Here we are in mid summer, though as I write this we're in the midst of a week of stormy weather. New Zealand weather is nothing if not changeable, and the seasons certainly seem to have shifted over the last few years. Even so, this is the time of year to be thinking about two main things - prolonging summer cropping into autumn, and starting seeds of plants for winter crops. What follows is info on what I will be sowing or planting this month, plus a few extra I could be adding if I wished. 

I like to go through my seed collection every couple of months and pull out those things it is timely to plant, and put them in a basket. Then I get sowing. 

I'm in a western coastal region of the lower North Island, about 7 km inland. The following is based on what works for me here. There are any number of suggested planting guides for NZ out there - they are useful for ideas, but one needs to learn from observation and experience what actually works when in your own garden. Every garden has it's own unique microclimate, as well as each region having it's own unique general climate. Most suggested lists for NZ are divided into three broad zones, but they are still very general. For example, most lists say sweetcorn can be sown now. Total waste of time in my garden! So, read the following for ideas, and refer to other lists too. But then keep a record of what you choose to sow or plant when, and what worked and what didn't. That's the best way to come up with your own, personalised list for success.

There are certain plants which only do well in summer - mostly because they are frost tender, and heat loving. This includes tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini and beans. However, quite often plants put in in spring or early summer are hitting their peak now, and may start to decline. The weather should still be warm enough for these types of plants for another 2-3 months, so to ensure a continued harvest it's worth popping in some fresh plants if you have space. As we're now into the latter part of January, the best bet is to plant seedlings of zucchini, cucumber and tomatoes, and to sow some dwarf beans direct. In early January, last plantings of seedling corn can be made. I normally sow direct, as it does better that way, but having not got to it this season, I did pop in a punnet of seedlings a little while ago. (I never sow later than Christmas Day in order to have success).

I have lots of tomatoes that were later planted, and are yet to begin cropping, as well as second plantings of zucchini that are just hitting their stride, so I won't be adding any more. But if I can find a healthy cucumber plant, I might pop another into my greenhouse, to be producing when the current one starts to slow. Or, since I have a greenhouse, I might just start one from seed, just to see how it goes. I have sown bean seeds, and they're just starting to pop up. 

Radish can also be sown - it's a super fast crop, with harvests only about 4 weeks after sowing. But most people can only use a few at a time, so sow a few seeds every couple of weeks for a continuous harvest. They don't need much space, so just pop them in where you have gaps. Radish is best sown directly where it is to grow.

I'm going to sow some extra summer herbs - especially basil because I haven't gotten around to any yet. I grow green, purple, and cinnamon. I can plant these among my tomatoes which are growing under mesh, or in the greenhouse. I'm also going to scatter some dill seed, and have another try at starting some NZ spinach, which so far has failed to get going for me this season. It's frost tender, but I've had it keep going through winter when grown under the shelter of trees, so aiming to get it going so it can ramble in a sheltered spot. Meanwhile I will hopefully get some harvest off it this summer, and then there will be new shoots for next summer. 

It may seem odd to be thinking about winter in mid summer, but if one wants to have a nice, productive garden with plenty to harvest in the colder months, then now is the time to get many things started. The following is far from exhaustive, but here are many options for sowing now:

Brassicas
Most brassicas should start to be sown now (though ideally Brussel sprouts are best started in December). Think about these plants in two groups - the ones that generally produce one harvest (cauliflower, cabbage, kohl rabi, turnip, swede etc) before the plant is pulled out and the ones that are harvested continuously over several months, such as broccoli of the type that either produces side shoots or is known as sprouting, and kale. For the latter types, you may only need to plant out one group of plants in due course, as you will be able to keep picking from them. For the first group, think about how many cabbages, cauliflower etc you can eat at once, and then only sow a few at a time, but repeat every 2-3 weeks so you have a continuous but spaced out harvest. I will be sowing:

