Jump Start Spring- Sow These Vegetable, Herb and Flowers Seeds NOW!
/
The Back Paddock filled with green manure crops
Winter brings something which begins almost imperceptibly….and then quickens as we move into Spring - Sunlight - Our days are getting longer!! The early wattle blooms are swelling and our bees are tugging on unopened blossoms - the eagerness for Spring.
We are sowing seeds, like so many other Southern Hemisphere growers! If we start crops that thrive in the cold now, we will be able to harvest new season crops while the fruit trees are blooming.
There are many crops that not only thrive in the cold but also are easy to start from seed . If you are still frosting, we have indicated if they need protection.
If growing from seed is new to you, check our Resource page with Seed Starting Basics.
Transition Farm seeds are a fraction of the cost of seedlings, they are regionalised to our Southern Victoria region, they have been selected for flavour and resilience offering organic growers better success!
I love watching seeds germinate - it so exciting - and I really love meals with these varieties. Each one is unique and brings something special and flavour-filled to the menu!! As our growing space is limited and we take variety maintenance and preservation seriously (hence only being able to grow ONE brassica for seed each season), the varieties we are curating really have EARNED a place in our garden, at our table and in our hearts!
Here are some varieties you can start NOW!
Championed by world renowned chef and author Dan Barber, ‘Badger Flame’ is an oblong beetroot with all the natural vegetal sweetness of a beetroot and minimal amounts of their earthy flavour. A starburst yellow, orange and red interior makes this a vibrant, perfectly mild and sweet golden beet that is delightful raw and cooked. Beetroot germinates best at high temperatures (22-25C) but it will grow in cooler temperatures. So we germinate these on a heat pad, moving them off when there are two true leaves and then hardening them off before transplanting them into the garden.
One of the original mini lettuces, ‘Tom Thumb’ is a true heirloom butterhead introduced to the USA from England in the late 1860’s, just after the Civil War. Medium green, very dense, savoyed leaves that are crunchy and buttery, fold into creamy hearts. You can be eating this lettuce in the first weeks of September if you sow now, halved with a squeeze of lemon! While Tom Thumb will grow in cooler temperatures, if your nights frost, cover with a cloche.
Bred to bring more flavor (and more purple) to purple peas, these high-anthocyanin, wavy-podded ‘Beauregarde’ snow peas hold their vibrant color when cooked. Wait for small peas to develop in the pod to reach full flavor potential. 60-80 days to maturity, depending on planting date. Peas can handle night temperatures below freezing before flowering. Once they start to flower and set pods, a cover on frost nights will protect them.
‘Piracicaba’ is a heat tolerant, small heading broccoli similar to broccolini - but with exceptionally delicious flavour in both side shoots with sweet stems and its leaves. ‘Piracicaba’ won our open pollinated broccoli trial because of its sweet flavour, heat tolerance and endless side shoot production. It is a truly unique variety that was developed at Brazil's oldest agricultural university. In our Autumn and Spring trials, tolerates frosts.
‘Shanghai Green’ forms a compact, tight head with succlulent, wide white ribs and mild, juicy leaves. Can be harvested both as a miniture head or full size - the former ready in 25 days from transplant! In addition to being very nutrient dense, bok choy is extremely cold hardy.
Heirloom ‘Kalibos’ is an elegantly shaped, deep purple red, conical cabbage with exceptional sweetness. We love this old eastern European variety raw in slaws with lime and coriander, braised in the oven with star anise and balsamic vinegar, mixed into colorful Spring stir fries and made into sauerkraut with the heads remaining in the field. This cabbage is as versatile as it is beautiful! Hardened seedlings will survive a frost.
Very deep purple version of a compact Winter Density gem type romaine. sweet flavoured lettuce with a delightfully mild bitter undertone that balances well, is easily washed and beautifully coloured with a blanched green heart. Pandero develops colour early and keeps it through its entire growth cycle. While this is a Winter hardy variety, we still cover newly transplanted seedlings with cloches if there is a frost.
Vibrant magenta, purple skin with contrasting orange/yellow flesh with a sweet flavour and thin skin. ‘Dragon’ has gourmet flavour in an attractive, vigorous growing, 15-17cm carrot. By early September, carrots we have been eating all winter will start to bolt. So we sow inside a poly tunnel to help speed germination and growth. You can warm your soil ahead of time constructing something similar to heat the soil.
A wonderful workhorse of a lettuce, ‘Winter Density’ withstands both frost and heat. A sweeter romaine, with an apple-like crunch, dark green, compact, delicate leaves and thinner ribs, it has a nicely blanched blonde, tight center while the open habit makes it less susceptible to internal tip burn. Frank Morton, lettuce breeder and seed steward, describes it has having the ideal “salad ratio” 3:2 length by width that fits so well on the plate, and the “Bibb-cos” texture is a perfect base for any salad. While this is a Winter hardy variety, we still cover newly transplanted seedlings with cloches if there is a frost.
With its aromatic leaves that add a burst of fresh flavour to slaws, guacamole, curries, sauces and seafood, ‘Slow Bolt’ coriander is a versatile cool season ingredient, It works in a container and once flowering, attracts beneficial insect. Coriander thrives very productive in the cooler Winter and Spring temperatures.
‘Little Finger’ carrot is a four season, extra sweet, gourmet, golden orange carrot. ‘Little Finger’ is a fast maturing heirloom with a smooth skin, crisp texture, and a small, tender core. Great choice for baby carrots and growing in containers. By early September, our over Wintered carrots will start to bolt. So we sow inside a poly tunnel to help speed germination and growth. You can warm your soil ahead of time constructing something similar.
‘Red Long of Tropea’ Italian heirloom onions are slightly elongated and thin skinned. Traditionally grown in Mediterranean Italy and France and harvested mid-summer for fresh use, they are not storage onions. Described by one chef as adding an amazing “umami” quality to his braised lamb shanks. they are delicious roasted, raw in salads and salsas, braised over fire, pickled in jam. We sow this in late Winter in multicells, transplanting in September for harvesting with green tops in late November.
Now is the time to RESIST the urge to start your tomatoes, here in Southern Victoria...unless they are growing in a poly tunnel. We find that even the varieties that set fruit in a cold season, never recover from the cold temperatures they experience with early outside transplanting. Tomatoes are very easy to grow from seed, only requiring four-six weeks before transplanting.
Prepare now for your warm season vegetables. As market growers, we start our capsicums the first week in August. By using heat pads to start them early, we can have mature, sweet capsicums in January - perfect for making fresh salsas with our early season tomatoes!! In addition to planning your garden space and ordering your seeds, prepare now by collecting your supplies and readying a space for starting your warm season vegetables, herbs and flowers!
We love this time of Winter - the energy of Spring building while we still have time to dream and plan a space filled with food and flowers and BUTTER LETTUCE!
A seed is just a dream waiting for the perfect opportunity to live the memory encoded in it. Happy dreaming!
Robin
