Vegetable grow guides
Vegetables guides
Amaranth
How to grow leaf amaranth, or Chinese spinach, in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, warm soil, thinning, picking, pests and cooking the leaves.
| Position | Full sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | 3 to 6 mm |
| Spacing | 15 cm apart |
| First pick | 4 to 8 weeks |
Artichoke
How to grow globe artichokes from seed in Australia: sowing, spacing, feeding, when to cut the buds, cutting back, cardoon, and sowing months for every zone.
| Position | Full sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 mm |
| Spacing | 1 to 1.5 m apart |
| First pick | About 42 to 57 weeks |
Bean
How to grow beans in Australia: sowing months by climate zone, bush and climbing types, low-nitrogen feeding, watering, picking pods, plus bean fly and rust.
Raw dried beans harmful| Position | Full sun, at least six hours |
|---|---|
| Depth | 25 to 30 mm |
| Spacing | Bush 10 to 15, climbing 15 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 7 to 14 weeks |
Beetroot
How to grow beetroot in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, thinning the seed clusters, steady watering, harvest size and the pests that matter.
| Position | Full sun or part shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 to 20 mm |
| Spacing | 10 cm apart after thinning |
| First pick | 7 to 12 weeks |
Bitter Melon
How to grow bitter melon in Australia: soaking and scarifying the hard seed, sowing months by zone, a tall trellis, hand pollination and when to pick.
Seeds and ripe fruit harmful to people| Position | Full sun, sheltered |
|---|---|
| Depth | 20 to 25 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 60 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 11 weeks |
Bok Choy
How to grow bok choy and pak choi in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, spacing by type, netting out caterpillars and stopping early bolting.
| Position | Full sun, afternoon shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 15 to 30 cm by type |
| First pick | 6 to 8 weeks from sowing |
Broad Bean
How to grow broad beans in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, spacing, staking, pinching out tips, chocolate spot, rust and the favism warning.
Harmful to people with favism| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 30 to 50 mm |
| Spacing | 15 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 14 to 20 weeks |
Broccoli
How to grow broccoli in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, netting against caterpillars, feeding, side shoots, buttoning and when to cut heads.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 50 cm |
| First pick | Most types 10 to 16 weeks from sowing |
Brussels Sprouts
How to grow Brussels sprouts in Australia: when to sow in all six climate zones, netting summer seedlings, feeding, topping and picking firm sprouts in winter.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 60 to 90 cm apart |
| First pick | 11 to 16 weeks from transplanting |
Burdock
How to grow burdock (gobo) in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, digging a deep bed, thinning, light feeding and lifting long, straight roots.
| Position | Full sun; tolerates light shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 16 to 20 weeks |
Cabbage
How to grow cabbages in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, spacing by type, netting against caterpillars, steady watering and cutting firm heads.
| Position | Full sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 30 to 75 cm by type |
| First pick | 8 to 20 weeks |
Cape Gooseberry
Grow cape gooseberries in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, spacing, light feeding, fruit fly and other pests, and the sign of ripe fruit.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | About 4 mm |
| Spacing | 50 cm to 1.5 m |
| First pick | 12 to 26 weeks from sowing |
Capsicum
How to grow capsicum in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, warm soil, staking, steady water, potassium feeding, and fruit fly and pest control.
| Position | Full sun, six hours or more |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 50 cm |
| First pick | 10 to 15 weeks after transplanting |
Carrot
How to grow carrots in Australia: sowing months by climate zone, deep stone-free soil, keeping the seed row damp, thinning, harvest and the pests that matter.
| Position | Full sun; crops on three or four hours |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 5 to 10 cm apart |
| First pick | 9 to 18 weeks |
Cauliflower
How to grow cauliflower in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, spacing by type, netting, covering white curds and cutting heads before they loosen.
| Position | Full sun, at least 6 hours |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 60 cm by type |
| First pick | 12 to 22 weeks from sowing |
Celery
How to grow celery in Australia: sowing months for six zones, raising seed in trays, steady water and feeding, blanching stalks, celeriac, leaf celery, pests.
| Position | Full sun; shade hot afternoons |
|---|---|
| Depth | Surface, barely covered |
| Spacing | 20 to 30 cm |
| First pick | 12 to 14 weeks from planting |
Chicory
How to grow chicory in Australia: radicchio, sugarloaf, leaf chicory and witloof, with sowing months for six zones, pots, forcing chicons, bitterness and pests.
| Position | Full sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 30 cm, by type |
| First pick | 8 to 16 weeks |
Chilli
How to grow chillies in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, warm seed raising, types from mild to superhot, staking, feeding and pest control.
