Propagation

A seed is a sleeping plant with a packed lunch. What is inside it, how germination unfolds step by step, the soil temperatures each crop needs, and why seeds fail.

Poppy seed runs to ten thousand a gram. How to bulk tiny seed with sand, sow it on the surface, keep it damp, and thin it, so the smallest seeds become the easiest crops.

The right size, the right day, the right depth. How to move seedlings from punnet to bed without transplant shock, and what to do in the first week.

Long pale stems and a lean toward the window mean not enough light. What causes leggy seedlings, how to rescue them, which crops can be planted deeper, and how to prevent it next time.

The stem stays on the plant while it grows roots, so a failed layer costs nothing. Simple, mound, tip and air layering for herbs, berries, figs and citrus, with Australian timing.

One crowded clump becomes three or four vigorous plants. Which perennials to divide, which to leave alone, when to do it in your zone, and how to look after the pieces.

Most seed needs nothing. For the few that do, here is how to soak big seeds, scarify hard ones, chill cold-climate ones and smoke Australian natives, safely and at the right time.

Mint, basil, coleus and devil's ivy root in a jar on the sill. How to set it up, how long it takes, and how to move the cutting into soil without losing it.

Turn spring prunings into new plants. The three kinds of stem cutting, the plants that strike easily, rooting hormone done safely, and when to take them in your part of Australia.

Direct sowing skips the trays and the transplant shock, but it only works when the soil is warm enough and the seedlings are protected. Which crops to sow in place, which to raise first, and how to do it.

What a seedling needs Seedlings are the most fragile stage in the life of a plant, and a few days of the wrong conditions can undo weeks of work. N...

Some kitchen scraps genuinely regrow and some are pure novelty. Here is an honest guide to what works, what does not, and how to get the best from it.