Short answer: November opens five warm-season sowing windows at once — climbing beans, courgette, pumpkin, Jerusalem artichoke and yacon — while basil and cucumber start transplanting and broccoli, coriander and tomato close their sowing windows. But this is also the zone's last frost month, so in the coldest gardens tender crops need holding longer than the calendar suggests.

The cool/mountain November context

The frost period runs March through November, so November is genuinely the last frost month — the same as temperate at this end of the year. What differs is altitude. "Cool/mountain" spans mild inland districts through to high-country gardens that can still catch a frost in the last week of November, so the frost-tender windows opening this month carry more risk here than the date implies — in a high garden, watch soil temperature and the forecast, not just the month.

The other end of the season matters just as much. Autumn frost returns as early as March here, so every warm-season crop sown now is aiming at a shorter runway — courgette harvest runs January–March rather than January–April, tomato December–March rather than December–April, and yacon manages a single harvest month (March) before the cold shuts it down. The lesson isn't "don't sow" — it's sow promptly, because the tail of the season is a month shorter than up north.

What to sow now

Courgette and pumpkin — the headline warm-season crops

Both are frost-tender and direct-sown once frost risk has genuinely passed — which in a cold garden may mean waiting into late November or starting under a cloche. Courgette's window runs November–February (harvest January–March); grow at least two plants a metre apart for reliable pollination. Pumpkin's window is November–January and it's a long-season sprawler (~100–160 days, harvest March–June), so it wants space and dislikes root disturbance — sow it where it will grow, at the front of its window given the short season. Growing Courgettes in NZ Cool/Mountain covers the cold-start timing and common problems for this exact zone.

Climbing beans

Beans open this month too, sowing through to February for a February–May harvest. Direct sow after frost risk has passed and get a support structure up at sowing time — they gain height fast once away.

The two tuber crops — opposite relationships with the cold

Jerusalem artichoke and yacon both open their windows this month (November–December), planted as tubers or crown divisions once the soil warms past roughly 15–16°C, not sown as seed. But they meet this zone's cold very differently, and that's worth knowing before you commit a bed:

  • Jerusalem artichoke is hardy, and this zone's cold winters are a genuine benefit — frost blackens the top growth and improves the tubers' colour and flavour, and you can leave them in the ground and dig through winter as needed. Pick a semi-permanent spot; any tuber left behind regrows.
  • Yacon is frost-tender and marginal here. The early autumn frost gives this heat-loving South American crop a short, marginal season, and its harvest is essentially a single month. Plant crown divisions ~40cm apart in rich soil, and lift the tubers as soon as frost blackens the foliage — don't wait.

Koanga Institute is the only supplier with any record of either crop, and the month boundaries are a frost-anchored estimate rather than a directly sourced figure — treat November–December as a guide, not a hard cutoff.

Last call: broccoli, coriander and tomato sowing

  • Broccoli — sowing closes at month end, open since August.
  • Coriander — closes at month end, open since July; it bolts fast as the weather warms, so a late sowing is a gamble. If earlier sowings ran to seed, Why Is My Coriander Bolting Immediately in NZ Cool/Mountain? explains the cause.
  • Tomato — the sowing window closes this month. If you haven't started seed, buy seedlings instead; seed sown now won't catch up before the shorter autumn cuts the season off.

Still open

Beetroot, carrot, lettuce, mizuna, pak choy, peas, radish, silverbeet and spinach all continue from earlier months — nothing new for these, but all remain sowable.

Transplant now

Basil and cucumber both start transplanting this month — frost-tender crops raised in trays that can move outside once frost risk clears. Harden trays off in a sheltered spot first, and in the coldest gardens hold them until the last frost passes. Broccoli (transplanting since September) and tomato (since October) continue. Brussels sprouts, transplanting since October, close out this month — get remaining seedlings in now, and net the brassicas against white butterfly.

Harvest now

  • Kale comes into harvest this month (through January) — frost sweetens the leaves rather than harming them. Mustard greens are ready from the October transplant.
  • Turnip is last call for harvest — pull what's left before summer heat turns it woody.
  • Lettuce and spinach both reach the start of their harvest windows this month, joining beetroot, silverbeet and radish already cropping. Growing Silverbeet Year-Round in NZ covers keeping it going.
  • Coriander, mizuna and pak choy — cut-and-come-again greens from earlier sowings; take outer leaves rather than whole plants.

Recommended cultivars

  • Courgette: Black Beauty (Kings Seeds NZ), tray-raised or direct sown.
  • Pumpkin: Atlantic Giant (Kings Seeds NZ); or Austrian Hulless (Koanga Institute), pricked out and planted at 1m spacing once soil hits 15–16°C.
  • Climbing Beans: Anasazi (Kings Seeds NZ), direct sown; or America (Koanga Institute), tray-raised and transplanted under trellis to dodge birds, slugs and cold-ground rot.
  • Cucumber: Amira F1 or Crunchy F1 (both Kings Seeds NZ), tray-raised transplants.
  • Basil: Cinnamon (Kings Seeds NZ); or Genovese (Koanga Institute), planted out at 30cm once the ground reaches 15°C.
  • Jerusalem artichoke, yacon and the still-open salad crops carry no zone-specific cultivar notes yet — choose an NZ-suited variety from your usual supplier.

Know your zone? Explore the full NZ Cool/Mountain Planting Calendar for month-by-month sowing and harvest timing.