When to Plant Quinoa 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 Quinoa 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.
- Planting window
- Apr to May
- Days to harvest
- about 15 weeks
- Sun
- Full sun
- Water
- Regular
- Spacing
- 35 cm apart
Quinoa is a tall annual grown for its seed. Sow in spring once frost has passed. Plants reach about 1.2 m and need staking to hold the seed heads. Seed is ready about 12 to 14 weeks after sowing, once the leaves drop.
Published · By GardenBuddy.au
Planting dates, current conditions and prices on this page update daily.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Planting Calendar for Tropical
- Jan -
- Feb -
- Mar -
- Apr D
- May D
- Jun -
- Jul -
- Aug -
- Sep -
- Oct -
- Nov -
- Dec -
S = Seed Tray T = Transplant D = Direct Sow
Want a nudge when it is sowing time?
One email a week with what is worth planting in the Tropical zone right now, Quinoa included, plus which veg has jumped in price at the supermarket. Free, and you can stop it in one click.
How to Grow Quinoa in Tropical Australia
- Soil
- Well drained soil enriched with compost and aged manure (Bunnings).
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- Sunlight
- Full sun (Bunnings).
- Spacing
- 35cm apart
- Watering
- Keep consistently moist until germination. Plants are drought resistant once established (Bunnings).
- Good companions
- Nasturtium, Sweet Corn, Basil, Garlic, Mint
- Keep away from
- Beetroot, Fennel, Silverbeet, Spinach
- Grow before it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
- Grow after it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
Give the bed 3 turns before leafy greens go back in. Leaf crops want the nitrogen the legumes left behind.
Tropical Growing Tips for Quinoa
Key Challenges
- Heat and humidity at flowering
- Weeds
Pro Tips
- Water until seedlings emerge
- Stake the tall plants
Pests and problems for Quinoa in Tropical
Harvesting Quinoa
When ready: Wait until the leaves have dropped (Bunnings).
How to harvest: Cut the stalks and dry them in a bucket or paper bag. Strip off the seed and leaves, sieve out debris, winnow with moving air, then dry indoors for several weeks before storing (Bunnings).
Storing and preserving quinoa
How to keep it
- Drying. Dry the stalks, strip and winnow the seed, then dry indoors for several weeks before storing. Rinse well before cooking (Bunnings).
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 Quinoa
When do you plant quinoa in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to May
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Aug to Oct
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Sep to Nov
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Oct to Nov
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Nov
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Sep to Oct
- Mediterranean (Perth): Sep to Nov
Can you grow quinoa all year round in Cairns?
No. In the Tropical zone the planting months are Apr to May. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Quinoa in Cairns?
No home garden calendar was found. WA trials at Kununurra, an irrigated tropical site, did best from mid April sowing (DPIRD). Heat and humidity at flowering are the risk. Our rating is a judgement.
How do I know when Quinoa are ready to harvest?
Wait until the leaves have dropped (Bunnings).
What grows well with Quinoa?
Good companion plants for Quinoa include: Nasturtium, Sweet Corn, Basil, Garlic, Mint.
Are quinoa salt tolerant?
Only a little. Quinoa are moderately sensitive to salt, so the harvest drops on salty bore water. Mix salty water with rainwater, and mulch the bed.
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.