Winter in the garden - July
July is still a great time to be planting winter veges including leafy greens, onions and brassicas. In the fruit garden it's all about planting new season fruit trees and the Kiwi favourite of strawberries. To liven up your garden add some beautiful winter blooms.
Check which winter greens are suitable to plant in your region, along with tasty herbs for a flavour punch to winter meals. It's also time to start thinking about spuds and which varieties you'll be planting in the coming months.
Mid winter showcases a number of flowering shrubs that offer respite from the cold. Many fragrant flowers like Daphne, viburnum, winter sweet and witch hazel are in bloom this month. Plant up pots, containers and hanging baskets with potted colour to brighten up the garden.
In the fruit garden it’s all about planting new season fruit trees, strawberries, harvesting citrus and pruning.
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.
This time of the year's great to start planting:
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Apples
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Beetroot
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Blackberries
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Blueberries
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Bok choi
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Cabbage
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Cyclamen
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Feijoas
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Forget-me-not
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Garlic
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Gladiolus
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Lettuce
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Lily
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Mesclun
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Onions
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Parsley
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Parsnip
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Peas
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Peaches
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Pears
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Plums
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Radish
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Raspberries
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Rose
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Silverbeet
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Spinach
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Strawberries
The Wellington Vegetable Gardener's Diary
Change regionPlant
Beetroot, bok choi, cabbage, garlic, lettuce, meslun, onion, parsnip, peas, radish, silverbeet, spinach.
Harvest
Bok choi, cabbage, kale, leek, lettuce, mesclun, onions, peas, radish, silverbeet, spinach.
Maintenance
- Apply Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic to help plants cope with the cooler weather and frost.
- Lay Tui Quash slug & snail control stop these pests munching on your plants.
- If you're growing from seed it is important to use a light, free draining mix, like Tui Seed Raising Mix to get your seeds off to the best start.
- Keep your garden weed free by weeding around your crops at least once a week. Add a layer of Tui Pea Straw Mulch to help suppress weeds.
The Wellington Fruit Gardener's Diary
Change regionPlant
Apple, pear, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, feijoa, cranberry, Chilean guava, plum, peach.
Harvest
Citrus - lemon, lime, mandarin, grapefruit, orange, feijoa, tamarillo.
Maintenance
- Prepare beds by working soil over with a fork, blend in sheep pellets, a layer of Strawberry Mix and Strawberry Food prior to planting.
- In frost prone areas or for sensitive plants, protect tender fruit trees with frost cloth.
- Spray deciduous fruits trees with a winter clean up spray (Lime Sulphur) to remove any lingering pests and diseases.
- Stake all young fruit trees to enable to roots to anchor themselves into the soil for the first few seasons.
- Prune apples, pears and apricots.
- Avoid pruning peaches and plums in winter because it can spread the silver leaf virus. These fruits should be pruned in summer to limit its spread.
The Wellington Flower Gardener's Diary
Change regionPlant
Roses, Daphne, lily, gladiolus, cyclamen, forget-me-nots, calendula, polyanthus, flowering kale, poppy, primula, viola, pansy, snapdragon, sweet William, alyssum.
PICK
Winter sweet, camellias, viburnum, wallflowers, winter roses, hellebores, dianthus, leucadendrons, violets, Daphne, iberis, snapdragons, kowhai, flowering kale, japonica.
Maintenance
- Blend in a layer of Tui Super Sheep Pellets to spring flower beds and allow to settle in for a month or so prior to planting.
- Apply Tui Bulb Food to existing bulbs plantings
- Apply a side dressing of Tui NovaTec Premium fertiliser to pots and planters.
- Slugs and snails are the main problem, they will munch through tender shoots and leaves of newly planted flowers.
- Lay Quash slug and snail control to control these pests, or get the kids to go on a ‘snail hunt’ for fun.
- Prune and then spray roses with a suitable rose spray to combat insects and diseases.
- Remove all prunings and foliage from under the plants.
- Keep on top of weeds to prevent major problems with them in spring. Remove weeds from empty garden beds as soon as anything appears. A thick layer of mulch will help suppress weeds.
