Autumn in

Autumn in the garden - April

Autumn is nature's planting time as the soils are warm and moist. Plants have the winter to settle their roots into the soil ready to flourish in spring, so there's plenty of options to plant in April.

Tomatoes, capsicums and chillies will be coming to an end in cooler parts of the country, where the nights are beginning to draw in and the earliest frosts may start to appear. In warm regions, these crops will last another couple of months.

As you harvest the last summer crops April is the perfect time to plant your patch with winter staples including broccoli, cabbage, celery and silverbeet. Freshen the flower garden with pansies and polyanthus and don't forget the Kiwi favourite of feijoas in the fruit garden!

Harvest time is from seedling planting to harvest. For seeds, depending on variety, it will take an extra 6-8 weeks from germination to planting.

Download our planting poster

Our handy calendar shows you when to plant in your region, including harvest dates.

When should I plant

Lemon Growing Guide

This time of the year's great to start planting:

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The Wairarapa Vegetable Gardener's Diary

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Plant

Beetroot, bok choi, broccoli, Brussels sprout, broad beans, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, coriander, kale, leek, lettuce, mesclun, onions, parsley, peas, radish, rhubarb, rocket, silverbeet, spinach.

HARVEST

Beetroot, bok choi, beans, broccoli, carrot, celery, courgette, cucumber, lettuce, mesclun, parsley, parsnip, potatoes, radish, rhubarb, rocket, silverbeet, spinach.

Maintenance

Dig in Tui Compost and Tui Sheep Pellets before planting to replenish nutrients used by previous crops. Compost is also an excellent water saver.
Beans - tie up floppy plants, and keep them well watered - keep picking and they will keep producing for another month or so.
Brussels sprouts - stake taller plants to prevent them from falling over.
Carrots - thin rows of carrots to ensure the roots develop evenly.
Sweetcorn - pull out plants once they have finished, and add the stems to the compost heap.
Tomatoes - in cold areas, pull out plants and leave any green fruits on a windowsill to ripen in the sun (this may take a few weeks), or make green tomato relish.
Feed established plants once a month with Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic.
Lay Tui Quash to control slugs and snails, and spray aphids and whitefly if they are still a problem.
For areas of the garden not being planted in autumn, sow green crops of lupin, mustard or oats, dig into the soil late winter to improve soil structure.
Harvest late (December/January) plantings of potatoes, before frosts arrive.

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The Wairarapa Fruit Gardener's Diary

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Plant

Blueberry, feijoa, lemon, orange, mandarin, lime.

HARVEST

Apples, Chilean guava, grapes, pears, passionfruit, late peaches, feijoas, tamarillos, persimmon.

Maintenance

Remove runners from strawberry plants and pot up into Tui Strawberry Mix ready for planting out in the winter.
Aphids, whitefly and scale insects may be about, blast off with a hose or select a suitable spray from your garden centre.
Once nectarines, peaches and plums have finished fruiting prune to shape and to remove any dead or diseased branches.
Keep orchards and the areas around fruit trees weed free.
Apply mulch around fruit trees to conserve soil moisture, replenish the soil with nutrients and to add organic matter.
Only use weed sprays that are non-residual near fruit trees.
Start collecting up fallen leaves, add to the compost, or dispose of if infected with pests and diseases.