Edible flowers
Alyssum
Flowers to leave mainly for visiting pollinators.
Australian plant growing guides
Browse vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers, with planting windows and practical growing guidance for Australian conditions.
Leafy greens
Amaranth
Young leaves to pick regularly, or seed heads to leave until mature.
Herbs
Angelica
Stems, leaves and seed heads; correct identification is essential before harvesting.
Herbs
Anise
Young leaves to pick sparingly, then brown seed heads to dry.
Perennial edibles
Asparagus
A permanent bed of crowns, with spear harvests once established.
Legumes
Asparagus pea
Small winged pods, best picked at just 2–3 cm long.
Herbs
Basil
Fragrant leaves to pick a little at a time.
Pods & fruit
Beans (bush/French)
Compact plants with tender green pods.
Herbs
Bee balm
Young leaves and fresh flowers, with blooms left for pollinators.
Roots & bulbs
Beetroot
Tender roots, with edible leaves as a bonus.
Tropical & subtropical edibles
Bitter melon
Firm green fruit to pick before it colours and splits.
Fruit
Blackcurrant
Aromatic Ribes berry requiring a cool winter.
Fruit
Blueberry — high-chill group
High-chill blueberry cultivars for reliably cold winters.
Fruit
Blueberry — low-chill group
Low-chill blueberry cultivars suited to mild-winter districts.
Herbs
Borage
Flowers mainly for pollinators. Read the cautions before considering food use.
Fruit
Boysenberry
Cultivated trailing bramble producing large dark berries.
Legumes
Broad beans
Young pods or shelled beans, depending on when you pick.
Leafy & brassicas
Broccoli
Flower heads picked before their buds open.
Leafy greens
Brussels sprouts
Firm sprouts harvested from the bottom of the stem upwards.
Roots & bulbs
Burdock
Roots to lift before they turn woody.
Leafy & brassicas
Cabbage
Firm heads that reward steady growth.
Edible flowers
Calendula
Fresh flower petals from correctly identified, unsprayed plants.
Fruiting crops
Cape gooseberry
Fruit that ripens inside a drying papery husk.
Perennial edibles
Caper bush
Unopened flower buds to cure or pickle before use.
Pods & fruit
Capsicum
Sweet peppers that change colour as they ripen.
Herbs
Caraway
Leaves in the first season, dry seed heads in the second.
Edible flowers
Carnation
Fresh petals to pick, removing the bitter white base.
Roots & bulbs
Carrot
Roots grown where you sow them.
Roots & tubers
Cassava
Tropical shrub grown from stems for starchy roots.
Leafy & brassicas
Cauliflower
Compact curds that need an even start.
Roots & bulbs
Celeriac
A swollen stem base that develops below a crown of leaves.
Vegetables
Celery
Pick outside stalks as needed, or harvest the whole plant.
Herbs
Chamomile
Open flower heads to pick dry and preserve with good airflow.
Herbs
Chervil
Young leaves to cut before flowering reduces their flavour.
Legumes
Chickpea
A cool-season pulse grown for fresh green or mature dry seed.
Leafy greens
Chicory
Leaves, heads or roots: choose a variety for the harvest you want.
Pods & fruit
Chilli
Colourful fruit with heat that varies by variety.
Leafy greens
Chinese cabbage
Firm heads, with outer leaves available for an earlier harvest.
Herbs
Chives
A clump of leaves to cut above the crown and allow to regrow.
Pods & fruit
Choko
Vigorous perennial vine producing pear-shaped edible fruit.
Leafy greens
Choy sum
Fast flowering brassica grown for crisp stems and leaves.
Legumes
Climbing beans
Climbing vines that reward frequent picking of tender pods.
Leafy greens
Collards
Outer leaves to pick while the growing tip keeps producing.
Herbs
Coriander
Fresh leaves or aromatic seed from the same plant.
Leafy greens
Corn salad
Tender rosettes for a cool-weather leaf harvest.
Edible flowers
Cornflower
Fresh petals from unsprayed flowers, leaving the central disc behind.
Legumes
Cowpeas
Young pods or mature dry peas from the same crop.
Pods & fruit
Cucumber
Crisp fruit from warm, steadily watered vines.
Herbs
Cumin
Brown seed heads to dry, thresh and store.
Edible flowers
Dahlia
Flowers and tubers; food use requires a known edible cultivar.
Roots & bulbs
Daikon
Firm roots to pull before they become pithy.
Herbs
Dandelion
Young leaves, newly opened flowers and established roots.
Herbs
Dill
Leafy stems to pick early, or seed heads to leave until brown.
