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Today’s newsletter is my first ever inspired by a reader request! One of my lovely subscribers asked for a list of easy winter edibles that do well in Perth, and so that’s exactly what I’ve written!
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Tomorrow is the winter solstice! Usually the winter solstice feels like a cause for celebration - a sign that we have passed the shortest, darkest phase of winter and that spring is on the way. But this year - for me - feels different. It still doesn’t actually feel like winter has arrived. With brief, infrequent bursts of overnight rain followed by mild blue-sky days, Perth in June 2024 feels like a new and different beast. It sort of feels like we don’t deserve spring yet, you know? Like we only earn the right to relish spring’s approach by enduring the grey skies of winter, which still haven’t come.
On the other hand, I just got back from a morning at the beach, the plants in our garden are thriving in the cool sunshine and part of me is starting to think that the best course of action in the face of our changing climate is to simply embrace the good while doing my best to mitigate the bad.
If our summers are going to get hotter and drier, and our winters milder and sunnier, maybe the best thing we can do is ditch the northern hemisphere habit of hibernating over winter, and instead throw ourselves headfirst into our chilly, bright backyards. Starting with the veggie patch!
There are so many great cool weather crops to grow, but a few veggies repeatedly steal the spotlight, and I think the time has come for them to step aside. What follows is a list of the winter herbs and vegetables I actually like to grow, and you will find not a mention of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or Brussels sprouts in it. Sorry if you like those veggies, but after enduring a love/hate relationship with them for a few years, I’ve decided I cbf.
Broccoli, cabbages, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower all belong to the brassica family, and they are always the first veggies to get nibbled to shreds. The bugs love them. You can still absolutely grow them successfully if you want (you’ll have more luck if you raise them in pots before putting them in your veggie beds), but I find veggie gardening is much more fun when it feels easy, and to me broccoli etc never really feel easy.
The veggies and herbs that follow feel EASY, and can all be planted now. If you are a free subscriber, use the following list to help you decide what you might like to grow this winter. If you are a paying subscriber, you can scroll down to the bottom and click through the grow guides to read exactly how to grow a selection of my favourite cool weather crops.
I’ll also be sharing more veggie grow guides with paying subscribers over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
Cool weather crops to grow now:
Cool weather salad greens
Sorrel (sow seeds or buy as a seedling)
Lettuce (sow seeds or buy as a seedling)
Mustard greens (very easy to sow from seed or you can buy mixed punnets of mustard greens from most nurseries)
Fennel (SO easy to grow from seed!)
Cool weather herbs
Parsley (sow seeds or buy as a seedling)
Dill (sow seeds or buy as a seedling)
Chervil (easier to buy as a seedling in my opinion, as the seeds can sometimes have unreliable germination, although you can also raise from seed)
Coriander (so easy to grow from seed!)
Cool weather root veggies
Carrots (sow seeds direct - don’t buy as seedlings)
Beetroot (sow seeds direct - don’t buy as seedlings)
Radishes (sow seeds direct - don’t buy as seedlings)
Cool weather legumes
Broad beans (so easy to sow as seeds - don’t waste your time buying seedlings)
Winter veggie grow guides:
Thank you for reading! See you next time for more Lo fi life!
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Hey Casey! More of a general question, I've moved into a new property around the city last year and i've found out historically theres a lot of lead in the soil around this area- it's made me scared to plant edibles directly into the soil because of some plants being hyperaccumulator's- are you familiar with this term & concept? I'm still learning and have been airing on the side of caution. Would love to hear your thoughts & no pressure- love ya work!!
Thank you! I bought some herb seeds last week and plan to get my raised veggie garden back into shape next week. Perth winter?? I think we missed it...