PATCH TO PLATE | The Winter Harvest
The desire to grow our own food continues to boom. Whether it's the unbeatable taste of homegrown produce, a desire to connect with where our food comes from, reducing food miles, or simply the deep satisfaction of harvesting something you've nurtured, edible gardening is incredibly rewarding - our Patch to Plate series will fill you in on the perfect things to plant each season, to fill you up with lots of yummy treats from your own garden patch!
A key trend is "edible landscaping" – integrating fruit, vegetables, and herbs beautifully into the overall garden design, rather than confining them to a separate plot. Designing an edible landscape that is both highly productive and aesthetically pleasing takes careful planning, but the results are worth it.
This integration is particularly relevant as gardens adapt to urban living. With smaller spaces, gardeners are getting creative, using pots, vertical gardens , and choosing edibles that look as good as they taste – think colourful Rainbow Chard, or fragrant herbs mixed amongst flowers. This makes growing food accessible even on balconies or patios, blurring the lines between ornamental and productive gardening and bringing nature closer in line with biophilic design principles
We love the eco-friendly, health, and aesthetics that come from edible landscaping and think it’s a perfect fit for the smaller yards found in the Inner West – it’s also a perfect fit for our Landscape Design team who have a ton of knowledge and experience with this trend – book in a time for one of our landscape design team to come up with the perfect edible landscape for you!
May is an excellent month for establishing cool-season vegetables and herbs in Sydney. Planting now allows these crops to develop strong root systems in the still-warm soil before the coldest part of winter arrives, setting them up for vigorous growth and harvests later in winter or early spring.
Based on recommendations from reliable Australian gardening resources suitable for Sydney's temperate climate, the following edibles are well-suited for planting in May:
PERFECT FOR PLANTING NOW
bressicas
This family thrives in cooler weather. Consider planting seedlings of:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Kale and;
Brussels Sprouts
for a faster start as temperatures cool. Sources consistently recommend these for autumn planting in temperate zones.
leafy greens
A productive category for cooler months. Plant:
Lettuce (various types including loose-leaf and hearting)
Spinach (varieties like 'Winter Queen' are ideal )
Rocket (fast-growing from seed )
Asian Greens (like Bok Choy/Pak Choi)
Silverbeet/Chard, and;
Mustard Greens
root vegetables
Plant seeds or sets now for winter and spring harvests. Options include:
Carrots
Radishes
Beetroot
Turnips
Onions (from seed or sets)
Leeks, and
Parsnips.
May is also the prime time to plant Garlic cloves.
legumes
Excellent choices for May planting include:
Peas (Snow & Sugar Snap)
Broad Beans
They benefit from the cooler growing season
HERBS
Hardy herbs can be planted now to provide flavour through winter. Good choices include
Parsley
Coriander
Chives
Garlic CHives
Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Mint (best contained it pots)
Lemon Balm
Dill
Oregano and;
Chamomile
Don’t forget that successful planting starts with good soil preparation. Incorporating well-rotted compost or manure improves soil structure, fertility, and drainage – crucial for potentially wetter winter months. For crops like broccoli, cabbage, and lettuce, starting with seedlings purchased from a nursery can provide a head start and lead to quicker establishment as soil temperatures decrease.
For those that decide to do some DIY - we’d love to see what you’ve planted, why not post a pic of your patch on our sociials!
If you’d love your own patch, but its not possible for you to do it yourself then just give us a call and we’ll manage the whole process for you, and you’ll be picking parsley in no time!
