July reopens the sowing calendar after June's lull. Two crops open their windows in every region this month: onion and coriander. July is also the coldest month for most of the country, so "open" doesn't always mean "ideal". Northland and Auckland get a head start: basil joins the tomato, capsicum and eggplant already raising indoors there. Further south, July is more about the citrus harvest and getting beds ready for August.

Quick Answer: Plant These Anywhere in NZ

Five crops are inside their planting window in every NZ growing zone this July:

  • Onion (sow July–September) — window opens
  • Coriander (sow July–November) — window opens
  • Lemon, mandarin and orange (plant April–September), as potted nursery stock

Onion

Onion's sowing window opens in July for the first time all year, and it's the same July–September in every zone. It's recorded as frost-hardy, so it can be direct sown into cold ground. It's a slow crop: the planting-window notes give roughly 160–200 days to maturity, for a summer harvest. The notes also warn against high-nitrogen soil, which pushes leafy growth at the expense of the bulb. Avoid freshly manured beds.

There are no approved onion cultivar picks yet, so choose a type suited to NZ from your usual supplier.

Coriander

Coriander's window runs July to November everywhere. Sowing it in the cool months reduces the bolting that troubles summer sowings. However, it's recorded as frost-tender in our data, and July is deep in the frost season everywhere south of Northland. In frosty gardens, either start it under a cloche or cold frame, or wait a few weeks. The window stays open until November, so there's no penalty for waiting. Picante (Kings Seeds NZ) and NZH (Koanga Institute) are the approved picks.

Citrus

Lemon, mandarin and orange are still in their planting window. The planting-window notes advise avoiding midwinter planting in frosty areas, so most gardens outside the far north are better off waiting until late winter or spring. See the guides to lemon, mandarin and orange varieties.

On the harvest side, orange opens its harvest window in every zone this month (July–November). Lemon, lime and mandarin are all still cropping. Beetroot, silverbeet and feijoa reach the end of their harvest windows everywhere in July.

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

Sub-Tropical: Northland, Auckland and Coastal Taranaki

The far north has the busiest July sowing list in the country.

Tomato, capsicum and eggplant are still in their June–September sowing window. They're raised indoors in trays and transplanted from August to October, after the last frost. If you didn't sow in June, July is still a good time. Eggplant benefits most from an early start, because it needs the longest warm run of the three to fruit well. If you did sow in June, check your trays now — a slow or leggy tray is easier to fix in July than in August.

Basil opens its sowing window this month (July–December). It's frost-tender, and its transplant window doesn't open until September, so raise it under cover for now. Cinnamon (Kings Seeds NZ) and Genovese (Koanga Institute) are both approved picks. Koanga's notes for Genovese advise transplanting at 30cm spacing once the ground reaches 15°C.

This zone's frost season (May–September) is milder and shorter than anywhere else, so onion and coriander can go straight into the ground here with less fuss. Yacon joins feijoa in its final harvest month. Lift any tubers still in the ground. The tamarillo harvest continues until November.

For Auckland-specific winter detail — drainage, wet-weather bed management and how frost varies across the city — see What to Plant in Auckland in July.

Temperate: Most of the Country

Onion and coriander are the whole vegetable sowing list. Onion can go straight into the bed. For coriander, a cloche speeds germination in cold soil.

The harvest is short:

  • Beetroot and silverbeet finish their harvest windows this month. Pick the last of them.
  • Carrot runs until August, sitting through frost without protection.
  • Jerusalem artichoke (to August) is at its best in the cold. Dig tubers a few at a time and leave the rest in the ground.
  • Citrus — lemon, lime, mandarin and now orange — is the main fresh harvest of midwinter.

Broccoli and kale open in August. Sowing either now just means seedlings stalling in cold soil, so wait.

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

In cool/mountain gardens, the same two windows open, but this is the coldest month in the coldest zone. Seed sown into frozen or near-frozen ground germinates slowly, if at all. Neither window is short — onion runs until September and coriander until November — so there's no penalty for holding off until August or September, when germination is far more reliable. If you want to start now, use a cold frame or cloche.

The harvest list matches the temperate zone's. Beetroot and silverbeet finish this month, while carrot and Jerusalem artichoke carry on until August. Pull roots as needed rather than leaving them to sit in waterlogged cold soil. Growing Silverbeet Year-Round in NZ covers getting silverbeet through the coldest stretch.

Recommended Cultivars

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

  • Coriander — Picante (Kings Seeds NZ); NZH (Koanga Institute)
  • Basil (sub-tropical) — Cinnamon, Primo Genovese, Red Rubin (Kings Seeds NZ); Genovese (Koanga Institute)
  • Tomato (sub-tropical) — Albenga Oxheart, Sunrise Bumble Bee, Amish Star (Kings Seeds NZ)

There are no approved cultivar picks yet for onion, capsicum, eggplant or the citrus trees.

July Garden Jobs, Anywhere in NZ

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

  • Prepare beds for August. The spring sowing rush starts next month in most of the country. Clear and compost beds now, but only work soil that isn't saturated — cold, wet ground compacts easily.
  • Protect bare soil. Mulch or sow a green manure on any bed not holding a crop.
  • Check stored crops. Cold, damp weeks are when stored pumpkins and roots start to rot.
  • Order seed and trays before the spring rush.

Next Steps

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