October is probably one of the busiest months of the year for the garden especially towards the end of the month with Labour weekend being the great traditional NZ planting weekend. If you are into sowing seeds then most things can be sown this month provided you have a warm place to start off the more tender ones such as tomatoes etc.  As you sow your first lot of seeds, kick off your succession planting cycle by purchasing some punnets of well grown plants from your local garden centre or store and get them into the ground.   

Well – finally – a glimpse of spring is in the air!  The sap is starting to rise in the trees and the urge to grow, sow and plant is rising in the hearts of gardeners all over the country.   It is still a little early for a lot of vegetable plants but there are some we can start off sowing indoors in the hope that we can get a headstart on nature and get some early crops.  There will still be cold days and frosts but take advantage of the lovely days and at least make sure your beds are all ready for the new season of planting!

Tips for getting started on planning your new season vegetable garden.

June has arrived and with it the beginning of winter proper.  This is the month of the winter solstice where we experience the shortest day/night around the 21st of the month. We call it mid-winter but it’s really only the beginning of the 3 main winter months here in the southern part of the globe of June, July and August.  Of course if you live on the other side of the equator it is the summer months.