Winter Veggie Garden Time

It's that time of year to get the winter veg into the ground but if you haven't yet, it's not too late. The best time to get the veg in is now whilst the soil still has some warmth and that will allow your plants to establish a bit before the cold makes everything dormant.

I've referred to my trusty old book written by Peter Cundle. It suits me because he is Tasmanian and knows the climate so I find that the instructions are accurate. He has given me a list of things I can put into my winter garden. Conveniently my father in law Trev is also at our house when I go to buy my plants and he's also helped me choose. Thanks Trev! 

One trip to Bunnings later and here I am with my plants. Cabbage, broad beans, leeks, brussel sprouts (yuck, I'm not a fan but I will grow them for Ewan's sake) and spinach.

Tina in the background keeping an eye on proceedings!

 This bed previously had tomatoes planted in it. Tomatoes will not grow well in the same place as where they were planted in the previous year so it's important to rotate your beds. So instead of planting tomatoes in this one, I will plant all the winter garden. I've done my research and my new plants are "lime lovers" so I have spread a good amount of lime into the soil which I have raked in before planting. The other bed that I had the cabbages, beans etc in this year will next year have the tomatoes.

Don't forget to raid your recycling bin for as may jam jars, tin cans, milk cartons or cordial bottles to cover your newly planted produce. This will stop the slugs eating them on you! Trev informs me that you can also put out little dishes of beer amongst the plants and that is a natural slug killer. Waste of beer if you ask me and I haven't yet given it a try. I'll let you know if I do.

So get planting everyone. As you can see, I don't have a massive veggie garden, just a manageable one but surprisingly this amount of space produces a fair bit of veg (you could plant a few winter lettuce in a pot if you don't have the garden space). It's worth it just for the satisfaction of saying that you've cooked a meal with your own veg. Plus it's better for you because the produce is fresher and it's good on your hip pocket because you're not buying the vegetables.

If you've still got some produce in your summer garden, have a look at what I did with the last of my mine here and here.

To see the progress on my winter garden, go here.