November is when the summer garden really takes off. The soil is warm, frosts are behind most of the country, and everything you plant now grows fast. It's also the last good window to mulch and set up watering before the heat of December.
Plant the warm-season vege garden
With warm soil, it's time to get the heat-lovers in everywhere.
Sow or plant: beans, beetroot, capsicums, carrots, chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, eggplant, kumara, lettuce, melons, pumpkins, radishes, silverbeet, spring onions, sweetcorn and tomatoes.
- Prepare beds with Daltons Compost dug through the soil, or top up raised beds with Daltons Garden Mix.
- Give pumpkins, melons and courgettes plenty of space, and plenty of compost. They're hungry, thirsty plants.
- Sow sweetcorn in blocks rather than single rows for better pollination.
- Keep sowing lettuce, radishes and spring onions every 2–3 weeks for a steady supply.
- Water seedlings in with Daltons NZ Natural Liquid Seaweed to reduce transplant shock.
Need a planting plan? See Companion Planting and How to Practise Crop Rotation.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes planted in October will be growing fast. Stake or cage them as they grow, pinch out laterals on cordon varieties and keep watering consistent to help prevent blossom end rot. Cooler areas can plant out now. Read more: Tomato Growing Tips for Better Crops.
Mulch before the heat
If you only do one job this month, make it this. Water beds deeply, then mulch while the soil is still moist.
See Get Your Section Summer-Ready for the full plan.
Strawberries
The main strawberry harvest starts this month in most areas.
- Keep fruit off the soil with a layer of Cambium Bark.
- Water consistently and feed with a strawberry fertiliser.
- Net plants before birds find them, and pick fruit as soon as it ripens.
Read more: The Strawberry Struggle.
Roses and flowers
- Deadhead roses regularly to keep flowers coming.
- If you haven't fed them yet, apply Landscaper Pro Flora 5/6 Months and water in.
- Watch for aphids on new growth and black spot on leaves.
- Plant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds, zinnias, cosmos and salvias for colour through the holidays.
Containers and hanging baskets
Lawns
- Feed with Landscaper Pro All Round to carry the lawn into summer, using a rotary spreader for even coverage.
- Raise the mower height as temperatures climb.
- Keep an eye out for brown patches and birds pecking at the lawn, signs of grass grub, porina or armyworm activity. Acelepryn provides season-long control of these pests.
- Finish any lawn sowing or patching early in the month, before it gets too hot and dry.
Hard landscaping jobs
Settled weather makes November a great month for outdoor projects before the summer entertaining season: laying a paved patio, building a gravel path or pouring a mowing strip.
Quick answers
What vegetables can I plant in November in New Zealand? Beans, beetroot, capsicums, carrots, chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, eggplant, kumara, lettuce, melons, pumpkins, radishes, silverbeet, spring onions, sweetcorn and tomatoes.
Is it too late to plant tomatoes in November? No. November is a great time, especially in cooler regions.
When should I mulch? Now, while the soil is still moist and before the summer heat.
Want the whole year at a glance? Download our free Edible Garden Calendar.
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