When to Plant Tatsoi in Cairns, Tropical Guide
Soil temperature is modelled from Open-Meteo forecast (Cairns), not a live sensor.
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 Tatsoi 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 Aug
- Days to harvest
- 45 days
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Regular
- Spacing
- 20 cm apart
Tatsoi is a compact Asian green that grows as a flat rosette of dark, spoon shaped leaves with a mild mustard flavour. It is very cold tolerant, grows fast and can be picked as baby leaf in about 3 weeks.
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 D
- Jul D
- Aug D
- 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, Tatsoi included, plus which veg has jumped in price at the supermarket. Free, and you can stop it in one click.
How to Grow Tatsoi in Tropical Australia
- Soil
- Free draining soil with plenty of organic matter. Dig in well rotted manure or compost a few weeks before sowing (Succeed Heirlooms). Use a raised bed or pot if the soil is clay or compacted.
- Salt
- Moderately sensitive. Copes with a little salt, but the harvest drops on salty bore water.
- Sunlight
- Full sun or light shade (Succeed Heirlooms, The Seed Collection).
- Spacing
- 20cm apart, 40cm between rows
- Watering
- Keep the soil moist and well watered (The Seed Collection). Mulch to hold the moisture in.
- Good companions
- Nasturtium, Dwarf Beans, Onion, Cucumber, Beetroot
- Keep away from
- Tomato, Climbing beans, Strawberry, Other brassicas in the same bed next season
- Grow before it
- Legumes (Beans - Dwarf, Peas, Broad Beans)
- Grow after it
- Fruiting crops (Tomato, Capsicum, Zucchini)
Give the bed 3 turns before brassicas go back in. The cabbage family is hungry for nitrogen and shares club root and other soil diseases.
Tropical Growing Tips for Tatsoi
Recommended Varieties
- Tatsoi
Key Challenges
- Wet season heat and rain
- Caterpillars
- Soft rot in humid weather
Pro Tips
- Sow in the cooler, drier months
- Net from sowing
- Water the soil, not the crown
Pests and problems for Tatsoi in Tropical
- Common Garden Snail Watch
- Slugs Watch
- Clubroot Rotate brassicas, lime acid soil towards a pH of about 7 and keep tools and soil from infected beds away from clean ones. Watch
- White Blister Space plants for airflow, water in the morning at the base and rotate away from other brassicas. Watch
- Caterpillars Caterpillars Watch
- Soft rot Soft rot in humid weather Watch
Harvesting Tatsoi
When ready: Pick baby leaf from about 21 days, or let the rosette fill out for 6 to 9 weeks (The Seed Collection, Succeed Heirlooms).
How to harvest: Pick the outer leaves first and cut as close to the base of the leaf stalk as you can, to protect the growing point (Succeed Heirlooms). Or cut the whole rosette.
Storing and preserving tatsoi
How to keep it
- Eat fresh. Tatsoi is best picked and eaten fresh in salads, stir fries and hot pots (Succeed Heirlooms). No Australian preserving source was read.
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 Tatsoi
When do you plant tatsoi in Australia?
It depends on your climate zone, not the calendar month alone. Planting months by zone:
- Tropical (Cairns): Apr to Aug
- Subtropical (Brisbane): Mar to Sep
- Warm Temperate (Sydney): Jan to Mar, Sep to Dec
- Cool Temperate (Melbourne): Jan to Feb, Sep to Dec
- Cold / Highland (Canberra): Jan to Feb, Oct to Dec
- Arid / Semi-Arid (Alice Springs): Mar to Aug
- Mediterranean (Perth): Jan to Mar, Sep to Dec
Can you grow tatsoi all year round in Cairns?
No. In the Tropical zone the planting months are Apr to Aug. Outside that window it either bolts, sulks or gets cut down by the weather.
When should I plant Tatsoi in Cairns?
Dry season only, from April to August. Wet season heat and rain make tatsoi bolt or rot. Sow in the cooler, drier months and keep the water even.
What soil temperature do Tatsoi need?
Tatsoi germinate best when soil temperature is between 12°C and 28°C.
How do I know when Tatsoi are ready to harvest?
Pick baby leaf from about 21 days, or let the rosette fill out for 6 to 9 weeks (The Seed Collection, Succeed Heirlooms).
What are the best Tatsoi varieties for Cairns?
Recommended varieties for the Tropical zone include: Tatsoi.
What grows well with Tatsoi?
Good companion plants for Tatsoi include: Nasturtium, Dwarf Beans, Onion, Cucumber, Beetroot.
Are tatsoi salt tolerant?
Only a little. Tatsoi 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.