| Position | At least six hours of direct sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 50 cm |
| First pick | 9 to 14 weeks after transplanting |
Chinese Broccoli
How to grow Chinese broccoli, kai lan or gai lan, in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing, caterpillar netting and cutting shoots for side shoots.
| Position | Full sun; light shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 6 mm |
| Spacing | 20 to 25 cm |
| First pick | Shoots 7 to 12 weeks |
Chinese Cabbage
How to grow Chinese cabbage (wombok) in Australia: sowing months for all six zones, stopping bolting and tipburn, netting caterpillars and cutting firm heads.
| Position | Full sun, shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 30 to 40 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 12 weeks from sowing |
Choy Sum
How to grow choy sum and yu choy sum in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing by type, caterpillar netting and when to cut the budding stems.
| Position | Full sun; shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 15 to 30 cm by type |
| First pick | 4 to 7 weeks |
Collards
How to grow collards in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing, pots, picking leaves so plants keep cropping, and stopping cabbage white caterpillars.
| Position | Full sun, 6 to 8 hours |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 45 to 80 cm, by variety |
| First pick | First leaves 8 to 11 weeks |
Corn Salad
How to grow corn salad, also called lamb's lettuce or mache, in Australia: sowing months by zone, soil, thinning, pots, picking through winter and pest control.
| Position | Full sun in winter |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 5 to 8 weeks |
Corn
How to grow sweet corn, popcorn and maize in Australia: sowing months by zone, block planting for full cobs, keeping supersweet apart, picking at milk stage.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from gales |
|---|---|
| Depth | 25 to 30 mm |
| Spacing | 25 to 30 cm, in blocks |
| First pick | 11 to 14 weeks; dry types up to 16 |
Cress
How to grow garden cress, land cress and watercress in Australia: sowing months for six zones, watercress in pots, picking, pests and the creek cress risk.
| Position | Sun to part shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | Surface to 5 mm |
| Spacing | Close; watercress 20 cm apart |
| First pick | From 2 weeks, by type |
Cucamelon
Grow cucamelon in Australia: sowing months for all six zones, trellis and spacing, pollination, feeding, pests, picking at grape size and keeping the tuber.
Bitter fruit harmful to people| Position | Full sun, warm and sheltered |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 30 to 60 cm apart |
| First pick | 10 to 11 weeks |
Cucumber
Grow crunchy, sweet cucumbers in your backyard with our Australian growing guide. We cover the best planting times, soil prep, and secrets to avoiding bitter fruit for a bumper summer harvest.
Bitter fruit harmful to people| Position | Full sun; afternoon shade inland |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 to 20 mm |
| Spacing | 30 to 60 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 10 weeks |
Eggplant
How to grow eggplant in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, raising seed with bottom heat, staking, watering, picking and fruit fly control.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm, in trays |
| Spacing | 45 to 70 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 12 weeks after transplant |
Egyptian Spinach
Grow Egyptian spinach (molokhia) in Australia: when to sow in six climate zones, seed prep, cutting for months of leaf, and why seeds and pods are poisonous.
Seeds and pods harmful to people and pets| Position | Full sun |
|---|---|
| Depth | Barely covered, 6 mm at most |
| Spacing | 15 to 30 cm |
| First pick | 6 to 8 weeks |
Endive
How to grow endive in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing, pots, blanching frisΓ©e and escarole hearts, and keeping snails, aphids and bolting away.
| Position | Full sun, 6 hours or more |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 30 to 35 cm |
| First pick | Leaves from 10 weeks |
Fennel
How to grow Florence fennel in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, direct sowing, steady watering, earthing up bulbs and how to stop bolting.
| Position | Full sun, cool months |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 20 to 30 cm |
| First pick | 10 to 20 weeks |
Gherkin
Grow gherkins in Australia: sowing months for all six zones, pickling and West Indian types, trellis training, feeding, pests and the size to pick for pickling.
Bitter fruit harmful to people| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 to 20 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 60 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 11 weeks |
Gourd
How to grow gourds in Australia: luffa, bottle, wax and ornamental gourds, sowing months by climate zone, trellising, hand pollination, picking and drying.
Bitter fruit harmful to people| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 20 to 25 mm |
| Spacing | 80 cm to 1 m |
| First pick | 8 to 12 weeks, young |
Kale
How to grow kale in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, netting out caterpillars, feeding, clubroot, and picking leaves for months on end.
| Position | Full sun, part shade tropics |
|---|---|
| Depth | 6 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 50 cm |
| First pick | 7 to 10 weeks from sowing |
Kang Kong
How to grow kang kong (water spinach) in Australia: sowing months for six zones, growing in water or boggy soil, feeding, cutting, pests and safe containment.
| Position | Full sun or part shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 15 cm |
| First pick | From 4 weeks after sowing |
Kohl Rabi
How to grow kohl rabi in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, spacing, netting out caterpillars and picking the stems before they turn woody.
| Position | Full sun, shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 15 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 10 weeks |
Komatsuna
How to grow komatsuna, or Japanese mustard spinach, in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing for baby leaf or whole plants, and caterpillar netting.
| Position | Full sun; shade when hot |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 mm |
| Spacing | 5 to 30 cm by use |
| First pick | Leaves from 3 weeks |
Leek
How to grow leeks from seed in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, deep planting, hilling for long white stems, feeding, pests and harvest.