Fruit
Dragon fruit
Climbing cactus grown for large night flowers and edible fruit.
Pods & fruit
Edamame
Vegetable soybeans harvested while the beans are green.
Pods & fruit
Eggplant
Glossy fruit on a warmth-loving plant.
Leafy greens
Endive
Crisp rosettes best picked before the leaves become coarse.
Herbs
Fennel
Fronds and dry seed heads; choose Florence fennel for swollen bases.
Herbs
Fenugreek
Young leafy growth or hard, mature seed from dried pods.
Vegetables
Florence fennel
A cool-to-mild-season fennel selected for its swollen leaf bases rather than the tall habit of herb fennel.
Edible flowers
French marigold
Bright flowers; use petals as food only from identified edible, unsprayed cultivars.
Leafy greens
Gai lan
Chinese broccoli with tender stems, leaves and flower buds.
Roots & tubers
Galangal
Aromatic perennial ginger grown for firm rhizomes.
Leafy greens
Garden cress
Young stems and leaves to snip before flowering.
Roots & bulbs
Garlic
Individual cloves grow into bulbs.
Tropical & subtropical edibles
Ginger
Young rhizomes to lift early, or mature roots with a stronger flavour.
Perennial edibles
Globe artichoke
A large perennial grown for its tightly closed flower heads.
Fruit
Gooseberry
European gooseberry shrub for cool-winter gardens.
Herbs
Hyssop
A perennial herb for modest harvests of young leafy shoots.
Leafy greens
Ice plant
Tender succulent tips; older growth becomes tougher and saltier.
Perennial edibles
Jerusalem artichoke
Tubers to dig after the tops die back; those left behind can regrow.
Roots & tubers
Jicama
Warm-season legume grown for its crisp edible storage root.
Leafy greens
Kale
Pick the lower leaves and leave the centre growing.
Roots & bulbs
Kohlrabi
A tender swollen stem, with young leaves to use as well.
Leafy greens
Komatsuna
Japanese mustard spinach with mild brassica leaves.
Pods & fruit
Lablab
Vigorous warm-season climbing bean with edible cultivars.
Herbs
Lavender
Culinary flower spikes to cut as the first florets open.
Roots & bulbs
Leek
A long, mild stem harvested as needed.
Herbs
Lemon balm
Leafy stems with their best aroma before flowering.
Pods & fruit
Lentil
Cool-season pulse forming small seed-filled pods.
Leafy & brassicas
Lettuce
Fresh leaves, loose rosettes or crisp heads.
Legumes
Lima bean
A warm-season bean grown for broad pods containing large, flat edible seed.
Herbs
Liquorice root
Mature roots harvested in portions from established plants.
Herbs
Lovage
Young leaves and hollow stems, with seed heads to collect later.
Fruiting crops
Luffa
Young fruit for eating; fully mature fruit for drying into sponges.
Leafy greens
Malabar spinach
Heat-loving edible vine with succulent leaves.
Roots & bulbs
Mangel wurzel
Large roots to lift before they become woody.
Fruiting crops
Marrow
Fruit picked tender for the kitchen or left to mature on the plant.
Herbs
Marshmallow
Leaves and mature roots from a perennial crown that needs room to recover.
Herbs
Meadowsweet
Fresh flowering tops and modest leaf harvests from established plants.
Herbs
Mint
Leafy stems for regular picking while the crown keeps growing.
Leafy greens
Mizuna
Leaves to snip above the crown for another harvest.
Fruit
Mulberry
Long-lived fruit tree with berries from white through purple-black.
Pods & fruit
Mung bean
Quick warm-season pulse for green pods or dry seed.
Leafy greens
Mustard greens
Young leaves to pick before heat and flowering make them coarse.
Edible flowers
Nasturtium
Leaves, flowers and green pods from correctly identified, unsprayed plants.
Roots & bulbs
Oca
Tubers to lift once shortening days or frost have killed back the tops.
Fruiting crops
Okra
Small, tender pods that need frequent picking.
Roots & bulbs
Onion
Bulbs whose success depends on the right variety.
Herbs
Oregano
Leafy shoots to harvest just before flowering.
Asian greens
Pak choy
Compact heads or outer leaves picked while the centre keeps growing.
Fruit
Papaya
Short-lived tropical fruit tree; self-fertile cultivars simplify cropping.
Herbs
Parsley
Pick the outer stalks and leave the central crown growing.
Roots & bulbs
Parsnip
Roots that need time to size up. The foliage is not edible.
