Plant Now — what to plant this month
/plant-now/ answers one question — which crops can I plant in the ground right now, in my zone, without a greenhouse or special tricks? Free, no signup, the most-used free tool on the site.
Using it
- Open /plant-now/. The page loads with today’s month and a zone picker showing Australia’s seven climate zones.
- Click your zone. The seven options match Australia’s zones: Tropical, Subtropical, Warm Temperate, Cool Temperate, Cold / Highland, Arid / Semi-Arid, Mediterranean.
- A list appears of every crop in its optimal planting window for that zone this month.
- Click any crop for the full per-zone growing guide at
/veggie-guide/{zone}/{crop}/.
What “optimal planting window” means
Every crop has a range of months where three things are true:
- Soil temperature supports germination and early root growth (crop-specific range).
- Expected weather over the next 6–12 weeks matches the crop’s needs — not too hot, not too cold, not too wet at the wrong stage.
- The crop will reach harvest before seasonal conditions turn against it.
Outside that window, you can still plant — but you’re fighting the season, not working with it. Expect slower growth, more pest pressure, and possibly a failed crop.
Why the list changes by zone and month
| Month + Zone | Approximate crop count | Character of the list |
|---|---|---|
| April Subtropical | 37 | Cool-season brassicas, legumes, leafy greens — autumn planting peak |
| July Subtropical | 28 | Narrow mid-winter list — cold-tolerant only |
| December Subtropical | 22 | Heat-loving — tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, cucumbers, sweet corn |
| April Cool Temperate | 18 | Cold-hardy autumn + early winter prep |
| April Tropical | 25 | Dry-season build-up crops — sweet potato, snake bean |
“Coming soon” section
Below the current-month list, a second section shows “coming up in 1–2 months” — crops that can’t be planted this month but are about to come into window. Useful for:
- Ordering seeds in advance (some varieties sell out)
- Starting punnet-raised seedlings so they’re transplant-ready when the window opens
- Preparing beds (mulching, resting, adding amendments) for upcoming crops
Click any crop for the full guide
Every crop name links to /veggie-guide/{your-zone}/{crop}/. That page has:
- 12-month planting calendar with current month highlighted
- Soil temperature range for germination
- Days to harvest for your zone
- Companion plants
- Common pests in your zone
- Variety recommendations that perform locally
Why /plant-now/ is free
The whole reason Garden Buddy exists is to stop people planting the wrong thing at the wrong time. The paywall is on tracking what you planted (My Garden) and the personalised digest — not on the zone and planting data itself. Tell your friends; it genuinely helps them garden.
Where the zone data comes from
Aggregated from multiple sources:
- Bureau of Meteorology climate zone definitions
- State agriculture department planting guides (DAF Queensland, DPI NSW, Agric Victoria)
- 20+ years of commercial seed-supplier planting charts
- Heirloom seed networks (The Diggers Club, Green Harvest, Eden Seeds)
Data is manually curated (not auto-generated). If you spot an error — “coriander planting window for warm-temperate shows January but that bolts within weeks” — email us with your evidence and we’ll fix it.