Last updated October 2026
Buying vegetables in season is one of the simplest ways to eat well. Produce picked close to its peak has had less time in storage and transport, and when a crop is in full supply there is more of it to choose from. In Dunedin it takes a little local knowledge, because a cooler southern climate means some crops arrive later here than in Pukekohe or Hawke’s Bay and finish sooner. This guide sets out what is in season across New Zealand, how Otago’s climate shifts the calendar, and how to make the most of each time of year.
★View the Best Organic and Health Food Shops in Dunedin→Seasonal vegetables in New Zealand at a glance
The table below is drawn from the vegetables.co.nz seasonal availability chart, which covers New Zealand grown vegetables from every growing region.
- Summer (December to February)
- Sweetcorn, beans, courgettes, kamo kamo, melons, chilli peppers, red onions, shallots and asparagus, with the last of the peas and artichokes in early summer
- Autumn (March to May)
- Brussels sprouts, leeks, fennel, swedes, turnips, celeriac, parsnips and kohlrabi arriving, while sweetcorn, beans, courgettes and chillies finish
- Winter (June to August)
- Brussels sprouts, leeks, parsnips, swedes, turnips, celeriac, fennel, kohlrabi, yams, red onions, and butternut and buttercup pumpkins
- Spring (September to November)
- Asparagus from September, artichokes and courgettes from October, peas and beans from November, with leeks, celeriac and swedes still going
- All year
- Carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, silverbeet, spinach, kale, beetroot, kūmara, onions, garlic, and glasshouse tomatoes, cucumbers, capsicums and eggplant
Treat the all-year list with some care. Many of those crops are available year round because they are grown in several regions or under glass, not because they grow outdoors in Otago every month.
How Dunedin’s climate shifts the calendar
National charts include crops from warmer northern regions and heated glasshouses. Grown outdoors around Dunedin, summer crops such as sweetcorn, beans and courgettes tend to start later and finish earlier, because the frost-free growing season is shorter. Local tomatoes and courgettes from a backyard or a nearby grower usually peak from late summer into early autumn.
Winter is when Otago’s cool-climate vegetables come into their own. Brussels sprouts, kale, leeks, parsnips and swedes handle frost well, and several of them taste sweeter after a cold snap, as the plant turns some of its starch into sugar to protect itself. Central Otago adds summer stonefruit to the local picture, with cherries and apricots the first to arrive.
The Saturday Otago Farmers Market at the Dunedin Railway Station is a reliable way to see what local growers are actually harvesting from week to week, which is often a few weeks behind the national chart.
Making the most of each season
Summer
This is the time for eating vegetables raw or barely cooked: corn on the cob, bean salads, courgette ribbons and sliced tomatoes. When there is a glut, blanch and freeze beans and corn, and turn surplus tomatoes into sauce.
Autumn
Autumn is the storage season. Pumpkins left to cure somewhere dry and airy will keep for months, and kūmara holds its quality in cool storage well beyond its harvest. It is also the start of the long run of leeks, fennel and Brussels sprouts.
Winter
Soups, roasts and stews do the work in a Dunedin winter. Parsnips, swedes, turnips, celeriac and pumpkin roast well together, and leeks and kale fill out a soup. Keep root vegetables somewhere cool and dark, out of the fridge if you have space.
Spring
Early spring is the hungry gap, the stretch when winter crops are finishing and new season crops haven’t started. Asparagus is the highlight that breaks it, followed by tender salad greens, then peas and the first courgettes as the weather warms.
Why buying in season is worth it
- Flavour: produce harvested close to ripeness, with less time in cold storage.
- Value: 5+ A Day suggests looking for what is in season or in good supply for the best value.
- Variety: eating with the seasons rotates what is on your plate through the year.
- Local growers: seasonal buying keeps money with the people growing food nearby.
None of this needs to be strict. Plenty of good meals mix a stored autumn pumpkin with glasshouse greens. Knowing the calendar simply helps you spot what is at its best when you walk into a shop or open a vege box.
Where Taste Nature fits
Taste Nature’s organic produce boxes are made up from what is seasonally available when you order, so each box follows the calendar above rather than a fixed list. Boxes come in several sizes and can be delivered around Dunedin, picked up from the High Street store or couriered across the South Island. Orders placed before 5pm, Monday to Thursday, are ready for delivery or pick-up the next day, and you can add groceries to the order. Some of the produce in the store and café is grown at the business’s own certified organic gardens at Waitati, which open to visitors on open days through spring and summer.
