Winter gardening guide: vegetables and herbs that love the cold!
The right plant in the right place is a joy to every gardener. Add to that the right time (winter!), and you can get bountiful harvests of edibles with minimal pest and disease problems, and some even taste better after frosty treatment.
Here's what you can sow and grow in New Zealand in winter.
Broad beans are good for both gardener and garden. This useful cover crop sends nitrogen into your soil, provides food for your family (and pollinators), and produces beautiful flowers that add colour to an otherwise dreary season. Sow seeds from autumn right up to the end of winter, and are ready to harvest in 10 to 12 weeks.
Onions can be started as soon as temperatures start to drop around March or April, though you'll only be harvesting in spring and summer, as they take six to eight months to grow.
If you're in warmer northern areas, you'll have better luck with coriander than South Island gardeners. Always sow coriander direct as it hates being transplanted and will likely bolt.
Peas hate heat, so this is the best time to grow them in the North Island. Keep sowing until temperatures start to pick up in October; you'll be rewarded in 10 to 12 weeks.
NZ Gardener
Article credit: https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/garden/113531547/winter-gardening-guide-vegetables-and-herbs-that-love-the-cold
