It's not too late to plant some vegetables for winter, says Gillian Vine.
At this time of year, attention tends to be on tidying the garden but a bit of time spent sowing and planting ensures some vegetables will be ready to eat in winter.
Although the full impact of this summer's drought is still unknown, it's a fair bet commercially produced vegetables will be down in quantity and up in price, a good reason for growing a few of your own.
Silverbeet is probably the most reliable winter vegetable, a hardy plant that will crop over many months if the outer leaves are harvested and the inside ones left to keep growing.
Buy a punnet or two and they'll see you through until spring.
Spinach, too, is a reliable performer that can be harvested after four weeks as baby leaves.
It has a milder flavour than silverbeet, making it generally more acceptable, especially to children, and by sowing seed every three or four weeks, a constant supply is ensured.
Summer Green is one of the faster growing, while Santana can be eaten at the baby-leaf stage or left to mature.
Don't be tempted to try Malabar spinach this late in the season.
It is not a spinach at all but an East Indian tropical vine, Basella rubra, very sensitive to frost.
Another plant sold as spinach is Tetragonia expansa.
This sprawling native is not as intolerant of cold conditions as some garden advice suggests and it will grow over winter in Dunedin or in southern coastal gardens, as it is a seaside plant.
In a cold winter, it may give up the ghost but is a prolific self-seeder, so once you've grown it, expect to have it for ever.
Of the brassicas, sprouting broccoli can be planted now for winter harvests and purple-headed Winter Rudolph, if grown from seed sown as soon as possible, will produce small purple florets within three months in warmer parts of Otago.
Cabbages and cauliflowers are much slower to mature but plan for spring and plant a punnet or two now.
Some rhubarb varieties keep going over winter.
Glaskins Perpetual can be harvested into winter and many an older gardener will have an unnamed all-season plant they may be willing to share.
Rhubarb can be divided in winter and pieces with a root and leaf bud replanted in rich ground.
As well as being a standby for pies, rhubarb makes excellent jam, either alone or with the addition of figs, pineapple, bananas, or strawberries.
Late plantings of celery can be made but the stems are unlikely to win prizes at the local garden club.
However, no matter how feeble the result, celery is always a good addition to soups and stews.
Similar to rocket, although not as inclined to run to seed, is argula, which can be sown now.
To keep it going, harvest it like silverbeet by taking the outer leaves and leaving the inner ones to develop.
Argula is generally added to salads but can be made into pesto or added to stir fries.
Others for adding to late-season salads are watercress, endive, young kale leaves (but not Cavolo Nero), corn salad or mache (Valerianella locusta), miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) and mustard spinach (komatsuna).
There is a raft of Asian vegetables that are good in stir fries or salads, and some, such as misome, pickle well, too.
Among the many that can be sown now and eaten over winter are tatsoi, mibuna, mizuna, pak choi and mustard streaks.
Winter need not be confined to the usual suspects but get planting now for the best results.
