Even though the summer harvest is in full swing, its time to turn our attention to planting Autumn and Winter crops. Make the most of the warm nights and fast growth to get slow growing winter crops like carrots, parsnips, leeks and cauliflowers underway, ensuring there’s plenty of best food for your family, through till spring.
If its roasting hot and dry, read my transplanting tips to give your seed and seedling, a strong start. And if it’s starting to cool off, you’ll want to get your skates on!
What to sow and plant in February
DIRECT SOW
- Greencrops – phacelia, lupin, buckwheat, red clover or mustard in any gaps. Give your soil a rest and/or create a living mulch to plant into in autumn.
- Lupin to pave the way for May brassica plantings.
- Kohlrabi, carrot, parsnip or radish. Such good carrots these ones, sown in the heat and harvested in the cold.
- Companion flowers like calendula, chamomile, larkspur, wallflower, cornflower, snapdragons, love in a mist and borage to keep your garden and greenhouse blooming.
- Coriander, salad greens and rocket beneath taller crops or flowers to keep them shaded and prevent bolting.
TRAY SOW
- Start autumn brassicas off now in a little, gentle fashion. A few each of cauli, cabbage and broccoli makes a useful mixed and staggered harvest. Generally speaking – broccoli are ready first, then cabbage then cauli.
- Tray sow silverbeet, perpetual beet, chard, parsley, spring onion, red onion or celery.
- Wallflower, dahlia, chamomile, dianthus, larkspur, echinops, hollyhock, anise hyssop – flowers for winter and spring!
DIRECT OR TRAY SOW
- Basil. Little and often sowings of basil are super useful. Basil is at its best when fresh and young – such a beautiful summer herb. Let the old plants flower for the bees and save the seed.
- Dwarf beans into warm soil. Another row sown now will take you through autumn.
- Beetroot and saladings can be either tray sown in shallow plug trays or direct sown along the picking edge.
- Bok choy or Kale.
TRANSPLANT
Before planting, check in first with your soil. Choose the best soil for heavy feeders like brassicas. Where soil is poor, sow a greencrop, build a compost heap or add compost before planting.
- Autumn brassicas and winter greens can start going in – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, silverbeet, perpetual beet, chard, parsley and celery.
- Leeks for spring
- Spring onions
- Saladings in the semi shade
- Zuchinni and cucumber in the greenhouse
- Companion flowers
HARVEST
- Harvest shellout beans
- Harvest onions and shallots when tops start flopping over.
Regular + Odd Jobs
- Let herbs, flowers and leafy greens spire off to seed and fling their seed about for another generation of seedlings. As your garden establishes and as you let more crops go full cycle, you’ll start to provide many of your own seedlings without lifting a finger. Parsley, chard, perpetual spinach, endive, chicory, coriander, rocket, kale, flowers and saladings are all a perfect fit for this self perpetuating cycle.
- Be on the look out for cabbage white caterpillars on brassica seedlings – don’t forget seedlings in trays! Either squash the caterpillars or cover crops with net.
- Pause before you yank old crops out – do they still have function? Finishing crops make handy nurseries for planting seedlings into when its hot. Seeds and seedlings flourish in this protected environment – no surprises right!, it’s how nature does it after all, the old give life to the new. When the new crops are big enough to face the world, simply crunch up the old ones and lay them on as mulch.
- Save seeds from your best peas, beans, salads, flowers and tomatoes. Self fertile plants like these are easy for the home gardener. Choose plants that crop well, have great flavour and are no fuss. Your own saved seed grows in strength every year, becoming more disease resistant + better adapted to your garden year on year. Its worth its weight in gold. Having your own little seed bank is solid and it avoids disappointment when the seed company stops stocking your favourite.
- Avoid bitter green shoulders on your summer carrots by topping up the mulch or soil so as to keep them below ground – its the sun that turns them green. Carrots don’t sit around in the heat, so as soon as they have sized up – get them up, washed and stored away. Best done in the cool of the morning. Don’t feel sad if they are a bit pale and not so sweet – that’s summer carrots for ya!
The Greenhouse
- Keep the greenhouse healthy and crops productive with daily harvests, squashing pests and regular pruning. Remove older leaves and laterals on cucumbers, melons and tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.
- Remove crops as they finish by chopping them at ground level, then sprinkle phacelia, mustard and/or buckwheat on the spot.
- Leave all the doors open for healthy airflow. Staple birdnet up, to secure the gap.
I think you should do a book on each subject. One this year and the other next.
Love it Viola – the last book took 3 years but I’ll do my best for you!
I agree
I like the idea of a diary.
Thanks Jenny – I think its my favourite too!
I still use the diary you did years ago with Soil and Health, really useful, I just add comments in any space I can find. 🙂
Nice memory Shirley – the good old yellow diary!
I use this diary too. Thanks Kath, even though Im a very experienced gardener, this has become a bit of a bible for me.
Its handy to have a memory jog! I have one or two myself writing this diary every month 🙂
Find it very hard to choose the topic for your new book – both relevant to most home gardeners.
So………I agree with Viola.