• Broccoli - Marathon is very reliable for me, so that's the main variety I grow. Big main heads and lots and lots of side shoots over a prolonged period. I'm also going to be planting a purple sprouting variety too, which I haven't tried before. Though I usually sow/plant broccoli in groups 2-3 times a year, this time I plan to sow smaller numbers every 3 weeks, both to spread out the harvest of the main heads, and also to record just when each group is ready to eat, as a gauge of optimal timing. I'm growing for myself and my husband, and also raising some seedlings for two other couples, so I'll so a punnet (6 cells) full each time of Marathon (2 plants each per sowing). Purple sprouting takes quite a long time to mature, and only has smaller shoots, so I'll start them in bigger, fewer groups - some now, and some in March.
• Cabbage - while I enjoy making sauerkraut from cabbage, this season I'm going to try a new variety which has smaller heads, more suited to a couple than the big ones. I'll pop in a few bigger ones too, for the next batch of sauerkraut. Like the broccoli, I'll be sowing a punnet full every 3 weeks or so.
• Cauliflower - on the same basis as cabbage. 
• Kale - I have several Cavolo Nero plants in the garden, which can be continuously picked, already. I will be starting a few Red Russian from seeds to broaden the variety. 
• Kohl rabi - taking up little space, and lending themselves well to a variety of dishes, I like to grow both green and purple varieties. Again, just a few at a time, spread out over several months, so will be sowing as for cabbage.

Salad crops
Lettuces really don't like the heat of summer; I'm going to hold off sowing more of these for autumn for another month or so. Meanwhile, I can sow mizuna, rocket, mesclun mix, miner's lettuce, and corn salad for leafy salad greens.

Alliums
This is the time to sow leeks for winter harvest. Spring onions can also be sown. January is also the month to hunt out a source of seed garlic for planting in March or April, if you haven't got your own from last year's crop. Some folk sow onions now too, but I haven't had much success with them sown at this time of year. 

Root crops
Beetroot can be grown year-round. I'll be starting some more this month, and in successive months. Detroit Dark Red is my favourite variety, and a consistent performer. I'll do some multi-sown (multiples in each punnet cell and then planting hole so they grow in a small bunch), as well as some singly. 

Carrots and parsnips can be direct sown this month. I have the most success with carrots when I sow them in a very shallow drill, barely cover, wet well, the cover with a board to keep in moisture and protect them until they begin to sprout (keep checking under the board from about day 4-5 onwards). Parsnip needs very fresh seed to have successful germination. 

There's time to pop in some extra potatoes if you have access to an early crop. Earlies are ones that mature in 60-90 days. 

I grow Rat-tailed Radishes, which are grown not for their root, but for their long seed pods which when picked young have a milder radish flavour and are a great addition to salads and stir fries. I'll be sowing some this month, along with some Easter Egg (multicoloured) regular radishes. Little and often is the way to go. 

Other herbs and veges
I'm going to start some Lovage from seed for a friend. I have a plant a friend gave me years ago - it's a persistent perennial, and one plant is more than enough. It has a strong celery flavour; small amounts can be used in soups and stews. 

Parsley can be sown now. Plants will grow through the winter happily, but will bolt to seed in spring, so only grow enough for your needs over winter, and plan to start fresh ones in early spring.

Celery should be sown now for autumn/winter cropping. I'm going to start some globe artichokes too - they will die down over winter, but then come away again in spring and grow more rapidly for having been established already. 

I'll also be sowing some Rhubarb, as I no longer have any in the garden. Victoria is a popular variety.

If I didn't already have plenty to carry me through, I'd be sowing silverbeet of all types, include perpetual spinach. 

Flowers
I'm going to be sowing the following: calendula, phacelia, cornflowers, dwarf lupin - all of which will grow through winter and produce flowers that are good for the bees. Calendula and cornflowers are edible, and calendula makes a wonderful healing tea or salve.

I'm also going to sow some borage to get it reestablished in my garden, and a red Geum. 

Other flowers to sow now are alyssum, hollyhock, stock and chamomile, pansies, violas, forget-me-nots. 

