--- title: "New Zealand garden planner: sowing and bed spacing | AumnI tools" description: "See what to sow and harvest in each New Zealand month with a southern calendar, count plants per bed in centimetres and enter your own frost dates." url: https://aumnitools.com/nz/tool/garden-planner category: "Lifestyle" country: "New Zealand" updated: 2026-11-08 --- # Garden Planner In New Zealand, spring sowing happens from September to November and winter lasts from June to August, while the Ministry for Primary Industries uses October to April as the growing season in its frost analysis. This planner starts on the southern calendar, lists 31 vegetables and herbs for any month, and counts plants in a bed measured in centimetres. ## New Zealand rules and figures - In its frost analysis, the Ministry for Primary Industries takes October to April as the growing season, and frost frequency differs by region. - The planting season for spring in New Zealand starts in September and ends in November, and winter spans June to August. - In NIWA's seasonal summaries, summer is December to February, winter is June to August and spring is September to November. Sources: [MPI: Recent frost trends for New Zealand](https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/6217-recent-frost-trends-for-new-zealand) (checked 2026-11-08); [NIWA: The Climate and Weather of New Zealand](https://webstatic.niwa.co.nz/static/web/NZ_Climate-NIWA.pdf) (checked 2026-11-08); [NIWA: Seasonal climate summaries](https://niwa.co.nz/climate-and-weather/seasonal) (checked 2026-11-08) ## How the Garden Planner works Sowing and harvest months are stored for a northern climate and read six months on when the Southern hemisphere switch is on, which is how the page opens for New Zealand. Bed capacity is a rounded-down grid count. Formula: `plants per bed = ⌊bed length ÷ plant spacing⌋ × ⌊bed width ÷ row spacing⌋ (both in cm)` - June in New Zealand reads the northern December row. The Growing in New Zealand card labels the month Winter and prints the frost notes below. - The default bed measures 300 × 120 cm and holds tomato and basil, showing 3 and 24 plants once the length is split between them. - Example frost dates are 10-15 and 04-25, giving a 192-day season. The Ministry for Primary Industries notes that frost frequency differs by region, so type your own dates. - A bed warns when an avoid list names another plant in it. Anything you change is saved in this browser. ## How to use the Garden Planner 1. **Choose a month.** Pick a month from the Month box. The Southern hemisphere switch should stay on for New Zealand. 2. **Read what to do.** The first tab lists plants to sow under cover, sow outdoors and harvest, using the shifted months. 3. **Enter your frost dates.** Type the last spring and first autumn frost as MM-DD for your region to get the season length in days. 4. **Add plants to a bed.** Under Beds, give the bed a length and a width in centimetres, then select a plant and press its add button. 5. **Browse the table.** Search the plants by name or family, or export the calendar for your hemisphere to CSV. ## Example: June in New Zealand: Winter lists and a 300 × 120 cm bed June gives Winter on the Growing in New Zealand card. The planner reads December's northern table, so it shows nothing to sow indoors, garlic to sow outdoors and four plants to harvest: parsnip, kale, Brussels sprout and leek. In a 300 × 120 cm bed, potato alone counts 16 plants, as 8 along the bed in 2 rows, and kale counts 12, while pumpkin or squash counts 0 and reads bed too small. ## When to use the Garden Planner - **Spring sowing in October.** Set October to see the indoor and outdoor lists that come from the northern April row. - **Winter harvest planning.** Choose June to see parsnip, kale, Brussels sprout and leek, then count how many fit in a bed. - **Checking a frost-prone site.** Enter a late last frost for a cold region and see the season length and any marginal crop. - **Comparing crops for a small bed.** Enter 200 × 90 cm and compare carrot, lettuce and potato counts. ## What the Garden Planner does not do - The six-month shift is a first approximation, and New Zealand regions differ in frost, so sowing weeks need local advice. - Frost dates change only the season length and warning, not the sowing months. - Only the 31 listed plants exist, with fixed spacings in centimetres. - Beds and settings are saved in this browser alone and do not sync. ## When something else is a better fit - **When you want regional frost information**, use the MPI analysis of recent frost trends. - **When you want jobs for the house and car by season**, use the [Seasonal Checklist](https://aumnitools.com/tool/seasonal-checklist.md). - **When you want to convert garden quantities**, use the [Unit Converter](https://aumnitools.com/tool/unit-converter.md). ## Questions about the Garden Planner ### Why is the planner on a southern calendar for New Zealand? Seasons are reversed from the north, so the Southern hemisphere switch starts on. Each stored month is moved six months, and June reads the northern December row. ### What growing season does MPI use? The Ministry for Primary Industries treats October to April as the growing season in its frost analysis. The planner's own frost dates are separate and start at 10-15 and 04-25. ### Does a frost date change the sowing calendar? No. A frost date only changes the season length and flags frost-tender plants that need more days. The months in the lists stay as they are. ### Why does pumpkin show bed too small? Pumpkin or squash needs 150 cm between rows. A bed 120 cm wide has no room for a row, so the count is zero. ### Where is my bed data stored? In this browser's local storage only. Clearing site data or switching browser starts with the default bed. ## Related tools - [Seasonal Checklist](https://aumnitools.com/tool/seasonal-checklist.md): 71 fixed seasonal jobs across home, garden, car and money; tick and add your own - [Seasonal Activity Suggestions](https://aumnitools.com/tool/seasonal-activity-suggestions.md): Filter 40 seasonal activity ideas by season, setting, company, cost and time - [Unit Converter](https://aumnitools.com/tool/unit-converter.md): Converts 102 units in 11 categories, with temperature offsets and 0 to 12 decimals ## About this page Runs in your browser: what you enter is processed on this device and is not uploaded. Last checked against the tool's code on 2026-11-08. Interactive version: https://aumnitools.com/nz/tool/garden-planner