Autumn is the very best time to plant out your veggie garden for your winter crop. And guess which are the best plants to grow right now? That’s right. Leafy green smoothie greens are go.

Getting started

If you haven’t planted a veggie patch before, now’s a great time to start. Check out our easy guide to setting one up.

Whether your veggie patch is a motley collection of pot plants or a purpose-built bed, the rule of green thumbs for growing vegetables is great drainage, full sun and soil rich in organic matter. Add compost with manure to improve the soil, especially if you’ve just finished harvesting your summer crop.

Winter crops

It’s all about timing. Plant too early and your veggies could sprout too soon. Plant too late and it’s too cold for them to get established before the frost kicks in. That’s why autumn is perfect.  

You want tough plants that thrive despite cold, windy weather and frosty mornings. You’d be surprised at how many fit the bill.

Generally, the best green smoothie plants to grow this autumn are kale, carrot, spinach and silverbeet.

While you’re at it, pop in some broccoli, beetroot peas, snow peas, spring onions, radish and leeks. Not so good for a smoothie, but so yummy in a winter salad or stir-fry.

To find out what plants to grow in your part of Australia, check out our our handy infographic.

Self- starters

Chances are, if you’ve grown winter vegetables before, you’ll have a happy patch of seedlings that have self-seeded all over the place. Rocket, kale, parsley and mustards are prime candidates. If that’s the case, you’re halfway there already. You don’t want them to get to cramped though, so choose the biggest, healthiest looking plants and replant them where you want them.

If you’re bringing seedlings home from the nursery, follow the planting instructions on the tag.

Veggies are a bit like kids. They need to be planted like a school photo. The big ones go at the back, and the little ones go in the front and the edges. That way they all get a fair share of the sunlight.

In keeping with the kid theme, your veggies also need plenty of room to grow, so don’t over plant. If you do, they have to compete for water, nutrients and sunlight, and you could end up with weak plants that are susceptible to nasties.

Give your plants a weekly feeding of a liquid plant food to boost their growth. Don’t forget a nice warm blanket of mulch to protect their roots from the dreaded frost.

How long to harvest?

Your leafy greens will take a couple of months to grow from seedlings to harvest. So get cracking. By July you could be drinking homegrown, organic green smoothies.

Yup, here it is again… Ka-pow!

Now you’ve got your veggies sorted, here are some great recipes for green smoothies.