When should I start to plan my Winter vegetable garden

It may seem counter-intuitive but planning your Winter vegetable garden should start in the heat of Summer. Many Winter crops need months to grow and that growth has to happen before the day-length dips below 10 hours in June. In fact, for about 6 weeks in early Winter there is really hardly any growth at all and you will be harvesting vegetables that grew over Autumn. So start planning those Winter harvests now. 

What Winter crops should I grow and when

Leeks, Brussel sprouts and cauliflower all take many months to grow and should be planted in late January to ensure they can size up before the day length shortens. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, silverbeet, Asian greens, lettuce, spinach, rocket, peas, carrots, radish, beetroot, parsnips, swedes and turnips can also be planted (or direct-seeded for the root vegetables, rocket and Asian greens) from late January but will be ready sooner. You can keep succession planting these until about the end of April, by which point everything should be in the ground. Potatoes can go in the ground in March and will be ready for harvest in May or June. Broad beans, globe artichokes and garlic can be planted in March for a late Spring harvest. If you get your Winter vegetables in the ground from late January to April you should be swimming in crops to harvest all through Winter and into early Spring. 

Still to come

Next time I will talk about jobs to do in the Summer veggie patch. 

This week's recipe links

Easy Greek-Style Eggplant Recipe from The Mediterranean Dish. 

Spicy Asian Zucchini from Recipe Tin Eats. 

Eggplant and Potato Curry from Tea for Turmeric. 

Corn Dip from Love & Lemons. 

More info

To read more about what's happening on our local organic farm this week as we grow and care for veggies for our box delivery, check out this week's newsletter here.