Two references, two growing contexts
Queensland planting windows, with each place in view.
Start with the Queensland Government's broad subtropical guidance or Cairns Regional Council's local tropical notes. Their crop windows stay attached to their source area, so you can choose the reference that better fits your garden.
This page holds separate local references, not one calendar for the whole state.
01 · Broad reference
Subtropical Queensland
02 · Local guide
Cairns · Tropical North
Queensland Government · Australian months
Subtropical Queensland
The Government factsheet groups these crops under its subtropical heading. It is a broad reference relevant to Brisbane and coastal South-East Queensland, not a Brisbane-specific calendar.
Silverbeet / rainbow chard
Planting method
Separate Queensland Government category
‘All other areas’
The same factsheet lists basil, snake beans and Malabar spinach under its separate ‘all other areas’ heading.
This is the source's broad ‘all other areas’ category, not a locally validated Brisbane calendar. Keep it separate from the subtropical and Cairns references.
Seasonal advice
Keep these cues seasonal
The Queensland Government source gives these planting times by season, not by exact month.
Parsley
Autumn
Sow seed or plant seedlings.
Sweet potato
Late spring to early summer
Use a cutting or tuber.
Cairns Regional Council · Tropical North Queensland
Cairns, with a local tropical guide
These crop windows come from Cairns Regional Council's Green Space Cookbook. The guide describes local growing conditions and keeps each seed or seedling method visible where it is stated.
Work with the usual wet and dry seasons
Wet season · usually
December–April
Dry season · usually
May–November
These are usual patterns, not fixed annual boundaries. The council guide's wording about when the wet season begins is unclear, so use current local conditions rather than treating a month as an exact start date.
Prepare for the dry-season planting window
Heavy rain can waterlog or flood soil, while fast runoff can wash young seedlings away; keep delicate starts in a sheltered, well-drained spot during downpours. The council guide recommends preparing in late March for April–May dry-season planting, after heavy wet-season rain subsides.
Cairns crop windows
Seven crops from the council guide
Australian months · methods shown as stated
Snake beans
Planting method
For a heavy wet-season crop, sow directly in November–December.
The council guide says snake beans grow year-round in the tropics.
Kale
Planting method
Plant seedlings.
Broccoli
Planting method
Plant seedlings.
Heading varies with whether winter is cool enough.
Parsley
Planting method
Sow seed directly or plant seedlings.
Rosella
Planting method
Sow seed directly or in trays.
Zucchini
Planting method
Sow seed directly or plant seedlings.
Sweet basil
Planting method
The source does not specify seed or seedling for this window.
Sources and scope
Where these windows and notes come from
Crop dates stay linked to the source area that supplied them. General climate pages provide context only and do not broaden the local planting calendars.
Queensland Government, Grow What? Qld School Veggie Gardens (12 October 2023)
The factsheet separates its subtropical and ‘all other areas’ crop windows and includes advice stated by season. This guide keeps those categories and seasonal notes distinct.
Queensland Government, Want to grow your own vegetables? What you need to know
General Queensland growing context. This article is not used to set the crop windows on this page.
Bureau of Meteorology, Australian climate zones
Broad climate context only. The Bureau's climate-zone information does not supply the crop planting dates shown here.
Cairns Regional Council, The Green Space Cookbook
The Cairns council guide supplies the local tropical crop windows and wet- and dry-season notes used in the Cairns section.
