Plant library
Growing guides checked by local gardeners, with planting times worked out from 30 years of climate data.
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Beetroot
VegetableAn easy root crop for most of the year in Adelaide, giving sweet roots and edible leaves in 8 to 10 weeks. Each seed capsule holds several seeds, so thin seedlings to 8 to 10 cm apart. Keep the soil evenly moist; dry spells make roots woody and ringed.Borage
Companion flowerA bee magnet with starry blue flowers. Plant it near tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin and strawberries to bring in pollinators for a bigger crop. Grows fast and easily from seed, and self-seeds for next year.Broad bean
VegetableA hardy cool-season legume sown in autumn for big pods in spring, and a great soil improver. Plants grow tall, so stake or string them before wind knocks them over. Pinch out the growing tips once the lowest pods form to deter aphids and speed pod fill.Calendula
Companion flowerA tough, sunny cool-season flower with edible petals. It attracts hoverflies and ladybirds that eat aphids, and keeps flowering through autumn, winter and spring when little else does. A great partner for brassicas and salad greens.Dwarf bean
VegetableA compact, fast summer bean needing no trellis, cropping about 8 to 10 weeks after sowing. Sow directly into warm soil from spring to midsummer. It crops in a burst, so sow a new row every 3 to 4 weeks for a steady supply.French marigold
Companion flowerThe classic companion flower for the veggie patch. Bright, compact and easy, it flowers all summer and draws in hoverflies, whose larvae eat aphids. Tuck it beside tomatoes, capsicum and zucchini, and along bed edges.Kale
VegetableA tough leafy brassica that grows through Adelaide's autumn and winter and keeps producing for months. Pick lower leaves regularly and leave the top to keep growing. Cold weather sweetens the leaves; summer brings bolting and caterpillars.Lettuce
VegetableA quick salad crop for most of the year in Adelaide, with leafy types ready in 6 to 8 weeks. It prefers cooler months; in summer give afternoon shade and plenty of water, or it bolts and turns bitter. Sow small amounts often for a steady supply.Mizuna
VegetableA fast, frilly Asian green with a mild mustard flavour, great in salads. In Adelaide it grows best from autumn to early spring and runs to seed as the weather warms. Pick leaves as you need them and it keeps cropping for weeks.Nasturtium
Companion flowerA cheerful, edible trailing flower that works as a trap crop: aphids and cabbage white caterpillars often go for it first, sparing your veggies. Peppery leaves and flowers are lovely in salads. Easy from seed, even in poor soil.Parsley
HerbA biennial herb that gives leaves for months, sown or planted in autumn or spring in Adelaide. Seed is slow to germinate (up to 3 weeks), so many gardeners buy seedlings. Pick outer stems regularly and keep the plant watered to delay flowering.Pea
VegetableA sweet cool-season legume sown in autumn and winter in Adelaide for spring pods. Most need a trellis or netting to climb. Pick pods often, as plants stop flowering once pods mature, and dig the spent plants into the soil to feed the next crop.Radish
VegetableThe fastest crop in the garden, with round radishes ready in about 4 weeks. Sow seed directly almost all year in Adelaide, avoiding the hottest weeks when they get hot and pithy. Keep moist and pick on time; left too long they turn woody and split.Rocket
VegetableA fast, peppery salad green that's ready in about 4 weeks and does best in Adelaide's cooler months. In warm weather it bolts and gets very hot, so give summer sowings shade. Pick leaves young and often.Silverbeet
VegetableOne of the easiest, most productive greens for Adelaide gardens, cropping for a year or more from one planting. It tolerates heat better than spinach and is rarely troubled by pests. Pick outer leaves regularly and keep it watered for tender growth.Sweet alyssum
Companion flowerA low carpet of tiny honey-scented flowers that feeds hoverflies and tiny parasitic wasps, two of the best aphid and caterpillar hunters. Edge your beds with it, or tuck it between lettuces and brassicas. Flowers most of the year in Adelaide.Turnip
VegetableA quick, easy root crop ready in 6 to 10 weeks. In Adelaide, sow from late summer through autumn and again in late winter; roots grown into summer heat turn woody and hot. The young leaves are edible too.Zucchini
VegetableThe easiest summer vegetable in Adelaide: one or two plants feed a family from midsummer to autumn. Sow or plant once the soil is warm. Pick fruit small, every day or two, before they become marrows.