In growing your own vegetables, you could do your bit for the planet by lessening your reliance on food that needs to be transported at great environmental expense. We at Birdies Garden Products can deliver vegetable pods to NZ families and so help them to shrink their carbon footprints.
Many different vegetables can be effectively grown in New Zealand. However, in order to achieve the ‘effectively’ part, you will need to heed various dos and don’ts depending on what vegetables you do opt for. Here are some you could consider…
Potatoes
When should you plant these? If you live on the subtropical North Island, where frosts can be relatively rare even in winter, you could potentially benefit from planting potatoes at any time between June and March.
In contrast, if you will be planting in the South Island, you ought to resist doing so until the risk of frost has passed. This usually leaves late October to February an appropriate window for potato planting.
Tomatoes
Growing tomatoes entails supplying the soil with abundant compost and organic matter — and, when buds emerge, feeding that soil with a high-potassium fertiliser on a regular basis.
As for when you should plant the tomato seeds, late August would be a good time if mild climates tend to linger for a while in your area. Often, September — around the cusp of New Zealand’s spring season — will provide the level of warmth conducive to the healthy development of tomatoes.
Onions
You might feel your eyes watering when you chop onions, but hopefully the only tears you cry when growing those veggies will be of joy. One particular boon of growing spring onions is that you would have the option of using every last bit of the plant for cooking.
It is recommended that onion seeds are planted in New Zealand from about mid-March to late April.
Many other vegetables — including beans, pumpkins and cucumbers — can also thrive in New Zealand gardens. All of this food can be planted in vegetable pods the NZ-based company Birdies Garden Products would be able to time-effectively dispatch to your Kiwi address on your request.