May I suggest that in a quiet moment you ask yourself which topic would be best to write first and listen to your gut reaction, or however you gain insight when you JUST KNOW it is right. It may take several attempts, and you may even get the answer when you least expect it.
Your emails are a delight to read, and no doubt, your books will be full of No nonsense, easy to understand information and humorous anecdotes!!!
WISHING YOU EVERY SUCCESS IN YOUR NEW VENTURE AS NEW ZEALAND’S TOP GARDENING AUTHOR.
Monique
A diary would be fabulous – so many of the weekly newsletters I see are really designed for Auckland, and life is a little different down at the bottom of the north island.
Thanks Rose – I agree!
Definitely the Diary, so much useful information with a good space for us to make notes.
OR
Do both! Cause you have so much time! (:😊
Hi , I came on your garden tour on Wednesday with my partner, we both enjoyed it hugely and were impressed with your down to earth approach. I picked up many tips to try out, and loved seeing your garden. Tis always good to connect, however briefly, with like minded folk. Thank You!
Thanks Denise! What a lovely bunch of people – I enjoyed it too.
nga mihi Kath
Yes, I would lean towards a diary and especially designed for our neck of the woods.
Regards
Linda Parker
I agree with Rose and Linda, a month by month diary full of your gardening wisdom.(and chat) would be great. Knowing you are “just up the road” means we locals can relate to your observations about the impact of weather, etc. So much better than having to work out if we live in zone 1 or 5 or whatever!!
Thanks for your thoughts Liz! Though to make a book worth while I have to reach a much bigger audience than just my lovely locals. Pretty interesting stuff to work out aye.
The diary first, but yes, like they say p-l-e-a-s-e do both..
Very difficult choice, but on balance, the diary first
Its a hard one Kath, i want both but i love your workshops so all that info in one book would be really valuable but then a diary would be good too so we know what it is we’re meant to be doing!!
It has to be both – start with the diary followed by the workshop book – and i see your next workshop is sold out!! i’ll have to get in for the next one – Sophie
I’d always find room for you in Sophie!
I noticed in your photo’s that you use row covers. I am about to buy some, but there are quite a few different fabrics/plastics you can buy. Do you happen to have experience with Biomesh or Insulnet from Redpath?
Insect mesh is such a good investment. I use wondermesh available through lincoln university. Its worth it to invest in good quality that wont rip and will roll out season after season. Sorry to say I haven’t used those other meshes, although I have indeed used other Redpath products – they are a a solid company.
Thanks for your reply. I look into it.
Ah, yes. I was at Roebuck Farm in Taranaki. They use Redpath crop hoops.
Hi Kath,
They link in the first paragraph (“Do all you can to support new plantings”) keeps looping me back to this page (February in the veggie patch). Could you please check that it’s linked correctly? I’m interested to read what I can do to support new plantings!!! Ha ha
P.s. thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom. This is such an amazing blog and a valuable resource!
Thanks for letting me know Rebecca! Link fixed 🙂
Hi Kath, should I prune my pumpkin plants? I haven’t grown them previously and am a bit overwhelmed at how far they’re sprawling! I’d be quite keen to trim them back as long as it isn’t going to compromise the development of the pumpkins. Thanks for your help. Julie
so vigorous aye! They must be happy at your place Julie. Depends on what type you got growing there but to keep it simple lets say to prune the vines back to developed fruits. Remove any fruits that are deformed or have rots. Perhaps next year grow them up something!
Hi Kath,
My boysenberry plan has been overrun with passionvine hopper. How is best to get rid of it? Will neem work?
Thanks, Holly
Oh yes – tis the season! Neem will work though adult passionvine hoppers are hardy as. Spray for complete coverage of the berry and repeat spray as often as you can manage… as close to 3 days apart. Next year get in earlier with the Neem to catch the juveniles who are more susceptible. Also smart to break the cycle at this point pre egg laying. Good luck!
I look forward to every 1st of the month and getting your email. Have you got or are you thinking about creating an orchard tree calendar of what to do and when (for pip, stone and berry fruits)? A month by month for disorganised people like me. Possibly an A3 that can be tacked on a wall. I reckon it would be a best seller!
Thanks Robina! I enjoy putting the newsletter together, so glad you enjoy it too. The calendar sounds like a fab idea, I’ll put that project in the queue 🙂
In using the excellent advice in The Edible Back Yard it would be helpful to know where your garden is, since NZ has, broadly speaking, a number of climate zones. We are in Auckland. Thanks, Bryan.
Hi Bryan – in Horowhenua. Cheers Kath
Kath Irvine, you are the best. I read every word you write and make copious notes so I can follow you and do all the right things in our veg patch.
Awww, thanks so much Shyama for sharing your gratitude
K x
Love your advice. Thanks!.
What companion flowers do you refer to when it comes to autumn and winter?
I plant marigolds in spring/summer. Is there an equivalent for autumn/winter?
Thanks
Hi Mimi, oh yes…so many options! Lots of ideas on NZ seed sites like Sethas Seed or Kings seeds, also I have this article here on my website https://www.ediblebackyard.co.nz/a-planting-plan-to-entice-the-beneficial-insects/ K x