February is a month of last calls in the New Zealand vegetable garden. Several crops close their sowing windows at the end of the month in every region, and in most of the country it's the final month to sow frost-tender summer crops. What it means for your garden depends on where you are. In Northland and Auckland, summer crops are well into cropping and a few are already finishing. In Central Otago and the high country, frost can return as early as March.

Quick Answer: Sow These Anywhere in NZ

These eight crops are inside their sowing window in every NZ growing zone this February:

  • Beetroot (sow August–May)
  • Carrot (sow September–May)
  • Lettuce (sow September–March)
  • Pak choy (sow August–May)
  • Peas (sow September–February) — last month
  • Radish (sow August–April)
  • Silverbeet (sow August–May)
  • Spinach (sow September–February) — last month

Their sowing months are the same in every zone, so this list holds whether you garden in Kerikeri or Cromwell. Peas and spinach both close at the end of February everywhere, so sow any final rows now. Beetroot, carrot, silverbeet and pak choy carry on until May, and radish until April. That leaves plenty of time for staggered autumn sowings — see Succession Planting in NZ for how to plan them.

Heat, not frost, is still the main problem this month. The planting-window notes flag spinach and pak choy as prone to bolting in hot spells, so sow them where they get afternoon shade and keep the soil evenly moist. Carrot seedbeds need the same care: a surface that dries out in the first fortnight is the usual cause of patchy germination. Silverbeet sown now will keep producing for months — see Growing Silverbeet Year-Round in NZ.

Not sure which zone you're in? The NZ frost dates guide covers it town by town.

Sub-Tropical: Northland, Auckland and Coastal Taranaki

The eight crops above are the whole February sowing list here. The summer crops aren't sown in February because they went in months ago — this zone's frost season is only May to September, so tender crops start far earlier than elsewhere.

That head start shows clearly in February's harvests:

  • Climbing beans have been cropping since December (harvest December–March). Temperate and cool/mountain gardens only start picking beans this month.
  • Tomato (October–May), courgette, basil and eggplant (all November–May) are several months into cropping.
  • Pumpkin has been harvestable since January (January–April).
  • Cucumber's harvest window closes at the end of February (November–February). In the temperate zone, cucumbers keep going until April. Here, the whole season simply runs earlier, so plan on this being your last month of cucumbers.

Broad beans, Brussels sprouts and shallot are also in their final harvest month. February is the last month of basil's transplant window here, too.

Temperate: Most of the Country

Frost season runs April to November. On top of the eight anywhere-in-NZ crops, three frost-tender crops can still be sown this month, and all three close at the end of February:

  • Basil (sow September–February)
  • Climbing beans (sow November–February)
  • Courgette (sow November–February)

This is also the last month to transplant basil and cucumber seedlings (both November–February). Anything still in trays should go in now.

Harvests are at their peak. Climbing beans (February–May) and capsicum (February–April) both start cropping this month. They join tomato (December–April) and courgette, cucumber, eggplant and basil (all January–April). Broad beans, Brussels sprouts and shallot finish at the end of February.

Cool/Mountain: Central Otago, Queenstown and the Central Plateau

Cool/mountain gardens can technically sow the same eleven crops as the temperate zone. The difference is the frost calendar: frost risk here runs from March to November, so February is often the last reliably frost-free stretch of the season.

That changes how to treat the three frost-tender sowings:

  • Basil and courgette sown now have very little runway. Their harvest windows end in March here, a month earlier than in the temperate zone.
  • Climbing beans need roughly 90 days from sowing, according to the planting-window notes. From a February start, that runs well into the frost season.

If you have a warm, sheltered microclimate, a final sowing is within the data. In most cool/mountain gardens, though, February is better spent helping existing summer crops finish well. For courgettes specifically, Growing Courgettes in NZ's Cool/Mountain Zone covers the timing.

The harvest list looks much like the temperate zone's. Climbing beans open this month (February–May), but capsicum's window is short here (February–March). Tomato, courgette, basil and eggplant all finish in March, so keep picking every few days while plants are still productive. As in the temperate zone, broad beans, Brussels sprouts and shallot close at the end of the month.

Recommended Cultivars

These cultivar picks for February's sowings come from NZ suppliers:

  • Beetroot — Cylindra (Kings Seeds NZ); Detroit Red, Golden (Koanga Institute)
  • Carrot — Nutri-White F1 (Kings Seeds NZ); Oxheart, White Belgium (Koanga Institute)
  • Lettuce — Little Caesar, Great Lakes, Cos (Kings Seeds NZ)
  • Peas — Sugar Snap Tall, Snow Shiraz (Kings Seeds NZ); Giant Alderman (Koanga Institute)
  • Silverbeet — Ford Hook Giant, Rainbow Lights (Kings Seeds NZ); Perpetual Spinach (Koanga Institute)
  • Spinach — Summer Solstice F1, Santana F1 (Kings Seeds NZ)

For the temperate and cool/mountain last-call sowings: Basil — Lettuce Leaf, Greek Mini (Kings Seeds NZ). Climbing beans — Cobra (Kings Seeds NZ), Zeplin Flat (Koanga Institute). Courgette — Costata Romanesco, Gold Rush F1 (Kings Seeds NZ).

There are no approved cultivar picks yet for pak choy or radish.

February Garden Jobs, Anywhere in NZ

These are general late-summer jobs, not zone-sourced planting data:

  • Feed hungry crops. Tomatoes, courgettes and other heavy croppers have been growing for months and benefit from compost or a balanced vegetable fertiliser.
  • Water evenly. Swinging between dry and soaked soil stresses plants and splits tomatoes. Water deeply and mulch exposed soil.
  • Clear tired plants promptly. Removing spent or diseased plants stops problems spreading and frees beds for autumn sowings.
  • Prep beds for autumn. Dig compost into beds as they come free, so March sowings get a good start.

Next Steps

For month-by-month sowing and harvest timing in your area, see the full planting calendar for your zone: