It might feel strange sowing seeds in winter, but if you want to be eating from your garden all year round, you need to be planting seeds throughout the year.
It’s the middle of winter here in my backyard garden, and you might be surprised at what’s still going in the ground this July!
If you’re in a temperate zone like me (Climate Zone 5, warm temperate, Northern Beaches NSW, Australia), you know the chill doesn’t mean your gardening has to stop. That said, this winter has been the coldest one we’ve had in a while.
What’s Happening in My Patch This Winter?
Since reintroducing chickens to our backyard farm, every visit to the vegetable garden is a chance to check in on the chicks. Join me as I chat with the chickens and even pop into New Leaf Nursery for some supplies.
Even though my chickens get lots of kitchen scraps, weeds and treats from the garden I still supplement their feed. Now that they are over 18 weeks old they are ready to start laying eggs, so I went to New Leaf Nursery to get my old chickens favourite food. I also got some seed raising mix when I was there.
This post will give you ideas, inspiration, and tips for what’s working in my vegetable patch, especially if you’re wondering what to grow in winter in a warmer climate.
Seeds to Sow in July/Winter
I’m planting seeds directly into the vegetable garden and seed-raising trays aka punnets this month. We’re attempting to grow new flower varieties for us and classic cool-season veggies like lettuces.
It’s a great time to plant a variety of flower seeds and vegetables. I’m planting Billy Buttons and Alysium Carpet of Snow which I’ve grown with great success in my old garden.
Billy Buttons grew beautifully in my old front yard, and made me so joyful every time I walked past these bright yellow flower balls. So, I’m hoping that they will get enough sunshine in the new vegetable garden to thrive. Just in case, I’m going to plant some seeds in different places throughout the garden.
I’m also trying to grow Helichrysum ‘Pink’ which is a paper flower that lasts for ages as a cut flower, fingers crossed they thrive here because they look fabulous and I have lots of great ideas for them.
You might be wondering why I’m growing flowers in my vegetable garden. We want to attract lots of insects to the garden, and biodiversity helps with this. Flowers also attract pollinators, so the bees, butterflies and ants will be attracted to the flowers and then pollinate our vegetables. Plus, they look pretty, daa 😛
The vegetable seeds that you can plant in winter, that I’ve planted this week include lettuces, onions and broccoli. I haven’t bothered growing broccoli for ages since they do take a bit of work. However, I’m loving eating broccoli now so I’ve got a new found motivation to grow them again. Let’s hope I have better success growing these now, only time will tell. Watch this space.
Successive Seeds Keep Your Garden Green All Year
Whether you’re a beginner gardener, or just looking for seasonal planting ideas, I hope this post and YouTube video give you some fresh motivation to keep your garden growing all year round.
My goal is always to inspire you by showing you how I’m keeping my garden thriving, no matter the season. So, whether you’re just starting your gardening journey or you’re a seasoned pro looking for fresh seasonal ideas, I hope this gives you that push to keep your garden growing year-round. The secret to this is to always keep planting seeds.
It’s surprising what you can achieve by simply spending 10 minutes gardening most days. You can grow your own herbs, vegetables and improve your mental health.
So that’s where things are at right now. I hope this post has given you an idea of what seeds to plant, and acted as a reminder to go easy on yourself with winter gardening. Gardening is a never ending journey. Remember to flow with the season you’re in.
Products I Love
Diggers Club Seeds https://www.diggers.com.au/
Chicken Feed- Country Heritage Organic Course Layer https://amzn.to/3IhFjOQ
Burgon & Ball Paper Pot Maker (3 sizes) https://amzn.to/44HcWRS
Garden cover https://amzn.to/44mmanI
Sharpie https://amzn.to/4lH3aG7
Ugg boots https://amzn.to/408AAoZ
Who Gives a Crap toilet paper https://au.whogivesacrap.org/collections/all
Ikea Glasshouse https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/akerbaer-greenhouse-in-outdoor-anthracite-00537176/
** A product I’d love to have Motion Activated Camera https://amzn.to/4nzUwet
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