SPRING/SUMMER PLANTING GUIDE

11 Popular Vegetables to Plant in November (Australia)

November is a great time to get out and work on your garden. The temperature is starting to warm up (without it being too hot), making it a great time to sow seeds for your summer vegetable garden. From melons and pumpkins to capsicums, tomatoes and chillis, here are our top 11 vegetables to plant in November.

Melons

Melons, such as watermelon, rockmelon, and honeydew melon make for a juicy and refreshing summer treat. Perfect for eating fresh, freezing, or using in smoothies, melons are a treat the whole family will love.

Tips for growing melons:

Melons need warm soil. In warm areas you can plant direct. In cold climates, start them indoors and transplant once it’s warmer
To minimise cross-breeding, plant away from cucumbers and squash.
Plant in mounds, 2-3 seeds per mound. Then remove the weaker of the seedlings.
In ideal conditions, melon seeds germinate in 8-10 days, and are ready to harvest in 10-16 weeks.
Melons grow as a vine. Add a support to the long main stem after planting.
Fertilise every 2 weeks with a liquid fertiliser
Don’t worry if the first set of flowers die off. Often the first set of flowers are male, and the second is the female flowers which produce the fruit.
Thin out developing fruits, allowing just four melons to grow per plant.
Slow down on the watering when it gets closer to harvesting your melons. This can help create a sweeter fruit.
Melons are ready to pick when you can smell them through the skin

Pumpkins

Not all pumpkins are created equal, so it’s important to select the right variety for your climate. In short-season areas, it’s helpful to grow quicker-maturing varieties or start them early indoors.

Tips for growing pumpkins:

Sow direct in a sunny spot in warm areas, or start indoors in cooler climates and transplant in early summer
Plant in mounds, 2-6 seeds per mound. Remove the weaker of the seedlings.
Water regularly: Pumpkins are made of up to 90 percent water, so give your vines frequent drinks, especially during hot summer weather. For best growth, water under the foliage with a soaker hose.
If you want the largest, highest-quality pumpkins, prune off extra fruits so each vine produces only a few. This will conserve the vines, yet help produce healthier vines for the future!
Pumpkins are ready to pick when their colors develop and the stem goes from green to tan. Cut the stem 3-6 inches from the fruit, and leave the pumpkin in place for a day or two.

Capsicums and Chillis

Capsicum and Chilli are one of my favorite things to grow and eat. They look great in the garden, bringing a splash of colour. Both love (and need) a warm soil to flourish and are relatively easy to grow.

Tips for growing capsicum and chilli:

Needs a warm sunny spot
Likes a rich soil with compost (especially chicken poop)
Can be grown in pots and containers, or garden beds
Can be picked at any time
Chillis are a hotter version of capsicums and come in a variety of different sizes and heat ratings
Companions: Carrot, Onion, Onions, Tomato and Oregano.

Beans

You don’t need to have a large garden to be able to grow your own delicious green beans. Dwarf varieties of beans are ideal for small spaces and can even be grown in a pot. They’re abundant croppers too, so you can harvest lots of beans from a limited area.

Tips for growing beans:

Dwarf beans are very quick growing and may be sown every three or four weeks from spring to give a succession of pickings throughout summer. They’re handy for filling in any gaps and perfect for tubs and window boxes.
Climbing beans need a little more space and some form of support to help them climb, but on the flip side you’ll get many more beans from each plant. They’re a great way to add height to the vegetable garden and can make an attractive feature.
All beans prefer a sunny spot in well-drained soil that was improved with compost or well-rotted manure the autumn before sowing.
Sow beans where they are to grow, against their supports or, for bush types, four to six inches (10-15cm) apart with 18 inches (45cm) left between each row. Dropping two seeds in each hole. (Or you can also grow in a greenhouse for an earlier start)
Beans don’t tolerate frost. Transplant them outside only when you’re sure there’s no chance of a late frost. Harden seedlings off a week beforehand by leaving them outside for a few hours, increasing the time gradually each day. A shaded cold frame is great for acclimatising plants.
Beans need a frame to grow on

Cucumbers

A tropical vegetable, cucumbers thrive when the weather is hot and water is plentiful. There are two types of cucumber plants: vining cucumbers and bush cucumbers. The most common varieties grow on vigorous vines shaded by large leaves.

Tips for growing cucumbers:

Cucumbers need a friable (loose), well-drained soil, full of organic matter, especially compost.
Cucumbers can be a bit fussy about position. In cool zones, they love nothing more than a spot in full sun. However, in areas with hot summers, a little tenderness and shade will encourage your cucumbers.
If you live in the cooler climates, you can help warm the soil by covering the hill or row with black plastic.
Once the ground is warm, mulch with pine straw, chopped leaves, or another organic mulch to keep pests at bay, and also keep bush types off the ground to avoid disease.
Keep the soil consistently moist with an inch of water per week (more if temperatures sizzle or rain is scarce). Incorrect watering can cause poor tasting fruit. For best results, water cucumbers with a soaker hose or drip irrigation. This helps keep the foliage dry, preventing leaf diseases.
Make successive plantings (every two weeks for continued harvests).
Plant in mounds, with 2 seeds per mound
Use a trellis to give the vine something to grow on, and protect the fruit from laying on the moist ground
Cucumbers grow fast. Cucumbers generally take about 8 – 10 weeks to ripen, stretching out to 12 – 14 weeks for apple cucumbers.

Eggplants

Whether you love them or hate them, eggplant (also known as Aubergines) adds an interesting new vegetable to your garden. Coming in a variety of different colours from the common purple varieties, to round orange, eggplant is gaining favour for its benefits for brain health and blood pressure levels.

