November gardening checklist

The warmer weather is now in sight and with it comes the weeds, pests and diseases. The focus for this month is keeping these under control and the best way to do that is to make sure your plants are well watered and well fed.

Key gardening tips for October:

• Existing tomato plants will need a little care, ensure they are staked, laterals are taken off and they are fed with tomato food.
• Keep planting salad crops for summer harvesting.
• Finish planting summer vegetables and herbs such as chillies, courgettes, cucumbers, beans and basil.
• Watch for insects on roses. Spray them if necessary.
• Feed all fruiting crops, flowering annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs.
• Plant your colour for Christmas and summer in pots.
• Plant to attract bees into the garden.
• Now is the time to plant a second crop of potatoes.
• Keep on top of weeds.
• Watch out for pests and take action as soon as possible to prevent them becoming a larger problem.
• Use an environmentally friendly spray around your vegetables if they become a problem. Spray late in the day when the bees have gone home.
• Remove any plants failing to thrive as they will attract pests and disease, better to replace them now.
• Remove weeds as soon as they appear. This is where pests hide and weeds take valuable nutrients and water.
• Water deeply less often rather than a little bit every day.

What vegetables to plant in November

November is the ideal time to prepare New Zealand gardens for summer vegetables. Plant seedlings of summer favourites into well-prepared, fertilised soil. Add a long-term fertiliser and water the soil thoroughly a few days before planting. Stagger planting over four to six weeks for a continuous harvest through summer.

If you prefer sowing straight into the garden, November also offers excellent conditions for direct sowing of heat-loving crops.

Vegetable seedlings to plant in November:

• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Capsicums
• Eggplants
• Lettuce
• Corn
• Spinach
• Spring onions
• Beetroot
• Celery
• Cabbage

Vegetable seedlings to direct sow in November:

• Beans
• Pumpkin
• Carrots
• Beetroot
• Radish
• Corn
• Capsicum
• Eggplant
• Melons
• Spring onions
• Potatoes

Fruits to plant in November

November is an excellent month to establish fruiting plants in New Zealand gardens. Prepare the soil well with plenty of compost and sheep pellets to give young plants the best start.

Fruits to Plant in November include:

• Raspberry
• Strawberry
• Blueberry
• Blackberry
• Boysenberry
• Feijoa
• Lemon
• Orange
• Mandarin
• Lime
• Passionfruit
• Grapes
• Kiwifruit
• Tamarillo

Flowers to plant & tips for October

• Keep on top of the weeds around your vegetables when they are small, use a torpedo hoe to nip them off at the roots. We’ve got some advice on how to deal with weeds here.
• Liquid feed all flowering annuals and perennials with an all-purpose fertiliser.
• Plant flower seedlings: cosmos, petunias, lobelia, impatiens, marigolds, phlox, verbena, portulaca, petunias, impatiens, dahlias, verbena, cosmos, marigolds, nemesia and dahlias.
• Sow seeds: alyssum, Californian poppy, marigolds, cosmos, nasturtium, portulaca, salvia, sunflowers and hollyhocks. They can be sown directly in to the ground.
• Plant for bees: pineapple sage, bergamot, lemon balm, blue salvia, coreopsis, gaillardia alyssum, rosemary. They love these simple flowers.
• Spray roses with insect and fungus control products suitable for roses and feed with a rose specific fertiliser. Reduce the spread of disease by removing any dead leaves and clippings from around the base.
• Feed spring bulbs with blood and bone as the foliage dies away, they use this food for next season.
• Lift tulip and hyacinth bulbs once the foliage has completely died away, store in a cool dry place ready for next season. Most other bulbs can stay in the ground for a few seasons.
• Water your pots more in the warmer weather and use a water retention product to retain the moisture.
• Feed flowering shrubs with a side dressing of general fertiliser.

Lawn maintenance in October

• Apply lawn fertiliser and water in well.
• Avoid mowing your lawn too short, longer grass shades roots and helps prevent drying out.
• Spray established lawns with a treatment for broad leaf weeds.