Autumn · March · April · May
The best planting seasonmost gardeners never exploit.
Enter your postcode for a personalised autumn schedule.
Why Autumn Is Australia's Best Planting Season
While many northern hemisphere gardeners wind down in autumn, Australian gardeners know it's one of the most exciting seasons. Here's why March through May deserves your full gardening attention:
Warm Soil, Cool Air
Soil retains summer warmth through March and April, giving seeds excellent germination rates. Meanwhile, cooling air temperatures reduce moisture evaporation and heat stress. This combination is ideal — seeds sprout quickly and seedlings establish without wilting.
Far Less Pest Pressure
Summer brings aphids, caterpillars, whitefly, and Queensland fruit fly in plague numbers. Autumn sees populations crash as temperatures drop. Your brassicas, leafy greens, and root vegetables can establish without being decimated — a major win for organic gardeners.
Reduced Watering
As temperatures cool, your water bill drops significantly. Cool-season crops need 30–50% less water than their summer counterparts. Rain becomes more reliable in many zones. This makes autumn not just productive but economical — especially with rising water costs.
The autumn opportunity: A well-planted autumn garden in temperate Australia will provide spinach, silverbeet, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, broad beans, carrots, beetroot, and garlic right through winter — often with minimal effort and no supplemental heating. This is the garden that pays for itself.
Personalised Autumn Planting Schedule
Plant Planner uses your exact postcode to calculate your climate zone and generate precise autumn planting dates — including when to sow, when to transplant, and when to expect harvests.
Unlock FreeBest Autumn Vegetables for Australian Gardens
These 15 crops are the backbone of a successful Australian autumn garden. Most are suitable across multiple climate zones — check the zone column and compare with your location.
Garlic
Temperate, Cool, Arid
Plant April–June, harvest December
Broccoli
All zones
Best autumn brassica, high yield
Cauliflower
Temperate, Subtropical, Arid
Plant March–April for winter heads
Kale
All zones
Frost-hardy, harvests all winter
Spinach
All zones
Fast-growing, sow direct
Silverbeet
All zones
Cut-and-come-again for months
Cabbage
Temperate, Cool, Subtropical
March–May transplants
Broad Beans
Temperate, Cool
Nitrogen-fixing, plant April–June
Peas & Snow Peas
Temperate, Cool, Subtropical
Sow direct in autumn
Carrot
All zones
Autumn soil temperatures ideal
Beetroot
All zones
Sow direct, germinates quickly
Leek
All zones
Plant seedlings March–April
Asian Greens
All zones
Bok choy, pak choy, mizuna
Lettuce
All zones
Succession plant every 3 weeks
Tomato (late)
Tropical, Subtropical only
Last chance in north
Autumn Planting Calendar — March, April & May by Climate Zone
Australia spans five distinct climate zones and the same month means entirely different things across them. Find your zone and use the relevant column for your timing.
🌴 Tropical Australia
March
End of wet season. Tomato, capsicum, cucumber, eggplant, beans. Start of your best season.
April
Dry season begins. Plant everything — tomatoes, lettuce, brassicas, Asian greens, pumpkin.
May
Prime growing continues. All brassicas, root veg, leafy greens, fruiting crops all thriving.
Zone tip: Tropical gardeners have it backwards — autumn and winter are your summer. March marks the end of the humid wet season. By April you can grow almost anything. Focus heavily on warm-season crops in the first half of March, then transition to cool-season varieties.
☀️ Subtropical Australia
March
Still warm. Sow tomato, capsicum late crop. Begin brassica seedlings for April transplant.
April
Peak planting month. Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, garlic, broad beans, peas, leek.
May
All cool-season crops in full swing. Garlic, silverbeet, Asian greens, carrots, beetroot.
Zone tip: Autumn is the best season in subtropical Queensland and northern NSW. April and May offer cooler temperatures without frost risk. You can grow the full range of cool-season crops while still finishing warm-season harvests. Tomatoes planted in late March in frost-free areas will continue through to July.
🍂 Temperate Australia
March
Harvest summer crops. Transplant broccoli, cauliflower. Sow spinach, silverbeet, radish.
April
Plant garlic. Sow broad beans, peas. Transplant brassicas. Prepare beds cleared of summer crops.
May
Last call for cool-season planting. Garlic, broad beans, peas, winter greens before frosts settle.
Zone tip: In temperate zones (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide), autumn is a transition of urgency and opportunity. March sees you harvesting the last of summer while scrambling to get brassica seedlings in. April is your most important month — garlic must go in now, broad beans need to establish before winter, and your cleared beds need composting and replanting.
❄️ Cool/Alpine Australia
March
Harvest urgently — frost approaching. Plant fast-maturing greens, garlic, broad beans only.
April
First frosts possible. Plant garlic, broad beans under cover. Harvest remaining summer crops.
May
Winter proper. Very little planting. Protect established cool-season crops with fleece/cloche.
Zone tip: Cool and alpine zones (Hobart, Ballarat, Orange, alpine Victoria) have a short autumn window. March is often still warm enough for planting, but by May most planting is done. Garlic is the critical autumn crop — plant it by May for a December harvest. A greenhouse or cold frame extends your season significantly.
🏜️ Arid/Semi-arid Australia
March
Temperatures finally cooling. Begin transitioning from heat-resistant crops to cool-season.
April
Prime planting month. Tomato, capsicum still viable. Begin broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beans.
May
Excellent growing conditions. All cool-season crops, root vegetables, brassicas, leafy greens.
