Question What do i plant in autumn and winter?

Jake Bak

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Hello, as you can probably tell, I am a gardener from a cold climate (Bendigo) and this is my first time growing stuff in winter. From the books I have read and the videos I have watched, I am thinking of planting Turnips, Radishes and Lettuce in Autumn and Beetroot, Cauliflower and Leek in Winter. The average winter temperature here is about 8 degrees C. My question is if I am planting the right plants (Stated above) in the right season for my climate. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.
 

t4ms

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Hi Jake,

Your winters sound similar to what we get up here in New England. Frosts are the biggest concern and can destroy stuff overnight. I always have a pot of silverbeet on the go and, while it can take a battering on a frosty night, it has always survived. As a renter and container gardener I've tended to ignore the garden over the winter and focus on soil improvement and compost making but this year I'm going to have a crack at some winter veg too.

Ignore the summer sowing guidelines (it's hotter down in Bendigo than up here) but here's a sowing guide for our region:
http://slaati.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Armidale-Vegetable-Sowing-Guide.pdf
 

Mark

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Hi Jake, generally most brassicas should grow ok through winter such as cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale etc. Also try iceberg lettuce and various peas.

I found this chart online about growing vegetables in Bendigo it's part of a pdf brochure that might interest you.
bendigo vegetable growing chart.jpg

Here's the link:
https://www.brfa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Home_Grown_Web.pdf
 

Jake Bak

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Hi people I'm new to the forum and maybe someone can tell me what I can plant in the fall to get a head start for the spring. I'm in Saskatchewan Canada and our extreme minus temperatures are around -45s
 

JP 1983

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You'll have to plant indoors! You can consider overwintering peppers by cutting them back to a V neck and potting them up indoors. I don't think anything outdoors except pine trees would still have any green on it in those temps!

@DThille, got any ideas for your icey neighbour here?
 

DThille

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I used to live there....

Hardneck garlic is the only thing I can think of at the moment...it needs the cold period to form bulbs properly. We have occasionally potted cherry tomatoes or pepper plants and brought them inside previously, but that was just to finish ripening. For growing over the winter, one can grow herbs and some greens in a windowsill or do some sprouting.

You may want to look at some perennial crops - rhubarb, asparagus, sunchoke (aka Jerusalem artichoke) are good here in southern MB.

If you have spots that get decent snow cover to insulate the seeds, some cold hardy crops like kale or spinach may do OK to lay seed down in the fall...I may have to try that myself. If you have crops that went to seed the previous year, their seeds form part of the seed bank in / on the soil and they can sprout when conditions are right for them. To do that on purpose, you'd need to choose crops that could withstand the spring weather conditions including freeze / thaw cycles.

This sounds like an experiment worthy of @Mark , but he can't do it since his winter isn't anything like ours.
 
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