Berries & compact fruit
Passionfruit
Fully coloured fruit to collect when it drops or detaches easily.
Legumes
Peanut
A low annual legume whose flower stalks peg into the soil and form pods underground.
Pods & fruit
Peas
Cool-season pods for shelling or eating whole.
Herbs
Perilla
Young leaves to pick regularly before flowering.
Pods & fruit
Pigeon pea
Deep-rooted warm-climate shrub producing edible peas.
Herbs
Plantain
Small young leaves; older foliage becomes tough and stringy.
Roots & bulbs
Potato
Tubers planted to grow a new crop underground.
Edible flowers
Primrose
A few fresh flowers and young leaves from vigorous plants.
Pods & fruit
Pumpkin
Spreading vines and fruit that matures on the plant.
Leafy greens
Purslane
Succulent young tips that branch after light picking.
Roots & bulbs
Radish
A quick crop best picked while tender.
Fruit
Raspberry
Cultivated raspberry canes for cool and temperate gardens.
Fruit
Redcurrant / whitecurrant
Closely related Ribes cultivars bearing translucent berry strings.
Perennial edibles
Rhubarb
Stalks to pull from established crowns. Never eat the leaves.
Leafy greens
Rocket
Young leaves with a flavour that grows hotter as plants flower.
Fruiting crops
Rockmelon
Fragrant ripe fruit that releases from the stem.
Tropical & subtropical edibles
Rosella
A warm-season Hibiscus grown from seed for fleshy red calyces and tender young leaves.
Herbs
Rosemary
Short leafy sprigs from soft growth, leaving the bare old wood intact.
Roots & bulbs
Rutabaga
Rounded, firm roots to lift before heat or age makes them woody.
Herbs
Sage
A perennial herb for modest harvests of leaves and short shoots.
Herbs
Salad burnet
Young leaves with their mildest flavour before flowering.
Roots & bulbs
Salsify
Long roots that need careful lifting to avoid snapping.
Roots & bulbs
Shallots
Clusters of bulbs to lift when the tops yellow and fall.
Leafy & brassicas
Silverbeet
Leaves and stems for a continuing harvest.
Legumes
Snow peas
Flat, tender pods to pick before the seeds swell.
Leafy greens
Sorrel
Young outer leaves for repeated picking.
Leafy & brassicas
Spinach
Tender leaves for cooler growing conditions.
Roots & bulbs
Spring onions
Whole slender stems to pull, or leaves to cut for regrowth.
Fruiting crops
Squash
Young fruit to cut often while the skin is tender.
Herbs
Stinging nettle
Young tops to handle with gloves and cook or thoroughly dry before use.
Berries & compact fruit
Strawberry
A compact perennial fruit crop established from healthy nursery plants, with runners retained as a renewal method.
Herbs
Summer savory
Leafy shoots from an annual herb, picked around flowering.
Edible flowers
Sunflower
Seed-filled heads to harvest as their backs turn yellow.
Pods & fruit
Sweet corn
Cobs picked while the kernels are sweet and milky.
Herbs
Sweet marjoram
Leafy shoots to snip before heavy flowering.
Roots & tubers
Sweet potato
Warm-season vines grown for edible storage roots.
Berries & compact fruit
Tamarillo
Fully coloured fruit with a bitter skin usually removed before eating.
Tropical & subtropical edibles
Taro
Corms for a long warm season. Correct, thorough cooking is essential.
Leafy greens
Tatsoi
Low rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves for cool-season harvest.
Herbs
Thyme
Soft leafy tips to snip without cutting into bare old wood.
Fruiting crops
Tomatillo
Husk-wrapped fruit, ready as it fills and begins to split its covering.
Pods & fruit
Tomato
Ripe fruit from a well-supported, sunny plant.
Roots & tubers
Turmeric
Tropical ginger relative grown for golden culinary rhizomes.
Roots & bulbs
Turnip
Tender roots and young leaves from the same crop.
Leafy greens
Warrigal greens
Tender tips for cooking. Blanch and discard the water before eating.
Herbs
Water pepper
Young leaves with a strongly peppery flavour, used sparingly.
Fruiting crops
Watermelon
Spreading vines with fruit left to ripen before picking.
Legumes
Winged bean
A vigorous warm-season climbing legume grown mainly for its distinctive winged young pods.
Herbs
Winter savory
Leafy stems from a perennial herb, leaving woody growth to recover.
Legumes
Yardlong bean
A heat-loving climbing cowpea selected for very long edible pods.
Pods & fruit
Zucchini
Tender young fruit from a productive summer squash.