One of the greatest gardening benefits of living in Australia is the winter gardening opportunities. As the majority of the country goes without snow or particularly icy conditions, you can still grow veggies and herbs throughout the colder months.

Before you start sowing seeds in your winter vegetable garden, however, there are a few steps you should take to prepare. Giving just a little time to this will set you up for success as your garden continues to thrive, even as the cool weather sets in.

Preparation Time

Preparation is key, and here are some winter gardening tasks you should tick off the list before planting your winter veggies.

Clean up

You can’t work in a messy garden, so spend some time tidying things up from the last growing season. This includes harvesting any remaining plants so you have a blank slate to work with.

Weeding is another important step in getting your garden cleaned up, making sure you really get down to the roots.

Gather leaves

Rake and gather the fallen leaves in your yard to help tidy things up. Don’t forget that these can serve a purpose, too. Old leaves can either be added to compost as brown composting material, or saved and used as mulch for your garden beds.

Get the garden bed ready

While you’re digging for roots and weeds in the soil, you can use your fork or spade to break up and aerate the soil, mixing mulch into it at the same time. This will help to remove any clods, as well as giving the soil some much-needed nutrients.

Now is the time to add compost or manure to your soil to ensure it has everything it needs for your winter vegetables to grow. Then, water the bed to help break this down and spread it throughout, before adding a 1-2 inch layer of mulch to help suppress weeds and conserve moisture.

Test the soil

If you really want to get technical, then you can take this opportunity to test your soil pH to see if it needs any additions. Most commonly, lime is used to balance out soil pH.

What to Plant

Now that your garden is ready, you can start planting winter vegetables. Here are just some of our favourite winter veggies to grow in Australia!

Broad beans

These can be sown straight into the soil in a sunny spot, making them a pretty straightforward addition. As they take off though, you’ll need to add stakes to support the growing plant.

Beetroot and Carrot

Both of these can also be sown directly into the soil after soaking in water overnight to help improve germination.

Bok Choi and Pak Choi

These Asian greens do well during the Australian winter, and grow pretty quickly in most soils with fortnightly fertilisation.

Celery

This green is another winter-grower. It fares well in most soils, and can be ready to harvest from around 16 weeks post-planting.

Spring onion

Even if you don’t intend on growing much in your garden this winter, it may be worthwhile to plant some spring onion. That’s because its pest-repellent qualities can help to keep your garden in good shape for the summer season.

Garlic

Garlic is generally grown over the winter to harvest in summer, and will need to spend some extra time hanging-drying in storage before it’s ready to use.

Parsley and Silverbeet

If you’re looking for something to plant in the shaded areas of your garden, then these two are great options. Both tolerate shade well, and require just fortnightly fertilisation to grow.

Professional Preparation

Our Jim’s Mowing experts can help you to get your garden winter-ready. Whether it’s preparing everything for the summer, or making the most of the colder seasons, our specialists are ready to lend a hand. Contact us today to find out more about our professional gardening services!