Gisborne sees spring warmth earlier than almost anywhere else in New Zealand. Frost risk is largely gone by November, and even through the coldest months, June and July average under eight ground-frost days each, well down on similarly-latitude inland spots. Combined with the region's free-draining soils, that means root vegetables in particular, carrots, beetroot and parsnip, get away to a genuinely fast start here.
The full spring list suits Gisborne well: lettuce, spinach, silverbeet, peas, dwarf beans, spring onion and radish from September, tomatoes, capsicums, courgette and sweetcorn following through October and into November as the last of the frost risk clears. Basil and other tender herbs can usually go in earlier here than a North Island guide would suggest elsewhere.
The catch is what comes after planting rather than before it. Gisborne's dry spells arrive early in the season compared to most of the country, and a garden that isn't mulched by the time October's warmth sets in can go from well-watered to visibly stressed within a couple of weeks. Mulch beds as soon as they're planted, not once plants start to wilt, and it saves considerably more watering effort through summer than trying to catch up later.
The catch is what comes after planting rather than before it.