3 Tips for your Veggie Garden this Winter

on July 01, 2023

Fresh veggies straight from your backyard? It's like having a personal savings account in the garden! Remember that lettuce price frenzy in 2022? Cue *dramatic music* But fear not! By growing your own veggies at home, you become the master of your produce destiny. Say goodbye to skyrocketing prices and hello to crunchy, budget-friendly goodness. Plus, it's a green-thumb adventure that'll make you the envy of your neighborhood.

At Warran Glen Garden Centre you can find seasonal herbs and veggies from Scotsburn Nurseries and gardening products from Grow Better, BioGuano and more to help get your veggie garden project underway.

PSA: As we are based in Melbourne, Victoria, our top tips for creating an easy Veggie Garden are based on Melbourne's temperate to cool climate.

Tip 1: Use High Quality Products

By using high quality products to create your veggie gardening you're ensuring your seedlings are getting the best environment to grow.

Below are a few of our suggestions to get you started:

We recommend Grow Better products for the Mulch and Soil due to their Australian Organic and Australian Standards certification and favourable independent trial results.

At the bottom of your Veggie Garden start with Grow Better's Sugar Cane Mulch. Designed to improve moisture retention and increase nitrogen draw-down. Clean and easy to spread and will eventually break down to improve soil texture .
Grow Better's Enriched Planting Mix for your soil substrate. This is a blend of organic matter, animal manure and earthworm castings - a perfectly balanced compost that is ideal for all gardens. Excellent to mix with heavy clay soils, an organic mixture with added gypsum which is perfect for exotic plants.

We have been trying out a new organic fertiliser product call BioGuano+. This fertiliser is made from seabird "Guano".

BioGuano+ has the potential to increase crop production significantly compared to traditional fertilizers, resulting in sweeter agricultural and horticultural yields! Thanks to the fish diet of seabirds, their guano is a highly effective fertilizer. BioGuano is a Rich Source of Natural Phosphorus, Calcium, Silicon, Potassium, Organic Carbon and Ocean Minerals. Ideal for use with Nuts, Grains, Fruits, Flowers & Vegetables.

Tip 2: Plant a Variety of Produce

There are plenty vegetable and herb varieties that can be grown during winter. By planting a variety of produce you are ensuring you have edibles to harvest throughout winter rather that all in one glut.

Here are just a few of the plants you can grow in a temperate climate.

Herbs: Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Sage, Oregano, Mint, Chives & Coriander.

Veggies: Beetroot, Broccoli, Spinach, Brussel Sprouts, Carrot, Cauliflower & Lettuce.

You can find all these and more available at Warran Glen.

Photo by Greta Hoffman from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-gardener-holding-container-with-seedlings-during-planting-7728108/

Tip 3: Try Companion Planting.

Companion planting flowers and vegetables in the same beds is a strategy professional growers use to boost yields and keep crops healthy, and it’s easy and beneficial for beginners to do, too. By planting flowers you can attract bees and other beneficial insects that can assist in pollination and pest control.

For example, in summer ladybugs are attracted to pollen rich blooms such as calendula, sweet alyssum and marigold. In return for the pollen the ladybugs will devour aphids and munch on fruit flies, thrips and mites.

It is best to plant in season flowers into your veggie garden; In winter choose Pansy, Viola and Primrose. Then when you redo your veggie garden in summer, plant Marigolds, Petunia and Cosmos.

When in flower plants such as lavender in the surrounding garden will also help benefit your vegetable crops.