Harmful to cats and dogs| Position | Full sun, open position |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 15 cm, rows 30 cm |
| First pick | 14 to 26 weeks |
Lettuce
How to grow lettuce in Australia: sowing months by climate zone, cool-soil seed, watering for sweet leaves, thinning, cut-and-come-again picking and pests.
| Position | Full sun; summer afternoon shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 3 to 5 mm |
| Spacing | 15 to 30 cm |
| First pick | 4 to 12 weeks |
Malabar Spinach
Grow Malabar spinach in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, seed soaking, trellis and soil, feeding, picking shoot tips and the pests to watch.
| Position | Full sun to light shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 10 mm |
| Spacing | 20 to 30 cm |
| First pick | From about 8 weeks |
Mesclun
How to grow mesclun in Australia: sow a salad mix thickly in the cool months, keep it moist, cut it 2.5 cm above the soil and let it regrow, in all six zones.
| Position | Full sun; afternoon shade in heat |
|---|---|
| Depth | 3 to 5 mm |
| Spacing | Thin to 2 to 3 cm |
| First pick | First cut at 4 to 6 weeks |
Mibuna
Grow mibuna in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, soil and feeding, thinning, cut-and-come-again picking, pots, pests and how to delay bolting.
| Position | Full sun to light shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 6 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 40 cm |
| First pick | 4 to 8 weeks |
Mizuna
How to grow mizuna in Australia: sowing months for six zones, spacing for baby leaf or full clumps, pots, cutting so it regrows, and stopping early flowering.
| Position | Full sun; light shade in heat |
|---|---|
| Depth | 6 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | 10 to 40 cm |
| First pick | 3 to 7 weeks |
Moringa
How to grow moringa from seed in Australia: soaking and sowing, warmth, pruning and coppicing, picking leaves and pods, weed status by state and zone months.
Root harmful to people| Position | Full sun, warm and sheltered |
|---|---|
| Depth | 1 to 2 cm |
| Spacing | 80 cm to 2.5 m |
| First pick | Leaf tips once the tree is about 1.3 m |
Mustard
How to grow mustard greens in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, soil, water, thinning, picking, pests, and how to keep the leaves mild, not fiery.
| Position | Full sun to part shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | About 5 mm |
| Spacing | 20 to 45 cm by type |
| First pick | 3 to 8 weeks; stem mustard about 17 weeks |
Okra
Grow okra in Australia: sowing months for all six climate zones, soaking seed, spacing, light feeding, cotton bollworm and other pests, and when to pick pods.
| Position | Full sun, sheltered from wind |
|---|---|
| Depth | 15 to 20 mm |
| Spacing | 40 to 60 cm apart |
| First pick | 8 to 14 weeks from sowing |
Onion
How to grow bulb onions from seed in Australia: short, intermediate and long-day types for your zone, sowing months, weeding, feeding, harvest and curing.
Harmful to cats and dogs| Position | Full sun, six hours or more |
|---|---|
| Depth | About 5 mm |
| Spacing | 10 cm apart |
| First pick | 24 to 34 weeks |
Parsnip
How to grow parsnips in Australia: fresh seed, sowing months for all six climate zones, deep loose soil, thinning, even watering, frost-sweet harvest and pests.
| Position | Full sun or part shade |
|---|---|
| Depth | 5 to 10 mm |
| Spacing | Thin to 8 to 15 cm |
| First pick | 17 to 26 weeks |
Peanut
Grow peanuts in Australia: sowing months for all six zones, loose soil for the pegs, gypsum for full pods, steady water to digging, and lifting and curing.
Mouldy kernels harmful to people and pets| Position | Full sun, warmest bed |
|---|---|
| Depth | 3 to 5 cm |
| Spacing | 15 to 20 cm |
| First pick | 16 to 24 weeks |
Pea
How to grow peas in Australia: sowing months for six climate zones, trellis and support, watering, picking snow peas and sugar snaps, and pea mildew control.
| Position | Full sun, cool weather |
|---|---|
| Depth | 20 to 50 mm |
| Spacing | 5 to 15 cm |
| First pick | 8 to 14 weeks |
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