SPRING is all about planting seeds, seeds and more seeds. It’s an active time for gardeners which is a refreshing and much welcomed change after slowing down during the winter months. In winter I tend to spend more time indoors, sipping too much coffee, flicking through inspiring books and dreaming up all the potential new gardens for Spring.
Be careful during the spring months for late frosts and cold weather snaps. Starting your seeds inside or in a greenhouse is a good idea. Towards the end of spring you can start to sow some of the hardier seeds such as Zucchini and Pumpkin directly into the garden.
Spring Gardening
Spring can be a bit up and down with temperatures so it’s best to start your seeds in seed trays and keep them somewhere warm to germinate. Greenhouses and sunny windows inside will work well to get your seeds up and growing.
There are a few mini-greenhouse systems you can get these days or I often use clear storage containers and fish tanks as makeshift greenhouse systems.
The key is to keep your seeds warm but still allow plenty of diffused sunlight, air and moisture. These systems can also protect your seeds from hungry little mice who often like to dig up and eat your seeds before they get a chance to sprout!
Prune your fruit trees such as citrus if they are out of shape or too big. Do this before the spring growth starts. Keeping fruit trees pruned to a manageable height will allow the tree to put more of its energy into fruit production and also means you can harvest the fruit easier before the birds or other animals get to it.
Let your best vegetables go to seed so that you can collect your seeds. Some of your Winter veggies will be coming to an end so finish harvesting and allow the best ones to go to seed. This means you will have seeds to plant the next year which will be acclimated to your exact conditions. It also means some seeds will end up in the soil and will pop up on their own next season when the conditions are just right! This is my favourite thing to do. Let nature do its thing and everything becomes so easy and flows without any external work or force.
Keep gardens mulched to help retain moisture for the warmer months. Mulch will also help reduce the amount of weeds popping up during their peak growth months.
Save the ends and scraps of your greens, herbs, onion and root vegetables and make a batch of Veggie Scrap Stock
Make extra soups to freeze
Be inspired by Spring
Hang solar fairy lights.
Create an outdoor dining area.
Cook over an outdoor fire pit or fireplace and spend more nights outside.
Make an insect hotel using foraged sticks.
Make colourful plant labels for your new seedlings.
Make recycled pots and seed trays using toilet rolls, newspaper and egg cartons.
Start a cocktail garden – Plant herbs and flowers so you can enjoy beautiful refreshing summer drinks.
Press flowers – Preserve the colourful blooms of spring to create cards and art during the slower seasons.
Try your hand at some photography! The bees and flowers will be putting on a brilliant show.
Host a dinner party or high tea to celebrate and welcome the change of season. Use edible flowers to create show stopping, colourful drinks and dishes.
Planning for Summer
The key for easy and successful gardens is to plan ahead. This can help you maximise your food production and help maintain momentum. Summer can be a harsh season in the garden but there are a few things you can do to get the most out of your summer crops. The last month of Spring is a great time to get prepared and create a seamless transition into summer gardening.
Plan and prep any new garden beds with plenty of compost and composted manure.
Lay a thick 10cm layer of mulch to help retain water during summer.
Think about shade, if your garden beds will be in full sun do they need temporary shade.
Clean out any sprinkler heads and remove grass or plants from around the nozzles.
Do you have a hose nearby for ease of watering? On those super hot days you may need to water early morning and late evening so it is much easier and more realistically achievable if you have a hose close by.
Weeper hoses are great for distributing water slowly and allow the plants and trees to absorb it.
Plant flowers for the Bees. With lots of flowering fruit and vegetables over summer, it is vital you have pollinators in your garden to get a successful harvests. Plant lots of flowers in between your fruit trees and vegetables. Choose edible flowers so that you can also use them too! Zinnia and sunflowers are beautiful summer editions that the bees love.
The winter season brings with it crisp mornings, darker skies, and more time spent inside. Our bodies crave comforting, warm hearty meals and an endless amount of hot drinks. Winter guides us to slow down, re-evaluate, and allows us to come up with new and exciting plans. In the garden, plant growth rates slow down, temperatures are a lot cooler and the sun tracks lower in the sky, resulting in more shaded areas. It is important to observe your garden throughout the seasons and see where the sun and shades shift throughout the year. This means you can plan what to plant and make sure you have selected areas where each plant gets adequate sunlight for its desired growth cycle. For example, Citrus like full sun, year-round, so make sure they will not be shaded by a big tree over the Autumn and Winter months. Otherwise, they may struggle, and when plants struggle they are more susceptible to pests and diseases. Recognizing the areas of sun and shade in your garden and getting to know what conditions your plants like will go such a long way in creating a thriving, easy to grow garden.
