What I’m growing this Winter

Winter gardening conditions

It’s cold as a witches here in Southern Australia (or at least it feels so to me, who is notoriously cold-averse), even if it’s still quite dry. We finally had a bit of rain last week, although nowhere near enough. The long-term forecast for June is for quite a lot less rain than the average monthly rainfall, which means watering well into the Winter months. I planted kale yesterday, and the soil was dry – not middle-of-Summer dry, but still much drier than I would expect for the start of June. This is concerning, as the Winter vegetables require both cold and wet conditions to grow large and sweet.

The other part of the forecast that was concerning was that we are headed for another wet Spring. Last year’s Spring was unseasonably wet, which had both positive and negative effects for the garden. It was great to finally have the rain, but the cooler conditions in Spring led to difficulty growing certain plants that love the hot weather (eggplants, I hardly knew ye). It also created ideal conditions for fungal diseases.

To manage the dry conditions this Winter, I am keeping up with regular watering, mulching (I use sugar cane mulch), and spreading compost from my bins in the garden. I seems antithetical to water in June, but if I want to grow my own veggies, I don’t have much choice. As I do it, I spare a thought for our primary producers, who are still waiting for a decent break in the season.

Veggies for Winter gardening

In spite of the cold, there’s still plenty of veggies that can be grown in an Adelaide Winter. This Winter I am growing:

• Brassicas:
  • Kale – Tuscan Black, Scottish Blue, Red Russian, Pentland Brig;
  • Cauliflower – Mini White, Purple Sicily, Orange, Multi-Head;
  • Broccoli: Baby Brocky, Romanesco, Di Ciccio;
  • Kohlrabi: Purple, White;
  • Cabbage: Savoy;
  • Brussels Sprouts: Catskills.
• Root Vegetables:
  • Turnips: Purple Top, Golden Globe, Tokyo Market;
  • Swede: Champion Purple Top;
  • Carrot: Nantes;
  • Beetroot: Heirloom mix.
• Spinach: Green Viking.
• Alliums:
  • Garlic: Melbourne Market;
  • Onions: Creamgold, Long Tropea Red;
  • Leeks: King Richard.
• Greens:
  • Tatsoi;
  • Oriental Heirloom Mix;
  • Freckled Cos Lettuce.
• Peas: Telephone and Snow.
• Broad beans: Aquadulce.

I have grown almost all of the above from seed, starting most of them in February in seed trays in the greenhouse, and transplanting them out to the garden when they are large enough. The root vegetables, broad beans and peas were sown directly in the garden.

You might be wondering, why so much kale? That’s a great question. In my view, Tuscan Black kale (also known as Dinosaur Kale or Cavolo Nero) is the best tasting, easiest to grow, and most versatile kale. However, because kale is very healthy, I also like to try other varieties to see what else will work in my patch, what tastes good, and what can be used in other dishes. Besides, whatever we don’t eat can be fed to the chickens.

Turnips are a big fave with me. Freshly picked turnips are delicious and sweet, and I almost always have good luck with them in my garden. They grow quickly and with minimal effort, so I try to always have a couple of rows growing in the Winter patch.

Peas are a challenge for me. I find that they often succumb to brown mildew before they fruit enough to be worth the effort, but I am trying to plant successively and to assiduously train them so they don’t trail along the ground. I hope this will help hold off any fungal diseases long enough to pick a decent crop. I’m also growing a couple of different varieties to see what will work best.

Last year I skipped growing broad beans, and I missed having them in the Spring. Sweet little peeled broad beans are a gift that only home gardeners receive: picked young and cooked that day, we don’t even need to peel them most of the time. Tossed with pasta, garlic, olive oil and feta, or cooked in an omelette: delicious!

I have cherry Rhubarb in the ground ready for crumbles and roasting with cinnamon and star anise, cumquats starting to fruit in a large pot, and dragon fruit in the greenhouse that I am hoping will fruit for the first time this Winter. I also just picked a yuuuuuge tub of limes, some of which have gone straight in the freezer and the rest given to friends and family. We still have plenty of preserved limes, lime pickle, and marmalade left from last year, so dropping them whole in the freezer will keep them until we have time and pantry space for more preserves.

What are you growing this Winter? Let me know in the comments.