We all grew up playing with soil and, as gardeners, we still do.

As our appreciation and knowledge of soil improves, so too does the quality of our homegrown produce and, consequently, our own health.

The list below is what I’ll be planting in September and October. Try this combination and I’m sure you’ll have some fun and success.

This winter, a sun-doused balcony or courtyard could be the start of a cute and compact garden as well as an exciting and reliable source of daily greens. Don’t be deterred by the cooler mornings setting in, cool season annuals are good to go in the ground from late summer to the final weeks of autumn. The optimum planting time depends on your climate zone, which of course, determines the soil temperature below ground. This forms the foundation of what to plant and when. Melbourne and Sydney have similar climate attributes, Brisbane is sub tropical and inland regional areas around these coastal cities are obviously on the cooler side with thanks to those crispy frosts.     

Below is my recommended shopping list of rewarding edibles to plant in the coming weeks as near the end of autumn for Melbourne and Sydney zones. (Cooler or subtropical zones may have an earlier or later planting time - Just check with your local nursery). Learning what to plant and when takes time and curiosity, so grab a quality planting guide / sowing guide or at least check the back of the seed packet for a general guide. A fistful of randomly grabbed seedlings from the nursery will give you mixed results, your best to ensure a curation of season specific seeds that will ensure great results — Visit our online store for our Autumn seed bundles. Alternatively, consider the types of food you love to cook with; all your favourite soft herbs, veggies and leafy greens. It's quite easy to get 15-20 names jotted down, and when you know you love to eat them, the enthusiasm will be greater to grow them! 

Here's 10 of my faves that I've been planting in Sydney over the past week, that would also suit a Melbourne green space. 

Just remember, you’ll have more success growing some edibles from seed, whereas others, I’d recommend to plant with seedlings, so I've indicated this in my list;  

Coriander (definitely by seed!)

Endive (seed)

Garlic (plant cloves, pointy side up, thumb depth deep, 15cm spacing)

Kale (seedling)

Lettuce (seed)

Peas (seed)

Radish (seed)

Rocket (seed)

Spinach (seedling)

Spring onion (seed or seedling)

Bok Choy (seed)

Watercress (seed)

I've noticed that people will buy seedlings over seed. That's fine for some types but most of the time you’ll have more success with seeds, it’s easy to scatter some lettuce or rocket seeds on the soil. The smaller the seed, the shallower you plant. Rocket, lettuce, watercress for example just need to be a few millimetres under the surface of the soil, whereas a pea seed is about 2 cm round, and a garlic clove 5 cm, so should obviously be planted much deeper in. A controlled scatter of small seed directly where they need to grow and a little thinning later if they are too dense is the quickest method. Seeds are cheap and cheerful and when sowed directly in position produce stronger plants. Water in with a seaweed solution weekly and use an organic veggie fertiliser.

The home is a place to relax and a space to share good times with those we love – home-cooked dinners with family, barbecues with friends, celebrations, evening drinks – all of which generally unfold in the outdoor areas as the weather starts to warm up again. What binds these good times in my household is always fresh, home-made food using ingredients from our edible garden.