Shady Situations
One of the most important factors to consider when planning your edible plants or permaculture garden is to OBSERVE your environment and analyse your sectors (wind, sun, fire, water, frost). It is number one on David Holmgren’s list of Permaculture Principles (1. Observe and Interact). Learning how these external energies behave on your specific property will make your garden design and planting so much more successful, easy and long-lasting. The sun tracks lower in the sky over winter, so trees, sheds, fences, and other obstacles may cause more of your garden to be in shade over winter. Once you have recognised these areas you can then plan to plant things that grow well in shade. Utilise and harness this rather than see it as a problem.
Observing where the sun and shade are throughout the year will also allow you to plan which plants or elements will grow best in each spot. Rather than finding a spare spot and planting a full sun-loving tree in an area that is 80% shaded. Gardening is a lot of trial and error, but by observing and interacting you will be able to identify what issues you have and figure how to solve them.
My Top 10 Edible Plants to Grow in the Shade:
Nasturtiums – Tropaeolum majus. If you don’t know by now these are one of my favourite plants. They thrive pretty much anywhere and are so abundant even in shaded areas. Most of the plant is edible!
Sweet Violets – Viola odorata. Sweet violets, also known as English Violets, Wood Violets or Common Violets, have cute little purple or white and purple edible flowers and make a beautiful carpeted ground cover.
Lettuce – I grow many different varieties of lettuce and they don’t seem to mind the shade. In fact in Perth, WA I find they do better in the shade.
Chives – Allium schoenoprasum. I have chives planted in the shade year-round and they do well. They add great oniony freshness to omelettes and the flowers are also edible.
Kale – Brassica oleracea var. acephala. Kale grows well in the shade due to its large leaves being able to sustain adequate energy. It does grow at a slower rate (like most plants in the shade) which I like because although I like kale it is much easier to keep up with it.
Radish – Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus. Radish are fast-growing and will do well in the shade. They are a perfect fresh accompaniment to a salad or pickled.
Asian Greens – Bokchoy, Tatsoi, Choy Sum, these are some of my favourite Asian leafy greens and they all do well in the shade or part shade.
Parsley – Petroselinum crispum. Parsley will tolerate shade and I find it grows at just the right rate for me to use without having masses going to waste.
Sweet Potato – Ipomoea batatas. Although full shade is not ideal growing conditions my Sweet Potato still does well. Slower growing but a great ground cover and still produces decent size crops.
Rocket – Eruca vesicaria ssp. sativa. Rocket does fine in the shade too and is a great addition to any salad, served with Pizza or make a delicious rocket pesto!
What to Plant
Winter Maintenance
Prune your deciduous trees or ones that have just finished fruiting such as the Feijoa and Guava. Keeping fruit trees pruned to a manageable height will allow the tree to put more of its energy into fruit production and also means you can harvest the fruit easier before the birds or other animals get to it.
Let your best vegetables go to seed so that you can collect your seeds. Some of your Summer and Autumn veggies will be coming to an end so finish harvesting and allow the best ones to go to seed. This means you will have seeds to plant the next year which will be acclimated to your exact conditions. It also means some seeds will end up in the soil and will pop up on their own next season when the conditions are just right! This is my favourite thing to do. Let nature do its thing and everything becomes so easy and flows without any external work or force.
Keep gardens mulched to help retain heat and moisture. Mulch will also help reduce the amount of weeds popping up.
Save the ends and scraps of your greens, herbs, onion and root vegetables and make a batch of Veggie Scrap Stock
Planning for Spring
Sometimes it can feel like you are always behind when it comes to planting seeds and seedlings. Here are some tips to do in Winter that will have you speeding ahead in your Spring and Summer gardens!
Check your seed collection and order your spring and summer seeds (tomatoes, pumpkins, zucchini, capsicum, chilli)
Start planting any early spring seeds inside or in the green house. The last month of winter can be a great time to do this and get a few things growing to kickstart your spring garden.
On a journey to grow your own food and live more sustainably, it is important to grow a selection of staple base crops to set yourself up for success. Base crops are ones that produce a large amount of food and will provide a great platform to build complete dishes. Just like we have staples in the pantry to create meals, it is important to have staples in the garden to carry us through each season. Base crops are easy to grow, harvest and store and will provide a good level of calorie-dense nutrition and carbohydrates. They also include things that can be grown in bulk and used throughout the year. Below are some of my favourite annual base crops.
Autumn / WinterCrops
Cabbage
Cabbage is a hearty winter vegetable to grow that provides a lot of food for one plant. A single cabbage can go a long way when creating meals for your family. Cabbage can be preserved to use throughout the year by fermenting it and making sauerkraut. This is a great way to use up lots of your cabbage and is also great for your gut health. Cabbage is a great way to bulk up salads, stirfries, or sauteed as a side dish of its own. Cabbage can also be used for bunless burgers and steaks. I can’t wait to showcase as many cabbage recipes as I can.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is another hearty winter crop that can be the base of many different meals. You can also use the leaves of the cauliflower as another form of leafy greens for vitamins and nutrients. Cauliflower can be pickled or frozen to use throughout the year. Cauliflower has so many uses and can be used to replace rice and flour in many dishes. Cauliflower can be blitzed to make pizza bases, bread, rice, pasta, or a substitute for mashed potato. Cauliflower can be roasted whole or the florets used in stirfries, curry, and soups. You can also slice it into steaks and oven-roast it. There are just so many ways to create wholesome dishes with the humble cauliflower. Cauliflower sushi is one of my favourites! Cauliflower also comes in many varieties and colours including purples and green!
