggies will go this year. Always something to keep us busy in the patch 💚

I really love this time of year ✨ The slow starts to the days and lack of large to do list. I hope anyone reading is enj...
29/12/2025

I really love this time of year ✨ The slow starts to the days and lack of large to do list. I hope anyone reading is enjoying too - close to family, friends or whatever makes your heart full.

It’s a time for reflection for me and doing so brings such a great appreciation for our region, our community, for gardening as a whole and most of all for this lucky life 💚🐝👩‍🌾🪏🏡

~ 2025 was a busy one! I decided early on to embark into study and am so glad I did ~ learning from the industries absolute best and getting a somewhat basic understanding of how to use CAD and draw fancy 3D models. A personal highlight was a lecture from about the History of Australian Gardens. It was fascinating learning of the inception of gardens from the Romans through to present day and how landscape design has evolved through the centuries.

~ was full steam ahead with our delivery of the program into Mullewa DHS and MEEDAC Arts Centre, building gardens, cooking skills and a team of absolute local legends. I can’t wait to see what next year brings for us all out there 🫶

~ An absolutely gorgeous incursion with the kids @ Binnu learning about soil, seeds and everything in between 🧡

~ Mingenew Shire workshops and first seeds sown in their cool community garden 💚

~ not to mention spending time with my little girl in our own little patch 💕

I’m forever grateful I chose this career many moons ago, gardening has brought me a deep sense of appreciation for our natural world, the altruism, the presence, the fleeting moments and beauty. It fills your tummy and your soul in more ways than one.

Next year feels exciting and I hope it does for you all too! Sending a massive thank you to all that have supported me this year. Lots of love ###



drylandsgardening
ediblegardening veggiepatch

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Cathedral Avenue
Geraldton, WA
6530

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