Swan Plants
And finally, I will be starting off swan plants from seed, so I can overwinter the seedlings in the greenhouse for a head start on spring/summer growth. That way I'll have plenty of fodder for next season's Monarch caterpillars. 

Most of the things I am sowing this month, other than those sown direct, will be planted out in about 4 weeks, though some will take a bit longer to get to that stage. Things like swan plants will be potted up and kept in the greenhouse over winter. 

In November 2016 I started a blog post by saying "My garden is humming with bees of all kinds.." This year it's January, and I can't find any honeybees in my garden whatsoever. I think the number I may have seen over the last couple of months could be counted on one hand. I was thinking that it's been a slow-to-warm-up season, but the temps are now high, and still no bees. And yes, it can very from season to season and place to place. However, given what is flowering in my garden right now, I would expect to be seeing at least some honeybees. This includes: marshmellow (normally swarming with them), sage (likewise), nasturtium, buttercup, big patches of white clover, some red clover, feijoa, zucchini, zinnia, purple deadnettle (they usually love that), pansies, roses, agapanthus, dahlia, brassicas (also normally a huge draw), strawberries, chives, celery, dandelion, convolvulus, star jasmine, potato vine, raspberries, comfrey and more. 

Bees do have a very powerful sense of smell - about 100x stronger than ours - and there is major work being done a couple of kms from me, which includes river dredging, earth moving, and the laying of massive amounts of very fresh, very stinky compost. The smell is close to unbearable in many parts of town, including here. Maybe that's scared them off. This work has been going on for a while, but the smell has only been bad since they started with the compost a week or so ago. So it doesn't explain the bee free summer. I have a commercial bee keeper based in the street behind us (on a small block); I should ask him whether he has any hives at home currently, and how his bees are doing!

Anyway, whatever the reason for the current dirth, the main point of this post is to discuss all the pollination that is STILL happening, even without the honeybees, and how. As gardeners, we WANT lots of pollination - without it we would severely lack in a lot of crops, and also wouldn't get viable seed to save. Bees are in trouble all over the world; they are very important, but I think folk are often not aware of how many other pollinators there are out there. When we think about encouraging beneficial critters to our gardens, we should not plant only for bees, but also consider the more humble critters and their needs. Even some pests have their upsides in terms of the pollinating services they provide. 

So what is doing the pollinating? Honestly, ALL the insect numbers seem to be down so far this season (possibly due to the cold - we had the fire going on three days between Christmas and New Year!), but over the last few days I've been paying close attention to what is out there, and I've observed:

• Bumblebees - there is a nest of them in the space between the walls of my greenhouse and a shed, and they are actively working in the garden. Bumblebees are fascinating critters - read more about them HERE.
• ​Drone flies - these are often mistaken for fat bees, but are in fact a type of hoverfly (named drone fly because of their resemblance to a bee drone), and are excellent pollinators. They breed by laying eggs in water with high organic content - I must put out a bucket of manure and water to encourage them. The larvae are called rat-tailed maggots and often freak people out, but they are harmless. When ready to pupate they crawl out of the water and drop to the ground. 
• Native bees and wasps - there are a number of species of native bees and wasps, some of them very tiny and easily overlooked. The bees in particular are important pollinators. I've noticed a few in flowers around the garden. 
• Flies, gnats and mozzies - the bugs everyone loves to hate. But in the garden many of them do an amazing job of pollinating - flies are considered second only to bees for pollinating, and in some places there would be major crop failures without them, especially when bees are scarce.
• Butterflies - there aren't many monarchs around this year either yet, and white butterflies are only just starting to pick up in number. Both are excellent pollinators, along with most other butterflies. 
• Moths - most moths feed on flowers and thus are also excellent pollinators, including those moths whose larvae are pests, such as brown moths (green looper caterpillars), Diamondback moths (larvae eat brassicas), etc
• Syrphid (hoverflies) - these wee critters hover in the air and then zip quickly from place to place. They are also great pollinators, especially of plants with small flowers. I've spotted them in my flowering celery. 
• Other pollinators -  number of other critters pollinate various plants too, ranging from weevils to birds. I may not have seen them all in action, but I know they're there. 

