You Should Plant These Fruits and Veggies Now for Summer

It may come as a shock to many of us budding gardeners but winter time really does a number on some of our plant babies. To be proactive while you weep over your dying veggie and fruit patch, plant these fruits and veggies now in the cold months so that by the time summer comes back around, you’ll be overflowing with backyard produce.

Australian winters never get particularly cold, though that depends on where you live. Still, it can drastically affect some plants, which struggle with the frost. As we previously wrote, your basil plants will shrivel up and sleep until the heat comes back like many Australians.

But it’s all a part of the natural cycle of fruit. Instead of getting mad or discouraged by it, you can get proactive. There are plants that might shiver through winter but as soon as it starts heating up again, they’ll deliver delicious fruits or vegetables.

While it would be great to give a one-stop guide no matter where you live in Australia, the reality is the country’s full of different climate zones so you will need to take this into account depending on what you’re wanting to plant. As a general guide, if the mornings dip below 10 to 15 degrees, then some plants will consider that winter.

As a good rule of thumb, you should choose fruit and vegetable plants that need to be harvested in summer. Growing them now rather than a frantic last-minute rush will mean you’ll get some tasty produce by the time the warmer months hit. Here’s what we recommend, according to the Seasonal Food Guide Australia’s list of harvesting times.

The fruits you should plant now

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Cherries
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Lemons
• Oranges

The vegetables you should plant now

• Artichokes
• Asparagus
• Beans
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Celery
• Lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Peas
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Spring Onions
• Tomatoes
• Turnips
• Zucchinis

It’s important to remember not all plants will automatically give you fruits or vegetables. Some take a few extra years to mature, say baby olive trees for example. The idea is now you’ve learned how to take care of your garden patch thanks to coronavirus restrictions, you can level up with some planting and harvesting strategies. It’s a great way to ensure you get yourself produce nearly all year round.