What To Plant In Winter Guide

Welcome to winter! It may not be the busiest season in the garden but there is still plenty to plant and gardening jobs to do in the cooler months. In this guide, we’ll help you keep your garden alive and thriving from June all the way through to August so you can enjoy great harvests all year round.

What to Plant in June

Spring Flowering Bulbs

In warmer regions, you can still plant your spring flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, crocus, freesias, hyacinths, jonquils, dutch irises, ranunculi, and tulips. However, as the spring flowering bulb season winds down, it may become more difficult to find these bulbs in stores.

If you do end up with any left, why not try chilling them in the fridge to grow spring bulbs indoors?

Summer Flowering and Produce Bulbs

The bulbs that are now in peak season are summer flowering bulb varieties such as alstroemerias, bearded iris, canna lilies, gladioli, Asiatic lilies, and lily of the valley, but get in early to ensure you can find all your summer flowering favourites.

Winter planting produce bulbs are also in peak season in June with varieties to plant including asparagus, garlic, rhubarb, shallots, and strawberries. Keep in mind that some crops will lay dormant until the soil has warmed up enough, particularly for potatoes. However, you can get a headstart by chitting them ahead of time. Learn more about how to grow potatoes in our handy guide!

Artichokes and Fruit

If you have a large space to fill, why not try growing Jerusalem artichokes? They are very easy to grow and will thrive in most conditions with very little care. They also produce an abundance of tasty roots that can be eaten like a potato or added to soups and stews for a creamy texture and nutty flavour.

Once you have a good patch of Jerusalem artichokes growing, it will provide crops for you year after year, too, and their bulbs need relatively little care and attention. However, always ensure they have adequate drainage for best performance.

Don't forget to plant your berry canes in June, too, when stock is available and the canes are dormant. Varieties include raspberries, blackberries, elderberry, and gooseberry. Be sure to check out our handy guide on how to grow berries before you get started to help them thrive in your garden.

Winter Sowing Vegetables

Continue making sowings of winter vegetable seeds in June too, such as broad beans, cabbage, spinach, lettuce, onion, and peas, which will be suitable for planting in almost all areas as they thrive in the cooler weather. In tropical regions, you can plant bean seeds, beetroot, broccoli, carrot, eggplant, parsnip, radish, silverbeet, spring onion, and tomato.

When planting in June, fill up any leftover spots in the veggie patch with a green manure crop to protect the soil throughout the winter. This will smother weeds and provide plenty of organic matter for you to dig back through the ground in preparation for spring.

If the thought of gardening outdoors in winter doesn't take your fancy, try indoor gardening using an indoor smart garden or a sprouter to grow sprouts and microgreens.

What to Plant in July

Tend to Your Trees

In July, prioritise the transplanting of deciduous ornamental and fruiting trees, as well as shrubs and vines while they are dormant. Retain as much of the root system as possible, and cut any roughly severed roots cleanly with secateurs.

Have the new planting position ready in advance, and incorporate plenty of compost into the planting site with your existing soil. You should also water the bottom of the planting hole before your shrub goes in to ensure the root ball doesn’t dry out.

Put plenty of mulch over the soil once planted, ensuring it is kept away from the stem or shrub to prevent collar rot. At this time of year, you can also work on pruning up your existing trees, particularly your dormant, deciduous species. You should only ever use clean and sharp gardening tools to do this to prevent disease from setting in.

Work on clearing up some of the lower branches on your taller tree species, too, to open up space underneath which will improve airflow, and make sure you cleanly cut any dead or diseased branches.

Summer Flowering Bulbs

In July, continue to plant summer flowering bulbs such as alstroemerias, bearded iris, canna lilies, gladioli, Asiatic lilies, and lily of the valley. Produce bulbs are also still in season such as asparagus, garlic, rhubarb, potatoes, shallots, and strawberries.

For the best results, prepare your planting site well using a garden fork to loosen any compaction in your soil, and finish it off by incorporating garden compost and well-rotted manure.

Herbs and Vegetables

In July, the crops giving the quickest returns are radish and lettuce, but even in cool temperate regions, you can still sow many herbs and vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, celery, peas, parsley, and broad beans.

July is also a great time to sow members of the onion family, who love the cooler conditions. The easiest to grow are chives, spring onion, and garlic chives, which you should plant in a sheltered spot that receives good sun.

Tomatoes

In warmer regions, July is the best time to start your tomato seeds to establish an early crop and maximise yields before summer temperatures climb above 36 Celsius and cause a lack of fruit set. Whatever climate you live in, you can get an early start to spring planting season by starting your seeds in a Jiffy Peat Pellet Greenhouse placed on top of a HeatPad.

This maintains a steady warm soil temperature that is necessary for germinating many of those spring vegetable and fruit crops. When spring arrives, plant the seedling pellets and all in the garden to avoid transplantation shock, resulting in quicker establishment of the plant, and earlier harvest!

What to Plant in August

If you have a bare garden area in August, now is the time to apply your favourite fertiliser, compost/worm castings, and a good layer of mulch. If you still have some leafy crops such as winter lettuce, giving these an all-purpose liquid feed will kick them along nicely, too.

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Eggplants

In cool areas, you can get a head start on your cucumbers, tomatoes, capsicums, and even eggplants by using seedling trays or our Jiffy Peat Pellets/Peat Pots.

Place them in a spot where they will be well protected and receive a lot of sunlight to keep them warm or use a HeatPad for the best results, with crops needing a steady warm soil of approximately 20°C or more to germinate optimally.

Flowers, Fruit, and Vegetables Plant in August

Not only can you get your vegetables underway in August, but you can start your flower seeds like marigolds, petunias, Californian poppies, and cosmos. If you are lucky enough to live in a tropical area, now’s a great time to sow watermelons, rockmelons, watercress, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, beetroot, rosemary, and thyme.

Remember that your crops, particularly the fruiting ones, will require plenty of sunlight, moisture, and nutrition in August, so keep them happy and they will grow plenty of delicious produce in return. You can also plant Jerusalem artichoke, potatoes, and radish seeds directly into your soil at this time.

There’s a lovely range of bulbs for planting during August such as calla lilies, dahlias, oriental lilies, hippeastrum, and water lilies. Make sure to dig the soil over well and mix in fertiliser and organic material such as compost when planting these, and as your spring flowering bulbs such as jonquils and hyacinths start to die off, apply a bit of all-purpose liquid feed around the plants to refuel them for next season.

Be sure to remove the dead heads of your flowers, too, leaving only the leaves and stems. This keeps foliage intact and enables the bulb to recapture all of the energy stored in the leaves, ensuring that they get all the nutrients they need to flower beautifully again next year.

Buy Vegetables and Flowers to Grow in Winter

Winter doesn’t have to be a quiet time for your garden and thanks to Mr Fothergill’s Seeds, you can grow all kinds of vegetable seeds and winter sowing flower seeds in the colder months. For advice about growing your favourite fruit, veg, and herbs throughout the year, give our garden advice blog a try.