Onions
Onions are the base of many dishes and are a staple flavour-enhancing vegetable. The great thing about onions is that they store well and can be dried and kept for many months after harvesting. Onions can also be dehydrated, pickled or frozen to use throughout the year. They are also easy vegetables to grow and grow well in many different conditions. Onions prefer the cooler weather of Autumn here in Western Australia and in colder climates, they can be sown in Spring. The onion family come in many shapes and sizes from spring onions, red onions, bunching onion, pickling onions, white onions and many more. They are a great staple vegetable to add flavour to many dishes.
Garlic
Just like the onions, Garlic is another staple flavour enhancer. You can grow a large crop of garlic and use it throughout the year. Garlic is not only great for enhancing the flavour of your food but is also medicinal with antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. It is a great allrounder for your health, home and kitchen needs.
Rainbow Chard
Rainbow chard or Swiss Chard are powerhouse greens for your edible garden. They are easy to grow and produce an abundance of nutrient-dense food. You can pickle or freeze your extra produce to eat throughout the year. I choose to grow the rainbow chard because I love the pop of colour in my winter garden and in the meals I produce with it. You can use chard in so many dishes from stirfries, curry, soup, omelette, pesto, salads and as a stand-alone side dish. Chard can also be used as an alternative to wraps.
Spring / SummerCrops
Pumpkins
Pumpkins are a fantastic vegetable to grow as they produce a lot of food and can be easily stored to use throughout the year. Pumpkins are easy to grow and prefer warm dry weather. It is important to water pumpkins in the morning or under the leaves as they can be prone to mildew if their leaves remain moist for too long. Pumpkins can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes and a single pumpkin can go a long way to help provide garden-to-plate meals. Watch how to preserve pumpkins for storage in this linked video.
Sweet Potato
Growing Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in your home garden is a great step towards self-sufficiency. Sweet Potatoes are my favourite permaculture plant and are an easy crop to grow for beginner gardeners. It is important to grow plants that support and encourage other plants and beneficial insects in your garden. Creating a cohesive ecosystem that promotes the growth and success of your garden’s health and supports abundant harvests. The leaves of the sweet potato are also edible which provides a great source of greens whilst your crop is growing. Sweet potato are very versatile in the kitchen and can be used for both sweet and savoury dishes.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a plant that grows in abundance during summer and can easily be preserved to use throughout the year. You can grow a huge amount of tomatoes on just a few plants which makes them a great staple for self-sufficiency. You can preserve your tomatoes by canning, bottling, making sauce, chutney, relish, soup, dehydrating or simply freezing them whole. Whole frozen tomatoes can be used to make sauces or relish at a later date or added to soups and dishes throughout the year.
Beans
Beans are another vegetable that produces a huge abundance in a small time frame. You can grow a lot of beans in a small space by creating a vertical trellis to grow them up. Beans can be frozen, fermented, or bottled/canned to preserve for use throughout the year. Beans are an easy vegetable to throw into many meals such as stir-fries, curries, soups, salads, and as a side dish on their own.
Fruit Trees
Apple
Apple trees are a great staple fruit tree for a home garden because they can be used in so many ways. Apples are an extremely versatile fruit. You can preserve apples by freezing slices or puree, dehydrating or canning in juice or syrup. Apples can be used to form the base of many homemade sauce recipes, relish, chutney and jams. Apple sauce can even be added to baking in replace of eggs to retain moisture as well as to bulk up a fruit pie.
Lemon
Lemon is another great staple tree to start with on your journey to self-sufficiency. Lemons can be used in both sweet and savoury dishes and are a great flavour enhancer. Lemons can also be used to aid health and wellness or in-home cleaning products. They are a staple all-round fruit. You can preserve lemons by dehydrating, juicing, freezing, preserving in salt, or making into lemon butter.
Choosing what vegetables to grow at home can be so hard! But this selection of staples will help you form a good base to work from. Having vegetables preserved will help you during the slower months or when your garden is transitioning between seasons.
Radish and lettuce are great crops to fill in the gaps and plant between your other vegetables. They are quick to grow and will be ready to harvest before they are crowded out by larger vegetables such as Broccoli and Cabbage. This will be a quick win and allow you to have more vegetables ready to go sooner. Radish takes approximately 28 days from seed to harvest and can be used fresh in salads, roasted whole, or sliced thinly and pickled.
I am in the process of putting together a guide on planting your staple base crops for Self-Sufficiency which will be available over the next few days.
