When to plant zucchini in Hamilton (New Zealand): 3 December – 28 March

In Hamilton (New Zealand), zucchini: sow for seedlings from 22 October to 7 March; plant into a greenhouse from 12 November to 28 March; plant out into open ground from 3 December to 28 March. For plants and seeds, the places nearby include Farm Source (farm supply, 2 km) and Saint Nicks Christmas Tree Farm (plant nursery, 6 km); addresses and opening hours are below.

Zucchini in Hamilton (New Zealand): soil, season and weather

In Hamilton (New Zealand) the soil, not frost, sets the date: the last frost is over around 6 August, but the top 7 cm of soil reaches 18 °C — the minimum on the zucchini card — only around 3 December, 119 days later.

Last spring frost	6 August
Top 7 cm of soil at 18 °C	3 December, 119 days after the last frost
First autumn frost	14 June, 194 days after the start
Days in the bed to the first harvest (card)	36
First harvest, if planted in this window	8 January – 3 May
Days left for picking	158
Daylight	14:03 on 12 November, 14:36 on 3 December
Watering outdoors when fruiting (card)	every 3 days; the driest month, March, has 9 rainy days

The same dates in Hamilton (New Zealand) hold for Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin and Watermelon.

Zucchini in Hamilton (New Zealand): care after planting

Planted on 3 December: in the first weeks water every 4 days.

Pests and diseases of zucchini to watch for:

Weather in Hamilton (New Zealand) during the zucchini season

About 684 mm of rain falls in the season; March is the driest month (80 mm) and December the wettest (113 mm).

Month	Day, °C	Night, °C	Rain, mm	Rainy days	Daylight on the 15th
December	22.7	13.9	113	13	14:45
January	24.2	15.2	90	10	14:29
February	24.8	15.4	86	9	13:30
March	22.6	13.6	80	9	12:22
April	20	11.6	103	10	11:08
May	17.2	9.2	102	12	10:07
June	15.1	7.7	110	12	9:34

ERA5 2016–2025, Open-Meteo

Zucchini in nearby cities

Around Hamilton (New Zealand), Napier is 30 days earlier and Wellington 14 days later.

City	Distance	Date	Difference
Tauranga	79 km	from 4 December	1 day later
Rotorua	94 km	10 December – 8 March	7 days later
Napier	237 km	from 3 November	30 days earlier
Gisborne	259 km	from 7 November	26 days earlier
Palmerston North	288 km	4 December – 3 April	1 day later
Wellington	393 km	from 17 December	14 days later

Where to buy zucchini plants and seeds near Hamilton (New Zealand)

Buy plants ready to set out from 3 December to 28 March (from 12 November to 28 March for an unheated greenhouse); seed for raising your own is sown from 22 October to 7 March. Within 15 km of Hamilton (New Zealand) OpenStreetMap lists 6 garden centres, 2 farm-supply shops, 2 plant nurseries, 1 market and 1 farm shop (collected 20 October 2026).

John's Nursery — garden centre
Parallel Road 889, 3881 Ōhaupō · 15 km
Saint Nicks Christmas Tree Farm — plant nursery
Te Kowhai Road East 79, Hamilton · 6 km
Farm Source — farm supply
Norton Road 115, Hamilton · 2 km · nzfarmsource.co.nz
Waikato Milking Systems — farm supply
Innovation Way 29 · 10 km · waikatomilking.com

Each window starts on the Greenly calendar date and ends on the last day that still leaves the crop’s days to harvest (from its card) before the average first autumn frost, plus six weeks of picking for crops harvested over weeks (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins, watermelons, beans) — our rule; earlier in the window is safer.

Questions