Either way they use other plants for hosts and controlling the near by weeds of marshmallows, capeweed and milky thistles will greatly diminish your infestation, however if they persist I’d use a one off spray of a systemic insecticide, such as Confidor, which will certainly control the Rust Fly but not the Weevil. Observe the withholding information on the packet and do not harvest for at least 7 days after spraying.

Weevils are best controlled by either a nighttime sortie with torch in hand, as they move slowly and are easily caught (and summarily executed) or you can get control by spraying a perimeter area around your veggie garden or with intersections through it with carbaryl. I baulk at actually spraying carbaryl onto crops that I aim to eat.

It’s time to plant white onions and even more ‘Lisbon White’ spring onions, but not brown or red onions or they will just bolt to seed. I plant seedlings because they are so economical, but you could just as readily sow your own seed. The secret though to getting firm onions is to spread superphosphate (or Complete ‘D’) over them after planting or when they are 10cm tall. That gets their root system moving and assures large firm bulbs.

Do not use organic pellets on onions nor water them after midday, as both cause mildew and fungal diseases. Onions grow best on light loam in full sun and if that is in short measure in your winter veggie garden make sure they get the maximum morning sunlight and only water when the sun is on them. Most years you can grow onions all winter without extra water anyhow.

Brad McDougall prepares his site in full sun with trellises that run east west, by liming the soil and incorporating sheep manure and horse manure into his loamy soil. Sow seed at a depth of 2cm and don’t water until they germinate. Top dress with super after the seedlings emerge and prune as your would tomatoes by removing the laterals.

I reckon the best fragrant Gawler Sweet pea cultivars this year are ‘Judith Martin’ (lavender), ‘Pink Jewel’ (coral pink), ‘Piralilla Marianne’ (pale pink flecks on a white field), ‘Thelma Mary’ (deep violet) and ‘Christene Martin’ (pink tones on cream). All have won Champion ribbons at the Adelaide Royal Show, except ‘Thelma Mary’, and maybe it’s her chance this year!

Only on the coldest parts of the hills will you get the Swiss Giant Pansies to flower, since they need a long spell of cold soil temperatures before they mature to flower. In many areas, our winter soil temperatures just don’t get cold enough. That’s why many nurseries refuse to carry these seedlings, offering instead the more reliable Delta selections. That name will not appear on the label, but if you buy locally produced seedlings, there is a 99% chance they are a Delta blend.

Knowing how keen hills gardeners are to plant bulbs and corms, I feel the need to deliver a caution about planting some corms of an invasive nature, in your gardens. Corms such as Watsonia, Zephyranthes, Ixia, Sparaxia, Babiana, Crocosmia and Gladiolus species and even Fresias are best planted into pots and containers, since they have the potential to spread as seed into the native bush and establish as weeds very quickly.

As soon as they complete their flowering remove the seed heads from such corms, to prevent accidental seed dispersal. You can still keep feeding them as you would your prized bulbs, since they need that attention to develop next year’s flowers, but prevent the seed heads from developing at all cost.

When the summer bedding plants are hanging on it’s hard to bring yourself to pulling them out and planting the winter-spring bedding plants for display, but that’s what’s called for folks. Time to think of the three P’s; Pansies, Primulas and Poppies along with Lobelias, Stocks and Antirrhinum.

All of these make excellent container plants too, except the stocks maybe. I still think the best most fragrant stocks are the tall varieties that grow best in our loam, not in pots. Even the dwarf doubles grow and flower best in soil. Stocks love the wind too, so don’t waste a favoured position on them. Plant your Matilda poppies there. Lobelias thrive in shade or full sun and Primulas make a perfect formal border in white or carmine.