What to Plant in March in Australia

Australian note: this page follows southern-hemisphere seasons, so March is in autumn. The lists below are grouped by five climate zones: temperate, subtropical, tropical, arid and cool. The Australian Vegetable Garden Planner uses the same five zones. For every crop across the year, see the Australian vegetable planting calendar.

It is a tidy-up month with plenty to plant. The soil is still warm, so seed germinates well and new trees have time to settle before winter. The first frosts can arrive in Canberra and on high inland country.

What to plant in March, by climate

Australia spans five growing climates, so one list cannot fit all of them. Find yours below, then read the notes for that climate. March falls in Australian autumn.

Crop lists show what both Gardenate and Deep Green Permaculture list for that climate. The two share a common lineage, so we treat them as one view and use ABC Organic Gardener's monthly column as the independent check. ABC Organic Gardener's March column was not available when we checked, so March rests on the first two alone. "Start under cover" marks heat-lovers those lists include that ABC advises keeping out of cold soil.

Where three sources agree in March

These 13 crops are given for March by all three of the Perth (WA Waste Authority), Adelaide (Green Adelaide) and Melbourne (City of Darebin) guides. They are temperate-zone city sources, not a statewide rule, so treat them as a cross-check and not a promise for Sydney, Canberra, Hobart or anywhere in the tropics or arid inland.

Temperate and cool gardens in March

• Pick marrows, pumpkins and squash before the flesh turns coarse.
• Pick pumpkins only when fully ripe, with no green skin and the stalk turning brown.
• Lift root crops for storage, including beetroot, carrots, onions, potatoes and turnips.

Subtropical gardens in March

• Warm and humid, with thunderstorms along the east coast and around two weeks of rain in Brisbane.
• The cyclone season in the north runs from November to April, so March can be windy.

Tropical gardens in March

• The wet continues in Darwin, with heavy but reducing rain.
• Plant ginger from pieces of root.

Arid and inland gardens in March

• Pick pumpkins and squash as they ripen, and lift root crops for storage.
• Use the cooler weather and moist soil to plant new trees.

Garden jobs for March

• Plant new trees while the soil is warm and moist.
• Tidy finished crops and compost healthy material.
• Store root crops somewhere cool and dark.

Plan March on paper

Draw your beds in the free Vegetable Garden Layout Planner Tool, then keep the season together in the Australian Vegetable Garden Planner, which has a sowing chart for every climate. See every crop across the year in the Australian planting calendar, or read the growing guides.

Month by month

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

Questions about March

Common questions

Sources

• Deep Green Permaculture: Australian gardening calendars
• Gardenate: Australia planting by zone, March

How we checked this

The table above uses three Tier 1 (government) sources for the temperate zone. We read the Perth and Adelaide guides on 4 November 2026 and checked the Melbourne guide on 3 November 2026.

• Green Adelaide, South Australian Government (Tier 1): what to plant when, the month lists and the plant-any-time list for Adelaide.
• Waste Authority of Western Australia (Tier 1): Edible School Garden Guide, the planting and harvest guide for Perth.
• City of Darebin, Victoria (Tier 1): Sow what when guide for Melbourne.

Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin, Cairns and Alice Springs lists have not been checked against a Tier 1 month table. The crop lists in the climate cards above come from the sources named in the Sources list and have not been changed by this check.

Added 4 November 2026: a Common questions section for March. 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.

Last reviewed: 31 October 2026