The unpredictability of September in the Garden in Central Otago

Central Otago Gardening Tips for Spring

Just remember, winter isn't over yet!

It may be, in theory, spring, but you can always count on the rain falling, frost arriving, and us getting the best snow of the year in September.

Here in Central Otago, we tend to hold off on planting too much in the garden. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have things started and ready to go for when it does warm up.

So, September in the Garden in Central Otago - let's get started.

Seed Sowing In Central Otago

The seed sowing started at the end of August with the spring flowers first, then the more hardy vegetables like early brassicas, leafy greens, spring onions, and some annual herbs like parsley, lovage, and thyme.

This summer, the plan is lots and lots of flowers. I’ve upped the ante tenfold. Each season, I’ve been filling in each of the flower beds with some annuals and some new perennials.

Each season, I see what was missing the last season, and I add to it.

If there was a plant that didn’t do well in a particular bed, I changed the spot, and I keep doing that until I find the perfect space for them all.

Slow and Steady is the name of the game for the Central Otago Spring Garden

Come mid-September, I will begin the task of potting up all the seedlings that have outgrown their cells.

This is also the time I start all my summer-loving plants—tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, chillies, and corn. These will go into the garden after the last frost, which is hard to judge, but I hold off until the first or second week of November.

The rest of the country will start planting at Labour Weekend, but don’t be fooled; the ground temperatures are never warm enough to produce happy, healthy plants at that time for Central.

If you plant too early and the conditions aren’t right, the plant will be more susceptible to bugs and disease and will just not thrive, so don’t waste your amazing effort just to get a plant in the ground.

Use the signs of nature to guide the way

I’ve always found a great gauge of soil temperature is when peas and broad beans sown at the end of August start to pop up.

This season I’ve put into every bed a pea variety on a structure such as shown above or broad beans, which I plant down the middle of beds to use as a nitrogen feeder in beds that had gross feeders like tomatoes or brassicas in them.

Once the beans are harvested at Christmas, I chop down the stalks to use as a green crop, which will break down and provide direct soil nutrients.

Sometimes you can’t believe the garden in September

Each year this apricot blossoms, always too early and gets caught September frost and so each year gets knocked around and very rarely do we get apricots.

When I was planning the gardens many years ago I thought “yes a early apricot and a mid season apricot “would mean we would have fruit before Christmas, never really taking into consideration our September frosts and something November frost that will take out all your early fruit trees.

Let that be a lesson in any future orchard planning, always look at your seasons and how they play out in your region.