Billy buttons and brassicas: West Vic gardeners’ hot tips for the cooler months

If you’ve been eyeing off an empty garden bed and wondering whether it’s worth the effort before winter, local growers reckon now is exactly the time to get moving.

Portland organic gardener Catherine Francis says it’s a good time to be sowing hearty and leafy veggies.

🗣️ “So think brassicas. Think broccoli, cauliflowers, cabbages,” she said. “Go and get seedlings of those and find a spot in the garden.”

Hot tips for cooler days: Francis recommends refreshing beds with compost, pelletised chicken manure or blood and bone before planting.

“It’s also a great time now to be planting leafy greens to refresh our salad bowls. So lettuce, spinach, Asian greens.”

Any size is possible: For gardeners with a deck, patio or small garden, she suggests growing herbs in autumn.

• Looking ahead to the weekend, Francis encourages gardeners to make room for new crops.

🗣️ “It’s also a good time to be planting root crops. So if you want carrot and beetroot, you could get them in this weekend.”

Flower power: Near Terang, horticulturist Angela Daly agrees autumn is ideal for planting beyond the veggie patch.

“Oh, absolutely … it’s a great time to plant anything really, natives as well,” she said, noting plants can “bed themselves in” before the heat of summer returns.

• For winter colour, Daly points to sweet peas and petunias.

🗣️ “There are lots of natives as well, little pops of colour like Billy buttons and paper daisies. They’re always lovely,” she said.

Two final tips were to “definitely add compost” and use mulch or cardboard to suppress weeds ahead of spring planting.