Seed Subscription: Vegetable, Cool Climate, Winter 2024 (TAS)

Subscriptions are an excellent way to explore new seed varieties without having to spend time choosing the seeds yourself, and are perfect for busy gardeners, delivering seeds and all the information you need to plant them directly to your letterbox. 

Each season we’ll choose a selection of seed varieties tailored to your climate, and send you the seeds plus a colour information sheet with photos, tips and sowing information - all you need to do is plant!

You are currently viewing a single season of seeds which can be purchased individually. To subscribe to a years worth of seeds click here.

Seeds included in this subscription:

• 

  Mizuna

  Serrated green leaves with a mild, spicy flavour. Can be used fresh in salads or cooked. Ideal for stir-fries, soups, and tolerates wet, cold conditions. Also known as "Japanese mustard". Suitable for microgreens and baby leaf production.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 6mm. Germination 5-10 days @ 7-25°C.Annual. Rows 30cm, Spacing 30cm. 40-60 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Kohlrabi- Purple Vienna

  Purple skin with crisp white flesh; tender and sweet. Excellent flavour; can be eaten raw or cooked. Good in salads, soups and stews.

  Sow direct, 5mm. Germination 3-10 days @ 16-27°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 40cm, Spacing 20cm. 55-75 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Mibuna

  Dense clumps of fine white/green stalks with spoon-shaped leaves, mild mustard flavour. Used in salads, pickles, stir fries, soups, rice dishes. Fast-growing, cold-tolerant. Ideal for microgreens, baby leaf production. Ready in ~25 days.

  Raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 4-10 days @ 18-24°C.Annual. Height 35cm, Spacing 20cm. 55 days (25 days for baby leaf).

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Bunching Onion- Evergreen Bunching

  Salad onion grows in clusters of 5-10 slender stalks, no bulb. Ideal for garnish, dips, stews, soups, salads, stir fry's. Has good disease resistance. Also known as "Welsh onions" or "spring onions", not "Shallots".

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 7-10 days @ 15-25°C.Perennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 30cm, Spacing 3cm. 60-90 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

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• 

  Carrot- All seasons

  Large orange roots growing to 20cm. Can be planted almost all year round. Very popular in Queensland and New South Wales. Good disease resistance.

  Sow direct, 5mm. Germination 14-21 days @ 10-30°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 25cm, Spacing 5cm. 120-140 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Corn Salad- Dutch

  A 30cm annual plant with nutty, tender green leaves used like salad greens. Can replace lettuce, be cooked in stews, soups, or as a leafy vegetable. Ideal for cold climates due to frost tolerance. Also known as "Lambs lettuce", "Mache", "Field lettuce".

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 6mm. Germination 7-21 days @ 10-20°C.Annual. Height 30cm, Spacing 20cm. 45 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: MAR APR MAY AUG SEP (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Onion- Red Marksman

  Biennial, intermediate day length onion producing dense, globe-shaped bulbs with deep red skin. Inside, the crisp white flesh is separated by deep red stripes. The flesh has a sweet flavour suited to salads and stir-fries. Bulbs store well.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 7-10 days @ 20-25°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 40cm, Spacing 10cm. 180-240 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Shallot- Roderique Echalion

  Biennial (usually grown as an annual) traditional French echalion with a long tapered shape and copper pink skin. Bulbs have a mild, sweet flavour and can be used in dressings, sauces, soups and stews, and eaten cooked, pickled or raw.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 5mm. Germination 7-10 days @ 20-25°C.Perennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 40cm, Spacing 5-10cm. 110-120 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Cabbage, Chinese- Pak Choi - Purple Early F1

  A biennial leaf vegetable, typically grown annually. Features green stems, dark purple leaves, and can be harvested at any stage. Leaves are tender, mildly flavoured, and suitable for raw or cooked consumption. Ideal for stir-fries and steaming.

  Sow direct or raise seedlings, 6mm. Germination 7-14 days @ 7-23°C.Biennial (usually grown as an annual). Rows 40cm, Spacing 25cm. 40-50 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

• 

  Radish- Mini Daikon Red F1

  A biennial daikon-style radish with oval-shaped roots with bright red skin over tender, crisp white flesh. The flavour of the roots is both spicy and sweet. The leaves can also be eaten and have a hot, spicy flavour. Also known as 'Shunkyo'.

  Sow direct, 10mm. Germination 3-14 days @ 8-30°C.Annual. Rows 30cm, Spacing 8cm. 50 days.

  Best months in Cool Climates: JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC (Click for full sowing chart, grow guide and more)

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Tips for gardening in winter:

Weeding and tidying: Rain helps weed seeds germinate and it is easier to remove them when the soil is damp. Be sure to remove weeds before they get a chance to mature and set seed, and ensure you get the weeds out roots and all. Hand tools are useful for small areas and hoes or tillers make the job go faster in larger gardens. Rake up fallen leaves so they don’t form a compact layer which can stop water reaching the soil. Add these extra leaves to your compost heap. Clear out any dead or diseased plants and to prevent the spread of disease, place this plant material in the bin rather than the compost bin.

Pruning: Check your tools and get them ready for winter pruning. Cleaning and sharpening your secateurs and pruning saws makes the job much easier, and a clean cut means there is less chance for disease to enter ragged wounds. It is easier to prune deciduous trees and shrubs in winter because you can see the structure of the plant more clearly. Remove any dead wood, and take out crossing branches or stems that might rub against each other. 

Protect your plants from frost: If you live in a frost-prone area, protect your plants by covering them with frost cloth or hessian sacking. Remove this cover during the day to allow the sun to get to your plants and to help warm up the soil. Remember to cover them up again at night. Sheltering plants from cold winds also helps. You can build a temporary screen or windbreak, or plant close to a wall where plants will also benefit from the retained warmth at night. 

Plot and plan: Use the down time in winter to review your garden and think about what you’d like to plant in the coming seasons. If you’re growing annuals, do you want to plant the same again or try some new varieties or colour schemes? If you’re growing veggies, remember that rotating your crops is a good idea to break the cycle or build-up of any pests and diseases that may be in the soil. This has the added benefit of reducing, or even eliminating, the need to spray with chemicals.

Pests and diseases to look out for in winter:

Slugs and snails: These pests can damage a wide range of plants, especially flower and vegetable seedlings. They are most active in the cooler wetter months, or when thunderstorms activate them in summer, and come out at night to feed. Controlling weeds and removing places that can harbour slugs and snails can be an effective way to control and reduce the number of these pests. If you choose to use bait, it is best applied in Autumn before snails get a chance to lay eggs. Most baits can be toxic to pets and other wildlife, so use any bait with caution.

Product code: SS_VEG_COOL_WIN_2024_TAS