Like all critters, all those pollinators need food, habitat and (often) water. Some ways to encourage them include:

• Plant lots of flowers - some favourites are phacelia, calendula, clovers, oregano, lavendar, rosemary, borage, yarrow, tansy, fennel, chives, nasturtiums, foxglove, echinacea, sage, lemon balm. Aim to have a number of things flowering at any given time, year round.
• Leave some plants to flower you ordinarily wouldn't - all the brassicas are great, celery, carrots, parsnips, leeks, spring onions etc all attract lots of bees and other pollinators.
• Avoid using sprays - nearly all sprays are harmful to more than just their targets. 
• Think about how you manage pests - some of them are also doing you a service. Finding the right balance is key. 
• Have "wild areas" in your garden - that might be a corner where there are tall grasses mixed with weeds and wildflowers which you allow to get messy; this may be key habitat for hiding both beneficial pollinators, and natural pest predators. 
• Consider making a "bug hotel"- a structure with a variety of materials and spaces in it that various bugs can make their homes in. 
• Have shallow, clean water available - a bird bath or bowl which bees and bugs can get water from without drowning is what you want. This can be achieved by putting bricks or rocks as landing platforms into a bowl of water too. Birds also appreciate water to bathe in and drink.
• Have some flat rocks or old bricks here and there. Blackbirds and thrushes loves to use them to smash snails against. Lizards may soak up the sun on them. Worms may enjoy the cool moisture underneath them. One always has to think beyond the immediate and consider the bigger scope of what a diverse ecosystem in your garden needs to sustain and balance itself.
• Be observant - wherever your go, whether in your own garden or elsewhere, notice what is growing, and what critters you might see. Consider whether this gives you ideas of what to add to or increase in your garden. 

Back when I first started seriously gardening in 2013, I concentrated on growing crops to eat. Within the first year, though, I quickly began to realise how important a range of beneficial insects and other creatures in the garden is - for pollination, pest control, and the overall health of the garden. So I started planting more flowers, flowering herbs, etc in my second year. It was incredible how quickly a diverse population of critters moved into my garden! Over time, the predatory ones began to control many of my pests - taking care of the looper caterpillars, most of the brassica pests, even psyllid and other problems. Others continued to pollinate or support the garden in other ways. And yes, to have good populations of anything beneficial, you also need populations of the things they rely on. Ladybugs, for example, are good pollinators too. But they also need aphids to feed on, especially for their young. Same goes for lacewings. If I made it my mission to kill every aphid, well I wouldn't have many ladybugs or lacewings working in my garden. 

With the more limited gardening I've been able to do over the last couple of years, there are a lot less flowers in my garden, though still a fair range. One of my intentions is to add more and see an increase in overall beneficial insect populations, including pollinators.

Sometimes it's important to think outside of our usual "box." Also, by doing the things mentioned above, we can play our part to help the honeybees as well as our native bees and bumblebees (many of these are endangered), as well as the wider pollinator population.

My last post showed pics of my garden on 3rd January, including my new patch of pumpkin, zucchini and watermelons. This post shows pics taken of them 10 days later, compared to the previous ones. It's amazing how fast they grow at this time of year; being heat lovers they need things to warm up before they really get going. Yesterday it was 28 degrees in the shade here! Today is only slightly cooler. Perfect squash and watermelon growing weather!

The only thing extra I've given the plants, other than some watering from time to time, is a spoonful of dolomite under each plant a day or two after the first pics were taken. This is to ensure adequate calcium to prevent blossom end rot when the fruit begin developing. Dolomite lime is high in both calcium and magnesium; it is a soil conditioner, helps break down organic matter, and encourages strong plant growth. I would have sprinkled it on the compost before laying the weedmat, only I didn't think of it at the time. So I added it later, one dessertspoon into each planting hole and well watered in.

