Grow your own festive table

Bring some home-grown love to your festive table this year.

With each signature dish and long-held tradition, the festive table is a sight to behold. Cherries from Tasmania, prawns from Queensland, potatoes from South Australia. Our food, just like our families, come from far and wide for the celebration. But have you ever wondered what you could grow in your own backyard to serve up on Christmas? Not only do home-grown veggies reduce food miles, they're fresher, less expensive and often tastier than what you can get in the supermarket. Home-grown food also comes with bragging rights (did I mention that I picked all this just this morning?).

With the end of the year a few months away, there’s still time to get your garden ready for harvest this festive season. Here’s a list of what you can plant now to have on your plate by Christmas.

Beetroot

In just three months your beets will be ready to roast. The leaves are also extremely nutritious and can be sautéed or tossed raw into a salad.

Carrots

Harvesting carrots is like a lucky dip. You never know quite what you’re going to get, but after watching them grow you’ll love them all the same. Carrots are edible at any stage, so if you get them in a little late just serve them as babies. If you want your carrots to stand out from the crowd, opt for a white, red, purple or gold variety!

Radishes

Notoriously fast and easy to grow, radishes should be a staple of every home-grown festive table. They’re beautiful braised, roasted or grilled. Just like beetroot, the tops are highly nutritious!

Cherry tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes grow abundantly over summer and are fantastic self-seeders. Sprinkle some seeds in your garden and baby tomato plants will be popping up to surprise you for years to come! 

Herbs

Basil, dill & chives all go well in the warmer months. Turn the basil into pesto, and save the dill & chives for the potato salad!

Nasturtium

Who doesn’t love edible flowers? These beauties will grow almost anywhere (including in the gaps between your garden beds!). Both the flowers and young leaves make the perfect addition to a summer salad, or as decoration for dessert.

Happy growing!