HI Jen, I'm not an expert, but I've been growing some veggies with various success/failure over the last 4 years in Brisbane. I think most of the plants your putting in like it moist (not soaking) with nutritious soil. Some of your plants will take full sun, but your lettuce may struggle in the jan feb sun. Seedlings are best protected a bit from the ravage of mid day sun, you might want to shade them a bit until they have established themselves. Also, some plants just seem to work better in various garden settings. If I could work out why, i'd be on gardening Australia!! ;-) If something doesn't work in your bed, keep trying with something else. Last year I literally threw in a couple of sweet potatoes onto a large area of unkempt soil. To my surprise they took and grew massive amounts of lovely potatoes. I didn't even try to do anything. Its a good idea to mulch around your plants, to keep moisture in. Good luck .

- Anonymous