Now for some close ups :-) 

I'm hoping these crosses will produce the sweet orange flesh of the PBJ, with a smaller size - we just don't need 10-16kg pumpkins any more! 

Can't wait to see what they look like in another few weeks!

The last couple of years, I've done very little gardening compared to previously (and even less posting on this site). And quite lot of un-gardening - by which I mean stripping away the previous garden infrastructure - the beds and trellises and other things I just couldn't keep on top of any more. Between a back, knee and hip injury that just won't go away, becoming super busy with my developing home business, lots of long term houseguests and all my kids having left home and moved away, I just have not been able to spend time in the garden like I used to, and of course I didn't need to grow as many veges for the most part - though what I have grown has still been handy with all the people who have stayed with us for extended periods over the past couple of years!

However, I still love gardening, and if the past year has done nothing else, it has reminded me how much I NEED it - for sanity, physical activity, as well as delicious, nutritious food with minimal cost. It has also taught me that unless I make some deliberate plans and take action, the gardening is easily neglected after a long day in the office and with everything else going on. I first started this blog (under Kiwi Urban Homestead) in late 2012 as a way of sharing with interested friends how I was progressing towards my goal to grow 1000kg of produce in 12 months, and to hold myself accountable, knowing that if I made my goal public I would make much greater progress and be less like to abandon it than if I kept it to myself. 

In the same spirit, I'm posting here an honest look at what my garden currently looks like, and some of the things I hope to work on. I haven't not set much in the way of specific goals for this year yet - still mulling those over - but will post when I've decided. Meanwhile, let the garden tour begin - with all the good, half-pie and bad. The reader may also wish to check out photos of my garden in previous years to compare - for example HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Let's start at the entrance (below) to what used to be my main garden area in which I grew most of that 1000kgs of produce. This is across a small lawn from the entry to our house. The banksia rose provides shade for the swing seat we originally got for free, though the rose has become big and strong and overwhelmed the trellis holding it. I keep meaning to cut it waaay back and then retrain it, but always keep leaving it for the shade. A job for next winter. The cherry on the right has never done very well. It does provide some summer shade for the caravan (our "spare room"), but I'm thinking to replace it. The nasturtium you can see along the fence is self-sown. Unfortunately convolvulus has crept into that bed; I really need to dig the whole thing out and reform it.  

Just through the gate to the right is an area where my daughter helped me lay weedmat and astroturf last summer, mostly to kill off the convolvulus (bindweed) and couch grass that had taken over what used to be a growing area, as well as provide somewhere to put the outdoor set that had been sitting boxed in our shed after we acquired it from my father's estate.  The strip along the front is where I intended to put a flower bed, but that hasn't happened yet. The zinnia in pots on the table are intended to go there. Behind this area to the right is a triple grafted apple tree and meyer lemon, both doing well. I hung pheremone traps for the codling moth this season, and intended to spray, but never got that step done, so once again will have damaged apples. Ah well. To the right of the pic next to the lemon is a strip containing thyme, a carpet rose, oregano and a few other things. It's pretty overgrown and hard to access due to the rose, which I need to cut right back. 

Under the trees I put down cardboard under weedmat topped with bark last summer in an attempt to kill off all the bindweed and couch so I can put a flower bed in there again. It's an improvement, but now lots of weeds growing on top. Still haven't removed the weedmat or carried on there. Last year I grew a hugely successful choko in a pot against the fence there; have another in a pot for this year if I get to putting it out. The rosemary and sage plants I popped in one corner last season are doing well though - they had a tub of geraniums right behind them last season (now off to the side a bit), and I think that's the reason that my sage did not die off in winter for the first time ever - the bit of shelter and thermal mass created by the tub.

