What to Plant Now in Australia: October 2026 by Zone
What to plant, harvest and prepare this month depends on where you garden. Pick your climate zone below for the October edition, refreshed every month.
October means very different things across Australia. In the tropics it is the build-up before the wet season, in the Subtropics and Sydney it is the main planting month for tomatoes and beans, in Adelaide and Perth it is the last chance to get summer crops in before the dry, and in the cool south frost can still arrive. Each page below gives you what to plant, what to hold off, what to harvest, jobs for the month and what to watch for, including a short section for people who keep animals.
Watch: what to plant in October in every zone
A 19-second silent video summary. The words on screen are written out under the video.
Video transcript
Intro: Holly's Homestead.
OCTOBER 2026. What do you plant in October?. It depends where you live.
PLANT NOW. Tropical. Darwin, Cairns, Townsville. Sweet potato. Okra. Snake beans. Pumpkin
PLANT NOW. Subtropical. Brisbane, Gold Coast, northern NSW. Tomato. Capsicum. Zucchini. Cucumber
PLANT NOW. Warm Temperate. Sydney and coastal NSW. Tomato. Beans. Cucumber. Zucchini
PLANT NOW. Mediterranean. Adelaide, Perth. Tomato. Capsicum. Cucumber. Beans
PLANT NOW. Cool Temperate. Tasmania, Victoria, Canberra. Potato. Peas. Lettuce. Carrot
PLANT NOW. Arid. Alice Springs, Mallee, outback. Watermelon. Pumpkin. Okra. Sweet potato
Your zone. Your month. Updated every month for all six climate zones. Pick your zone below
Outro: hollyshomestead.com.au.
Choose your climate zone
Tropical
October is the build-up in the tropics: hot, humid and still mostly dry until the first storms.
- Sweet potato
- Okra
- Snake beans
- Pumpkin
- Taro
- Ginger
Subtropical
October is the big warm-season planting month in the subtropics.
- Tomato
- Capsicum
- Zucchini
- Cucumber
- Corn
- Sweet potato
Warm Temperate
October is when the vegetable garden swings from cool-season to warm-season crops in Sydney and coastal NSW.
- Tomato
- Beans
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- Corn
- Basil
Mediterranean
October is the hinge month in Adelaide and Perth.
- Tomato
- Capsicum
- Cucumber
- Beans
- Corn
- Pumpkin
Cool Temperate
October is spring, but frosts are still possible in cool temperate regions.
- Potato
- Peas
- Lettuce
- Carrot
- Onion seedlings
- Silverbeet
Arid
October is when the heat arrives in arid Australia.
- Watermelon
- Pumpkin
- Okra
- Sweet potato
- Eggplant
- Basil
Your zone is highlighted if you have set it in the menu. Find my climate zone by postcode.
How we write these
Each month we update every zone page with the planting windows and seasonal jobs that typically apply, drawing on the planting guidance in our own grow guides and our Planting Calendar. These are guides to typical timing, not forecasts or exact dates. Local frost, altitude and microclimate always matter.
Next update: 1 November 2026.
Also in Garden News
Why More Australians Are Turning to Self-Sufficiency in 2026: a researched feature on what is driving the shift to growing food, storing water and installing batteries, and where to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is this page updated?
Every month. This edition covers October 2026, and the next update is due on 1 November 2026.
Which climate zone am I in?
Australia has six broad growing zones on this site: Tropical, Subtropical, Warm Temperate, Mediterranean, Cool Temperate and Arid. Enter your postcode in our Find My Climate Zone tool and it sets your zone across the site.
Why does the same month look so different around Australia?
Frost, rainfall and heat all vary with latitude, altitude and distance from the coast. October is the main warm-season planting month on the east coast, the hinge month in the Mediterranean zone, the build-up in the tropics and still frosty in the cool south.
Are these planting dates exact?
No. They are typical windows for each zone. Your own frost dates, altitude and microclimate matter, so adjust a week or two either way.