Summer is not the time to take your foot off the accelerator. It is the time to harvest everything you planted in spring before it bolts, sets seed, or gets ahead of you.
December to February in New Zealand means long days, warm nights, and a garden that is either thriving or being ignored. The difference between the two is usually about fifteen minutes every day or two.
Water, but water well
Inconsistent watering, a drought, then a deluge, then another drought, causes tomatoes to split, celeriac to bolt, and leafy greens to go bitter. Aim for deep, infrequent watering rather than shallow frequent sprinkles.
Water at the base of plants, not the leaves. Water in the morning if you can — wet foliage overnight is an invitation for fungal issues. Mulch around your plants to hold moisture and keep soil temperatures stable.
Keep harvesting
The most important job in a summer vegetable garden is harvesting regularly. Courgettes left three days too long become marrows. Beans go stringy. Lettuces bolt. The more you pick, the more the plant produces.
Go through the vegetable garden every day or two with a pair of snips or your secateurs. Cut courgettes when they are palm-sized. Harvest beans before the pods fatten. Twist tomatoes gently off the vine when they give slightly to pressure.
Deadheading and training
For flowering plants, deadheading, removing spent flowers before they set seed keeps the plant flowering rather than directing energy into seed production. Snips are perfect for this. A quick pass through your rose garden every week in January makes a significant difference.
Summer is also when climbers and tomatoes need regular attention. Tie new growth in before it gets tangled. Pinch out tomato laterals weekly. Side-shoot your basil to keep it bushy.
Lawn care
Raise your mower height in summer. Cutting too short stresses the grass and makes it more vulnerable to drought. Leave a bit of length, the lawn will stay greener and recover faster from dry spells.
The summer tool kit
Snips and secateurs for harvesting and deadheading. A good watering setup. Soft ties for training climbers and tomatoes. A trowel for transplanting any gaps in beds. Your garden hoe stays useful, weeds do not stop in summer.
Also: gardening gloves with decent grip for handling prickly cucumbers and the occasional courgette that has somehow hidden until it is the size of a small submarine.
Shop the Summer Harvest collection at bugg.co.nz/collections/summer-gardening-essentials.