Behind this all is a fairly big garden bed (originally my spud plot back in 2013), which has two chives at one end, did have a row of parsley which I've now pulled out and will replace, probably with some flowers. In the boxes are 5 different varieties of potatoes I grew there last season just to perpetuate them. I need to dig out the ones now sprouting and put in big tubs so I can clear this space. Behind them is a row of celery now in full flower. I intend to cut off some parts and freeze it to use in making stocks. I'm inclined to leave the flowering plants for the beneficial insects it is attracting, but we'll see how long I do that for. Then there is the space in the middle which was full of rainbow chard before it went to seed, and still has some bunching shallots growing, as well as weeds coming through, and a self-sown choko growing. It's too late to move it - I may whack in a trellis and just let it run, maybe. I'm contemplating putting down cardboard and compost through the middle of this bed and then just planting in it...I also may need this space to start winter veges in a month or two. To the left are marshmellow plants - I harvested the four plants that were about in the middle of this bed a while back, and replanted bits of root to carry them on. Under and behind those are a row of beetroot and purple kohlrabi. The slideshow below gives closer pics of the various things in this bed.

One of my problem spots - under the gala apple is a raised area in which couch and bindweed is rampant - the last few weeks I've been layering grass clippings on there just to get it down a bit, but the bindweed is happily growing right through it (no surprises there). I may have to resort to using black plastic over it to kill everything before reestablishing some kind of mulched bed here. In the corner is lovage, which comes back year after year, and a stray potato plant.

Below: a couple of months ago I finally got around to taking this fig out of the half-barrel it has been languishing in for years and planting it in the ground. It's looking much happier! I'll need to prune it each year to stop it becoming a very big tree.

Dwarf pear, in another very overgrown raised bed. Rosemary and lemon balm behind it. Whole thing needs work.

In this next slideshow is an area where my original main garden beds were. If you're viewing this on a laptop or PC, those are the beds you see in the banner at the top of the page on most sections of this website. A couple of years ago, after I'd removed the last of those original beds, I started revamping the area, and grew some very successful crops. But then it all got overgrown with couch etc again, and I couldn't keep up. Eventually I got it all weedeatered and mowed down, while I pondered what to do with it. There were ridges and hollows due to the previous beds. I decided that since I needed a space to grow some rambling crops, to use this area by putting out long rows of compost in the hollows (creating new ridges), then covering them with weedmat, and covering the areas between with re-used black plastic (partly inspired by my previous similar and very successful squash growing). The aim being to create a good growing area for squash and watermelon for the season while killing off the grass and weeds, while I decide what's next here. See the slideshow and captions for more specifics.

This is the first time I've included these slideshows on this site - they're quite easy and fun to include, so here comes another, showing what else is in this part of my yard:

Just a few of my sheep - mum (white) surrounded by her triplet lambs in the foreground. They came for a nosy when they saw me in the garden taking pics. I've got rid of all my ducks and chickens over the last few months, needing to simplify life as much as possible. May get more poultry in the future, but for now am content without them. The neighbours have chickens, and wild ducks live in the pond behind us (and pop into the garden sometimes), so when I need something to feed garden pests or waste to, that's not a problem! (And I don't have to pay for feed or organise their care if we go away).

Through here (below) is the 50 sqm where I grew 378kg of squash three seasons ago, and then slowly started turning back into general garden beds, and process I still haven't completed. Despite many predictions from other gardeners that using black plastic over this area to kill off the weeds would render the soil infertile, that was never an issue - everything has grown well since. More on what's growing below. In this pic you can see part of the overhanging camellia (left), a kowhai from a seedling my son rescued, with a carpet rose climbing it. 

Let's use another slideshow to wander around the front garden:

Next up, my greenhouse...mostly weedy but some productivity....

And finally, some random additional shots of things I need to attend to. This blog is handy as a garden diary too - so I can see my own progress over time :-) 

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this wander through my garden. Future posts will (hopefully) be more regular, and much shorter - this one took many hours to upload and put together. With limited time, I plan to do a brief weekly update or so, going forward. Until next time....happy New Year, and happy gardening!