Hi Tui, I have lettuce, spring onion, chilli and tomato plants establishing in the garden. I’ve planted two cucumbers and a courgette. They die within a week. 3/4 of the bed is compost. I put a few handfuls of sheep pellets down just before I planted these them. They have been watered regularly, had some good rain yesterday, fine and sunny today and hasn’t been a frost. Please help.

Hi Matthew, it is still very early for courgettes and cucumber, even in Hawkes Bay, the night time temperatures are still cold, even though you have had unseasonally hot days. Hold the plants inside and delay planting until after Labour Weekend (late October). If you cannot hold the plants, plant them out with cloches over the top of the plants which act as mini glasshouses and protect the plants until night time temperatures warm up. It is still early days for chilli and tomato plants too, watch them if you have a cold snap or night temperatures get cold. As long as the plants aren't planted straight into the compost and it is dug into the soil then it should be fine. Compost should always be dug into the soil and not planted directly into as it is too rich for some plants, it is continually breaking down and in doing that starves plants of oxygen as it compacts down. Watch watering at this time of year, even though the plant looks like it has been watered, the surrounding soil looks very dry. Tui Seaweed Plant Tonic will help, soak plants in solution in a bucket before planting and continue applying weekly. This will stimulate root growth and help the plants tolerate temperature fluctuations, the tomato and chilli will also benefit from regular applications. Regards, The Tui Team