When to Plant Lentils in Cairns, Tropical Guide
What this month normally looks like in Tropical
In October the Tropical zone normally runs 34°C by day and 23°C overnight, with about 53 mm of rain over 5 or 6 wet days. Averages 1991 to 2026, 37 postcodes, SILO.
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This Lentils guide is written for the Tropical zone, which takes in Cairns, Townsville and Darwin. Somewhere else? Your postcode picks the right one.
Not your zone? Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Canberra Alice Springs Perth
Also handy: will it frost this week? and what grows in shade.
- Sun
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 10 cm apart
- Soil pH
- Neutral–slightly alkaline (unsourced for home gardens).
Lentil is a small, cool season annual pulse grown as a winter broadacre crop in southern Australia.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Tropical
Lentils is not recommended for Tropical.
Cannot be grown outdoors here. Lentil is a cool season winter pulse of southern Australia and no opened source describes it cropping in the wet tropics, where the humid growing season rots the pods.
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
One email a week with what is worth planting in the Tropical zone right now, Lentils included, plus which veg has jumped in price at the supermarket. Free, and you can stop it in one click.
How to Grow Lentils in Tropical Australia
- Soil
- Well drained, light to medium soil; lentils fail in waterlogged ground.
- Salt
- Sensitive. Struggles with salty bore water or salty soil. Give it rainwater if you can.
- pH Range
- Neutral to slightly alkaline (unsourced for home gardens).
- Sunlight
- Full sun.
- Spacing
- 10cm apart, 30cm between rows
- Watering
- Light. Lentils are grown on winter rain in the grain belt; water only if the bed dries out before pods fill.
- Good companions
- Cucumber, Basil, Chives, Potato, Summer savory
- Keep away from
- Garlic, Onion
- Grow before it
- Roots and alliums (Carrot, Beetroot, Onion)
- Grow after it
- Leafy greens and brassicas (Lettuce, Silverbeet, Broccoli)
Give the bed 3 turns before legumes go back in. Beans and peas fix nitrogen, so they leave the bed richer than they found it.
Tropical Growing Tips for Lentils
Recommended Varieties
- Any lentil sold as seed by Succeed Heirlooms
Key Challenges
- Humidity
- No cool dry season
Pro Tips
- Grow mung beans or pigeon peas instead.
Pests and problems for Lentils in Tropical
Harvesting Lentils
When ready: Pods turn brown and dry; the plant yellows.
How to harvest: Pull whole plants when most pods are dry, hang in a dry airy shed, then thresh and winnow.
Storing and preserving lentils
How to keep it
- Dry storage. Dry pods on the plant until they rattle, shell, spread the seeds on trays for another week in a dry airy spot, then jar. Freeze the jar for 48 hours first if you want to kill any weevil eggs (USU storing dry beans, via the existing chickpea record). Keeps: 12 months or more.
- Freezing cooked beans. Cook fully, cool, freeze in portions with a little liquid. Keeps: 8 to 12 months.
- Pressure canning. Soak 12 to 18 hours, boil 30 minutes, pack hot with 2.5 cm headspace, process at 10 to 11 psi for 75 minutes (pints) or 90 minutes (quarts) (NCHFP). Keeps: 12 months.
What members get
- Soil and weather from your nearest station
- An email when it's time to sow
- Your own garden plan, including planning from a photo
- Price history and price alerts
- Pest risk alerts for your area
- Full salt and canning detail
Common Questions About Lentils
When do you plant lentils in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): not recommended
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Apr to Jul
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Apr to Jul
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Apr to Jul
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Apr to Jul
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Apr to Jul
- Mediterranean (Perth): Apr to Jul
When should I plant Lentils in Cairns?
Cannot be grown outdoors here. Lentil is a cool season winter pulse of southern Australia and no opened source describes it cropping in the wet tropics, where the humid growing season rots the pods.
How do I know when Lentils are ready to harvest?
Pods turn brown and dry; the plant yellows.
What are the best Lentils varieties for Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical zone include: Any lentil sold as seed by Succeed Heirlooms.
What grows well with Lentils?
Good companion plants for Lentils include: Cucumber, Basil, Chives, Potato, Summer savory.
Are lentils salt tolerant?
No. Lentils are salt-sensitive, one of the more sensitive veggies. Use rainwater if your bore water is salty, or grow them in a raised bed of fresh mix if your soil is.
Which zone am I in?
Type your postcode into the box near the top of the page and it tells you, and links this crop in your own zone if it differs. Or look it up on the grow zone map. This page is the Tropical zone, Cairns is its reference city.