City · Melbourne
Melbourne planting calendar
Melbourne is zone 10 with a cool, changeable summer; frost is rare and light, and the autumn break in March is the real start of the garden year. The calendar is inverted against Europe: plant trees and bulbs in autumn, protect them from heat in January.
Zone10
FrostFrost rare and light · autumn break in March
ClimateTemperate and arid
RegionAustralasia
Months12
| Month | Sow | Plant out | Tend / harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Autumn brassicas and lettuce | Nothing in the heat | Water deeply, shade new plants, harvest tomatoes |
| Feb | Winter greens and radish | Late beans and cucumber | Save seed, compost, prepare autumn beds |
| Mar | Broad beans, peas and spinach | Broccoli, cabbage and leeks | Autumn break: plant trees and shrubs, mulch |
| Apr | Garlic and onion | Strawberries and perennial herbs | Plant bare-root trees and roses, prune |
| May | Broad beans and peas | Bare-root fruit trees and roses | First frost inland; protect tender plants |
| Jun | Microgreens indoors | Bare-root trees and hedging | Prune, mulch, plan the spring rotation |
| Jul | Tomato indoors | Bare-root trees, asparagus crowns | Prune, prepare beds, repair structures |
| Aug | Tomato and pepper indoors; peas outdoors | Potatoes and onion | Last frost in September; harden off seedlings |
| Sep | Beet, carrot and lettuce | Tomato, beans after the last frost | Spring: mulch, water, stake |
| Oct | Corn, squash and beans | Tomato, pepper and basil | Water, stake, watch for caterpillars |
| Nov | Succession lettuce and radish | Cucumber and pumpkin | Harvest, water, thin fruit |
| Dec | Salad and herbs | Nothing in the heat | Water, shade, harvest daily |
How to use it. Start with the frost line, not the month name. If your last frost is earlier or later than the one above, shift the spring rows by the same number of weeks. Soil temperature matters more than the date for warm-season crops.
What this calendar assumes
- An open, sunny bed with drainage; shade and wet soil shift every row.
- Typical frost dates for the zone or city, not a specific garden's microclimate.
- Seed and transplant dates for a home garden, not commercial scheduling.
- No heated greenhouse; a polytunnel or conservatory buys two to four weeks at each end.
Check locally
Bureau of Meteorology · CSIRO. For the US, the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the zone reference; your state extension service has frost normals for your county.
Related
Horticulture in Australasia · all calendars · plant spacing chart · soil calculator