Zone tip: Arid gardeners get a second spring in autumn. After brutal summer heat, March signals the beginning of 6 months of great growing. Mulching becomes even more critical in autumn to preserve soil moisture as irrigation needs to be managed carefully. By April you can grow virtually anything the temperate zones grow in spring.
| Climate Zone | March | April | May |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌴 Tropical | End of wet season. Tomato, capsicum, cucumber, eggplant, beans. Start of your best season. | Dry season begins. Plant everything — tomatoes, lettuce, brassicas, Asian greens, pumpkin. | Prime growing continues. All brassicas, root veg, leafy greens, fruiting crops all thriving. |
| ☀️ Subtropical | Still warm. Sow tomato, capsicum late crop. Begin brassica seedlings for April transplant. | Peak planting month. Broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spinach, garlic, broad beans, peas, leek. | All cool-season crops in full swing. Garlic, silverbeet, Asian greens, carrots, beetroot. |
| 🍂 Temperate | Harvest summer crops. Transplant broccoli, cauliflower. Sow spinach, silverbeet, radish. | Plant garlic. Sow broad beans, peas. Transplant brassicas. Prepare beds cleared of summer crops. | Last call for cool-season planting. Garlic, broad beans, peas, winter greens before frosts settle. |
| ❄️ Cool/Alpine | Harvest urgently — frost approaching. Plant fast-maturing greens, garlic, broad beans only. | First frosts possible. Plant garlic, broad beans under cover. Harvest remaining summer crops. | Winter proper. Very little planting. Protect established cool-season crops with fleece/cloche. |
| 🏜️ Arid/Semi-arid | Temperatures finally cooling. Begin transitioning from heat-resistant crops to cool-season. | Prime planting month. Tomato, capsicum still viable. Begin broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, beans. | Excellent growing conditions. All cool-season crops, root vegetables, brassicas, leafy greens. |
Not sure of your climate zone? Enter your postcode in Plant Planner for an automatic zone match and personalised calendar.
From the makers
Get Exact Autumn Planting Dates for Your Postcode
Plant Planner calculates your climate zone from your postcode and generates a personalised autumn–winter planting schedule with sowing dates, quantities for your family, and email reminders.
Preparing Your Raised Beds for Autumn
A successful autumn garden starts with bed preparation. After the heat and harvest of summer, your raised beds need attention before the cool-season crops go in. These steps are the difference between a thriving autumn garden and a struggling one.
1Clear and Compost Summer Crops
Remove spent tomato, zucchini, bean, and cucurbit plants entirely. Cut them at soil level rather than pulling — this leaves roots to decompose and feeds soil biology. Diseased material goes in the bin, not the compost. Healthy green matter is great compost material. Do this in March so your beds have time to settle before April planting.
2Top-Dress with Compost
Add 5–10cm of quality compost across your beds after clearing. Autumn is the best time to do this — the compost will be incorporated by worms and soil organisms over the cooler months, creating beautiful soil structure for spring. Use aged compost or worm castings for best results. Avoid fresh manures too close to planting.
3Adjust pH for Brassicas
Brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale) are the stars of the autumn garden and they prefer a slightly alkaline soil of pH 6.5–7.2. After a summer of heavy feeding and possible acidic fertilisers, your beds may have drifted. A handful of garden lime or dolomite per square metre, raked in two weeks before planting, can make a significant difference to brassica performance.
4Mulch for Moisture and Warmth
A 5–8cm layer of straw, sugar cane mulch, or wood chips around (but not touching) your seedlings does three things in autumn: conserves moisture as rainfall becomes less reliable, keeps soil temperature stable during cool nights, and suppresses winter weeds. In cooler zones, mulch also acts as light frost protection for shallow-rooted crops.
5Fertilise Strategically
Leafy crops and brassicas are heavy nitrogen feeders. Work a balanced slow-release fertiliser into your beds before planting. For raised beds, a mix of blood-and-bone plus potash works well for brassicas and root vegetables. Avoid excessive nitrogen for root vegetables (carrots, beetroot) — it produces lush tops at the expense of the edible roots.
6Plan for Crop Rotation
Never plant brassicas in the same bed as last season's brassicas — clubroot and other diseases persist in soil for years. If tomatoes occupied a bed in summer, autumn is ideal for brassicas or root vegetables there. Legumes (peas, broad beans) fix nitrogen and should ideally precede heavy feeders. Plan your autumn beds as part of a 3–4 year rotation across your beds.
Autumn Companion Planting
Getting the right plants next to each other in your raised beds maximises space and improves plant health. Here are the key companion planting relationships for autumn crops.
| Crop | Good Companions | Avoid Planting Near |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | Beetroot, Celery, Chamomile | Strawberries, Tomato |
| Garlic | Roses, Carrots, Brassicas | Peas, Beans, Parsley |
| Kale | Dill, Sage, Mint, Beetroot | Tomato, Strawberry, Runner Beans |
| Peas | Carrots, Radish, Mint, Lettuce | Garlic, Onion, Chives |
| Spinach | Strawberries, Brassicas, Peas | None significant |
| Carrot | Leek, Onion, Peas, Lettuce | Dill, Parsnip |
For a full companion planting guide, see our complete companion planting chart.
Don't Miss the Garlic Planting Window
Garlic is the single most important crop to get in during autumn. It requires a period of cold (vernalisation) to develop proper bulbs — without it, you get single-clove rounds rather than full heads. In temperate and cool zones, plant between April and June for a November–December harvest. In subtropical zones, June–July works best. In tropical zones, garlic is challenging but possible in the coolest months (July–August).
Plant individual cloves pointed-end up, 5cm deep and 15cm apart in rows 25cm apart. A single raised bed of 1.2m × 2.4m can accommodate 60+ garlic plants — more than enough for most families. Hardneck varieties like Purple Stripe and German Red suit cool zones; softneck varieties like Silverskin suit warmer areas and store longer.