Veggie Garden
This is the last month to harvest winter-planted vegetables, including broad beans, carrots, and spinach. 
Mound up planting areas for early soil warming and improved growth, then plant out the rest of your summer veggies such as corn, cucumber, eggplant, leeks, peppers, pumpkin, tomato, and zucchini. Ensure enough spacing between plants, especially for varieties like sweet 100 tomatoes that need more room. Install strong supports for climbing plants like beans and tomatoes at the time of planting to avoid disturbing roots later. Regularly inspect all new vegetable plants for any signs of insects or diseases.

Flowering Annuals
In all parts of New Zealand, the new season's flower garden should be in active growth. Water plants when required if the soil becomes dry. Typical summer flowering plants are alyssum, ageratum, arctotis, asters, cornflower, cosmos, marigolds, nemesia, petunias, phlox, portulacas, strawflower, sunflower, salvias, and zinnias. Before planting enrich the soil with Garden Time Compost and Enriched Garden Mix.

Hanging Baskets
Hanging baskets add charm and colour. They also serve a practical purpose for those with limited garden space to grow vegetables like salad greens, and even dwarf varieties of peppers, capsicum, and tomatoes.
The best flower varieties for hanging baskets are those with compact or trailing habits, like alyssum, lobelias (trailing), bacopa, portulaca, verbena, cascade petunias, Livingstone daisies and ivy geranium
For best results, use good quality container mix such as Daltons Premium Potting Mix, or Outdoor Container Mix. A basket liner will also help with water retention. Make sure you water your baskets regularly.

Fruit Trees
All fruit trees are now in vigorous growth. Continue applying fertiliser, especially to younger specimens, every five to six weeks. With citrus trees repeat last month's spray of copper oxychloride to prevent melanose and verrucosis. 
Spread mulch around all fruit trees, to help suppress weeds, but most importantly, improve water retention as the soil dries out later in summer.

Strawberries
November is often the best month for harvesting strawberries! Bird netting may need to be placed over the plants if birds become a nuisance. Maintain soil moisture without overwatering.

Roses
Early-season roses are often the finest of the year with clean blooms and healthy bushes before the arrival of typical rose diseases. 
Continue fertilising with rose fertiliser every five to six weeks until mid-December. Remove finished flowers (deadheading) regularly. Some vigorous-growing rose varieties may require some light pruning where growth becomes overcrowded. Mulch with fresh compost around the base of all bushes and climbers.

Herb Garden
To promote fresh growth, prune your herbs regularly even if you're not using them immediately. It’s also a good time to plant more parsley and chives. The weather should be warm enough now to introduce young basil plants into the garden or in large containers on a sunny, north-facing deck.

Lawns
The last month that is practical for sowing new lawns and or renovating existing lawns, before the heat of summer arrives. Always sow fresh lawn seed and select the most appropriate grass variety to suit your particular site. Continue to mow regularly as grass growth throughout November can be very rapid.

Container Gardening
Daily watering is important as the hot dry weather approaches. Plants in containers can grow very rapidly and they require constant attention, be they vegetable plants, flowering annuals, or shrubs. Herbs are ideal to cultivate in containers throughout the year and kept close to the kitchen.

Houseplants
Houses can become very hot during the summer months, so it is important to open windows and allow for the movement of fresh air throughout the home daily. Monitor the water required and adjust as necessary. Lightly fertilise houseplants that are in active growth with Daltons Premium Houseplant Tabs.