I do love this quote by Patience Strong where she is perfectly describing this month.   Although it is still winter, the promise of spring is in the air.  The winter narcissi are flowering and the classic harbinger of spring, the daffodil will be out soon if not already depending on your micro climate.  There are lambs frolicking on the hills and you may find that with the occasional warm springlike days we will get this month your own sap will start rising and you want to get out there and garden!  But hold your horses for a bit longer.  Get excited of course but channel that into this list of “P” things to do this month. 

What to plant in the Vegetable garden in the winter month of July in the Southern Hemisphere or New Zealand /Australia

July is winter here in New Zealand. We’re not long past the shortest day, sometimes called Mid-Winters Day, on the 21st June, but don’t be fooled into thinking that its the middle of winter.  Winter is just kicking off as those currently experiencing heavy rain and snow will well know.  I grow in a cool temperate part of the South Island so tend to speak most about what applies here but I will include more warm temperate notes as well.

It’s Saturday morning and as I lay away early in the frosty dark I was thinking about what I was going to get up today. For a lot of us, the weekend it when we are mostly likely to get the chance to get into the garden for a couple of hours so keen to get out there myself. First thing will be to get a sourdough loaf started as it likes a good long rising period for all the good fermentation to take place so before too much gets done I’ll start that off. Some of you have kindly given me some good suggestions on how to get the best out of my culture so enjoying the opportunity  to try out some different techniques.

Well it feels like everything is still growing as I write this at the beginning of May. There has certainly been plenty of rain around the country - some of you in parts of New Zealand and Australia are getting more than your fair share! The lawnmower in the family has been complaining that he even the grass hasn’t let up.

As the nights draw in and the air turns a little cooler, the natural cycle of the plants in our garden begins to come to an end. In their short lives, plants have one primary goal—to reproduce. The seed cycle is the final and most important part of that process. They quite literally “go to seed.”

Each plant has its own way of scattering seed. Once that job is done, the plant dies back, returning to the soil or compost and contributing its goodness to the earth—ready for the cycle to begin again in spring.

Well here in New Zealand it’s the summer solstice - our longest day. So much is ripening and ready in the garden. I’ve picked gooseberries and popped in the freezer - and as many raspberries, boysenberries and strawberries as I could before leaving them. Off away for Christmas. My favourite new potato has produced beautifully in time for Christmas dinner ( Cliffe Kidney) and the garlic is ready for  harvesting. 

In a dry day, loosen the soil around your cloves and lift. Shake off dirt and leave to dry in the sun.  You will know they are ready as the tops start to dry off. Dry well and plait up to hang for storage.

Keep up the watering for tomatoes and any other growing vegetables. When I get home I’ll be sowing more autumn/ winter brassicas and lettuce to ensure continuous supply. No tomatoes ready in my garden yet but there will be plenty once they all mature! 

Enjoy your harvest and have a lovely Christmas. 

I sometimes feel a little smug after I have managed to get my elderflower cordial made and my sparkling elderflower bottled and brewing away in the shed. I post about it and then my friend Shelley will comment that she has made hers as well but she has also MADE MARMALADE FROM THE LEFTOVER LEMONS.  I’m talking about the lemons leftover from the elderflower brewing process. I know it’s not a competition but I definitely think if it was, she would win.  Talk about resourceful!