Tips for growing eggplants:

In colder climates, start seeds off indoors, and then transplant as soon as the garden is warm enough
Eggplants and tomatoes are related and shouldn’t be planted where tomatoes have been for at least three years
just like tomatoes, eggplants thrive in a fertile soil, rich with compost, pelletized poo and topped with a layer of straw
Eggplants must be watered deeply and regularly during hot weather. Dry soil will lead to poor fruit production and splitting
Mulch plants well to retain moisture
Be careful not to overwater, which can cause root rot
Fertilise with a balanced organic fertiliser every six weeks
When the first set of flowers emerge, pinch them off. In addition to making the plant develop several fruiting branches, this will encourage the plant to put more energy into creating leaves and roots instead of one big fruit.
To keep plants upright and fruit clean and intact, stalk plants with bamboo poles.
Eggplants take 10-14 weeks to mature. Be careful not to let them overripe on the vine. A perfect fruit will stop growing larger, have a glossy skin, and show a sprinkling of soft, well-formed yet immature seeds when you slice it open.

Sweet corn

Sweet corn is an annual with yellow, white, and bi-colored ears. A long, frost-free growing season is necessary.

Tips for growing sweetcorn:

Sweet corn is wind-pollinated, so it should be planted in blocks, rather than in single rows.
Plant a combination of Early, mid, and late-season varieties to extend the harvest
Corn plants are picky about their soil. Work in aged manure or compost the fall before planting and let it overwinter in the soil.
Sow direct. In colder zones, the ground can be warmed by a black plastic cover if necessary. Plant seeds through holes in the plastic.
Corn plants are large and fast-growing, so need regular feeding and watering
Seeds germinate in 10-14 days.
Plant a new crop every 4-6 weeks to guarantee an ongoing supply during the growing season.
Cobs are ready for harvesting about 3 weeks after flowering commences.
The first sign of maturity is when the silks at the top of the cobs have turned brown.

Sweet potatoes

Whether you like them baked, steamed, mashed or as chips, sweet potatoes are delicious and highly nutritious. Sweet potato leaves are also edible and can be prepared like spinach.

Tips for growing sweet potatoes:

Sweet potato likes warm to hot conditions. Grows best in tropical and subtropical areas where it can be planted year round. Will produce good crops in temperate areas, but will need at least 4-6 months of warm frost-free conditions to produce a good crop, so plant early spring.
Best crops are produced in open sunny positions with full-day sun
Sweet potato is a perennial vine that covers the ground
Keep plants evenly moist, but not too wet. Water deeply during dry periods
Sweet potato needs a good supply of potassium and phosphorous for tuber production. The simplest way to supply this is with compost and an application of a well-balanced organic fertiliser once every 8 weeks during the growing period
Tubers are ready for harvest in 4 months from planting in tropical areas and 6 months in cooler zones
If you’re not using black plastic, mulch the vines two weeks after planting to smother weeds, conserve moisture, and keep the soil loose for root development.
You can harvest as soon as leaves start to yellow, but the longer a crop is left in the ground, the higher the yield and vitamin content.
Dry tubers in the sun for several hours, then move them to a well-ventilated spot and keep at around 30 degrees for 10 to 15 days.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are one of the most popular home-grown vegies of all – once you tasted a tomato you’ve grown yourself, there’s no turning back!

Tips on growing tomatoes:

Start your seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the average last spring frost date
Tomato seedlings need strong, direct light. If growing indoors, use artificial light for 12-14 hours a day to help them grow a strong base
Tomato plants need to move and sway in the breeze, to develop strong stems. That happens naturally outdoors, but if you start to grow your seedlings inside, you can simulate this by using a small fan for 5-10 minutes per day or using your hand to ruffle the tomato plants a few times a day
Tomatoes love heat. They won’t really start to grow until both the soil and air temperatures remain warm. You can use black plastic to create warmth in the soil before transplanting. Choose a site that has direct sunlight for at least a few hours of the day.
Transplant tomato seedlings into their own pots or direct into the garden after they get their first set of true leaves.
You need to stake, trellis, or cage most tomato plants to keep them off the ground at the time of planting. Staking keeps developing tomato fruit off the ground, while caging lets the plant hold itself upright.
To grow a really strong tomato plant, bury two-thirds of the stem (or up to the first set of leaves) when planting. This crucial step will allow the plant to sprout roots along the buried stem, so your plant will be stronger and better able to find water in a drought.
Mulch and water regularly
Once your tomato plants reach about 10cm tall, remove the leaves from the bottom of stem to help reduce fungi prolems
Feed once a fortnight with a liquid fertilizer for fruit and flowers
By late summer, plants that began producing early in the season will show signs of exhaustion. Extend the life of those sad tomato plants by pruning away withered leaves and branches

Zucchini

You can do lots of things with zucchini, though—cook and serve it in casseroles, slice it up and add it to pancakes, make a low carb alternative to pasta (helloooo, zoodles!), or bake zucchini bread.

Tips for growing Zucchinis:

Plant zucchini in hills of 2-3 seeds a week after the last frost, this helps to make sure there are enough flowers to pollinate
Zucchini does not tolerate frost or even cold temperatures, if the ground is too cold, use covers to protect your plants at night.
Don’t plant near pumpkins to minimise the chance of cross polination
Zucchini likes well-drained, fertile soil that’s been amended with lots of compost.
If space is limited, put up a trellis for vertical support.
Zucchini is a fast grower, ready to harvest in 40 – 60 days from planting.
Zucchini like consistently moist soil. To prevent problems with disease, always water from below.
Harvest zucchini when the fruits are still small—about 4 inches long. Picking zucchinis regularly as they reach maturity promotes more squash production.