How to Grow Vegetables in Australia
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How do you grow vegetables in Australia?
Start with your climate zone. Australia has no single planting season: November is the start of summer cropping in Melbourne and the first of the Wet in Darwin. Find your zone, choose a spot with 6 to 8 hours of sun, feed the soil well, and start with easy crops such as silverbeet, lettuce and carrots.
Our individual crop guides are written for any climate, so use them for how to grow each crop, and this page for when.
Not sure what to plant now in Melbourne, Perth or Adelaide? Use the temperate column in the tables below, then open the month page: what to plant in March, what to plant in August or what to plant in October. The Australian vegetable planting calendar lists every crop by zone.
How to start a vegetable garden in Australia
- Find 6 to 8 hours of sunGardening Australia says most veggies like 6 to 8 hours a day, though leafy crops such as silverbeet and lettuce cope with a shadier spot. Sustainable Gardening Australia gives about 8 hours for fruiting crops, 6 for roots and 4 for leafy greens.
- Watch the sun before you digNote which spots get the most sun through the year, because the sun's path shifts with the seasons.
- Feed the soilGardening Australia recommends plenty of compost and manure, and adding gypsum to heavy clay. Sustainable Gardening Australia suggests at least 30 cm of good soil. If yours is poor, build a raised bed.
- Put tall crops at the backPlant taller crops on the southern or western side and grade down to the smallest at the front, so everything gets its share of sun.
- Start with easy cropsGardening Australia's tips for newbies suggest silverbeet, ruby chard, lettuce, bok choy, carrots, turnips and mustard greens.
- Water consistentlyRegular watering matters more than heavy watering. Don't flood the bed, just keep it even.
The easiest vegetables to grow in Australia
These are the crops Gardening Australia suggests for beginners. The months show when to sow or plant in each climate.
| Crop | Temperate | Subtropical | Tropical | Cool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silverbeet | Jul-Aug, Oct-Apr | Oct-Aug | Mar-Jul | Jul-Apr |
| Lettuce | All year | All year | Mar-Jun | Aug-Apr |
| Bok choy and Asian greens | Mar-May | Feb-Jun | Apr-Aug | Feb-Apr |
| Carrot | Aug-Apr | Feb-Nov | Apr-Jun | Sep-Mar |
| Turnip | Aug-May | Aug-May | Apr-Jun | Sep-Apr |
| Mustard greens | Feb-Jun | All year | Jan-Nov | Jan-May |
When to plant popular vegetables
The same crop can be months apart between zones. Months come from Gardenate, cross-checked against Deep Green Permaculture. See the full planting chart for more crops and the arid zone.
| Crop | Temperate | Subtropical | Tropical | Cool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato | Sep-Jan | Aug-Feb | May-Jul | Oct-Dec |
| Capsicum | Aug-Nov | Aug-Feb | Apr-Jul | Sep-Nov |
| Zucchini | Aug-Feb | Jan-Mar, Aug | Mar-Aug | Jan-Feb |
| Cucumber | Aug-Feb | Aug-Mar | Mar-Sep | Oct-Jan |
| Pumpkin | Aug-Dec | Jul-Mar | Mar-Jul | Sep-Dec |
| Sweet corn | Sep-Jan | Jul-Mar | Jan-Nov | Sep-Jan |
| Dwarf beans | Sep-Feb | Aug-Apr | Apr-Aug | Nov-Jan |
| Peas | Mar-Oct | Mar-Aug | Mar-Jun | Jul-Nov |
| Potato | Aug-Nov | May, Aug-Sep | Apr-May | Aug-Dec |
| Onion | Jul-Sep | Feb, Apr-Jun, Aug | Apr, Jun-Jul | Aug-Sep |
| Garlic | Mar-Jun | Mar-Jun | Apr-Jun | Mar-Jul |
| Broccoli | Aug-Apr | Feb-May | Apr-Jul | Aug-Mar |
| Cabbage | Aug-Apr | Mar-Nov | Apr-Aug | Aug-Mar |
Find your climate
Temperate and cool
Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Canberra and the highlands. Tomatoes go in from spring, and frost still matters in cool zones.
Photo: Grant Williamson from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Subtropical
Brisbane and the coast of Queensland and northern NSW. The season is long, with summer rain and humidity.
Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tropical and arid
Darwin, Cairns and inland Australia. In the tropics, the main vegetable season is the dry months, not summer.
Photo: Sardaka, CC BY-SA 4.0.What to plant, month by month
Each month has its own guide, split by climate.
By season: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
- Plan your beds for freeDraw your plot and fit your crops with the Layout Planner.
- Australian Vegetable Garden PlannerA sowing chart for each of five climates, as a printable PDF.
Common questions
What is the easiest vegetable to grow in Australia?
Gardening Australia suggests silverbeet, ruby chard, lettuce, bok choy, carrots, turnips and mustard greens for beginners.
When do you plant tomatoes in Australia?
It depends on your zone: Sep-Jan in temperate areas, Aug-Feb in the subtropics and May-Jul in the tropics, where the dry season is the growing season.
How much sun do vegetables need in Australia?
Gardening Australia says most veggies like 6 to 8 hours a day. Sustainable Gardening Australia gives about 8 hours for fruiting crops, 6 for root crops and 4 for leafy greens.
Can I use American or British planting calendars in Australia?
No. The seasons are reversed, and frost, heat and rain differ by climate, so use a calendar written for your zone.
When can I sow zucchini in Adelaide and Perth?
Both guides cover September to December. Green Adelaide lists zucchini for September to December, and the Waste Authority of Western Australia guide gives August to March.
What should I plant in October in Adelaide and Perth?
Green Adelaide (South Australian Government) and the Waste Authority of Western Australia both list beetroot, cabbage, capsicum, carrot, celery, chilli, cucumber, dwarf beans, eggplant, lettuce, melons, potatoes, pumpkin and radish for October. These two guides cover Adelaide and Perth only. Check frost and soil warmth in your own garden.
Sources for this page
- Gardening Australia: Designing a vegie garden
- Gardening Australia: Top tips for newbies
- Gardening Australia: Getting started
- Sustainable Gardening Australia: Getting started with veggie gardening
- Sustainable Gardening Australia: Getting started with organic veg gardening
- Gardenate: planting calendars by climate zone
- Deep Green Permaculture
How we checked this
On 4 November 2026 we opened two Australian state-government planting guides: Green Adelaide (South Australian Government) and the Waste Authority of Western Australia Edible School Garden Guide. They are Tier 1 checks for Adelaide and Perth only. We did not change any crop or date on this page because of them.
No state agriculture department, CSIRO, Bureau of Meteorology or university source was reachable for Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra, Darwin, Cairns or Alice Springs, so the lists for those places rest on ABC sources and Deep Green Permaculture, which are not Tier 1. Treat the dates as a guide and check them against your own last frost and local advice.
Added 4 November 2026: Adelaide and Perth answers, and a zucchini window. They use only the two state-government guides above (Green Adelaide and the Waste Authority of Western Australia), and only where both lists were read. We show where the two guides differ and who says what. We did not add an answer for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart, Canberra or Darwin because no state-government month table was reached for those places. The temperate zucchini cell changed from Jan-Feb, Aug to Aug-Feb: Green Adelaide lists September to December and the Waste Authority guide August to March.