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Cover of the Northern Rivers Garden Planner by Planting Season

Cover artwork may change before launch.

Planting Season Garden Planner · Coming soon

Northern Rivers Garden Planner

Undated Planting Calendar, Sowing Log and Harvest Journal

The garden planner that already knows what to plant this month. Every month opens with what to sow, plant out and pick across The Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Kyogle and the Clarence Valley, and the facing pages are yours to fill in. Undated, so it lasts as long as you keep gardening.

A$19.95Paperback, on Amazon Australia at launch.

The Australian editions are the first to launch, before New Zealand and the United States.

We will email you when it is on Amazon Australia. You will also get the free monthly what-to-plant email, and you can unsubscribe any time.

  • 162 pages, 8 x 10 in paperback
  • Undated, starts any month
  • Monday-start weeks, metric
  • Eight pages for every month
  • 44 crops on the year at a glance
  • Three months of Pro inside

Look inside

Planners like this one have no Look Inside preview on Amazon, so here are real pages from the Northern Rivers edition. Tap any page to see it full size, and use the arrows or swipe to move through them.

What's inside, page by page

162 pages in the order you use them: plan, then seeds, then the months, then the records, with the reference pages at the back. Every page has a printed edge tab so you can find each section with your thumb.

SectionPagesWhat is on them
Start here7Title and about pages; how to use the planner, with a worked example; Northern Rivers at a glance, with the microclimates to tick and your own garden's details (postcode, frost dates, soil, sun, water); all ten Planting Season regions in Australia on one page; and the sowing year at a glance for 44 crops across two pages, with blank rows for your own.
Plan10A year planner with a line a day, six months to a page; two whole-garden bed map spreads on a fine grid, the plan on the left and what is actually there on the right; a wish list and shopping list; a crop rotation planner; a sun and shade map; and a notes page.
Seeds6A seed inventory with the packet's own numbers: crop, variety, source, year, quantity, depth, spacing, days to germinate and a germination test column.
Months96Eight pages for each month: the pre-printed Northern Rivers calendar page (sow direct, start in trays, plant out, pick now, the jobs that matter and the pest watch); your Monday-start month grid with three jobs; week by week; a sowed and planted log with germinated, planted out and first pick columns; a bed plan spread for what comes out and what goes in; harvest and problems; and notes.
Records3048 numbered plant profiles, two to a page, with an index; the What is wrong with my plant? chart; three years of rain, frost and heat records; and a garden costs and savings page.
Review3Two season reviews (cool season and warm season) for what grew, what failed and what to change, and a fails and favourites page, year by year.
Notes and back pages10Lined notes pages with a date column; a seed packets and receipts page to tape an envelope to; the reader code page for the app; and the Northern Rivers quick chart of the 24 crops most people grow.
Total162

What's regional in the Northern Rivers edition

The month pages, the region page, the year at a glance, the quick chart and the symptoms chart in this edition are printed for Northern Rivers. Every sowing window comes from the Planting Season calendar for Northern Rivers, the same data that runs the free app and the Northern Rivers planting calendar on this site.

The seasons it plans around

Microclimates on the region page

Page 4 lists the growing zones inside Northern Rivers. Tick yours; where a month page gives a range, inland and elevated gardens use the later date.

Coastal stripTweed Heads, Kingscliff, Byron Bay, Brunswick Heads, Ballina, Evans HeadThe baseline every date on the month pages is set to. Warm, humid and frost free, with no frost recorded at Tweed Heads, Byron Bay or Ballina in 2011 to 2020. Treat it like coastal SEQ with one extra week of summer at each end. Banana, passionfruit, finger lime, pawpaw, turmeric and lemongrass all thrive.
Hinterland valleysMullumbimby, Bangalow, Federal, Goonengerry, UkiWarm days, cool nights and occasional light winter frost in low pockets. Most subtropical fruit still works. Push the spring sowing of tomato and capsicum two weeks later than the coast to dodge the last frost.
Lismore basin and Richmond ValleyLismore, Casino, Coraki, WoodburnHotter summers than the coast and more frost risk in winter, though Lismore recorded frost in only one of the last ten winters; when it comes, hold tender crops until about 21 August. Brassicas, peas and leafy greens do beautifully April to August, and low-chill peaches and plums get enough chill to fruit.
Kyogle and the rangesKyogle, Nimbin, Mount Burrell, Border Ranges fringeCooler and wetter, with regular winter frost above 300 m. Kyogle recorded frost in nine of the last ten winters, about three frosty mornings a year, typical first frost 27 June and last 19 July, safe for tender crops from 22 August. Apples, figs and temperate berries start to work here; tropical fruit is marginal above the frost line.
Clarence ValleyGrafton, Yamba, Maclean, IlukaThe southern edge, with milder summers than the Tweed and more winter chill inland, though Grafton recorded no frost in 2011 to 2020. This is where the calendar starts to feel like coastal NSW rather than SEQ. Pecans, citrus and stone fruit are all strong here.

On the line-a-day year planner, the frost months for the coldest zone (June to August) are shaded and the fruit fly window (September to March) is marked with a green strip.

The rain, frost and heat record pages carry the local baseline: The Northern Rivers runs on the warm wet and cool dry seasons rather than on frost: the coast and Grafton are effectively frost free, Lismore sees a frost in roughly one winter in ten, and only Kyogle and the ranges above 300 m get regular winter frost, typically between 27 June and 19 July.

The Northern Rivers quick chart (page 161)

The 24 crops most people grow, with the sowing months printed for Northern Rivers. This table is copied from the book.

CropDays to first pickSpacing cmDepth cmSow months in NR
Tomato85601Feb, Mar, Apr, Sep
Lettuce55250.5Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Carrot8550.5Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Beans (bush)65203Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct
Peas75103Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Broccoli90451Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun
Spinach55201Apr, May, Jun, Jul
Basil65250.5Jan, Feb, Mar, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Capsicum100450.5Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Cucumber60502Jan, Feb, Mar, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Zucchini60802Jan, Feb, Mar, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Pumpkin1201503Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Silverbeet60301.5Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Kale70401Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Beetroot65101.5Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
Onion180101.5Mar, Apr, May, Jun
Garlic210153Mar, Apr, May
Potato903010Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Sweet Corn90303Jan, Feb, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Strawberry90301Mar, Apr, May, Jun
Rocket40150.5Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep
Coriander50151Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Parsley80200.5Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Spring Onion60101Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

The symptoms and fixes chart (page 145)

14 symptoms, each with the likely cause and what to do, written for Australian gardens. The likely causes it covers:

The app bonus: three months of Pro

Each planner has a reader code on page 160 for three months of Planting Season Pro. Scan the QR code on that page, or enter the code at plantingseason.com.au/redeem/. One claim per account, on any phone or computer.

Pro is for the whole property: more than one garden bed (free members edit one), the Pro plants (fruit trees, natives and bush foods, and exotic and tropical perennials), the Orchard's tree records, Flock, Bees, Livestock and Worms with their health records, and Projects.

Everything else in the app is free for everyone, code or no code: one bed with all its logging, the planting calendar, the plant library, pest and disease help, the journal, frost alerts and the weekly email.

The Northern Rivers planting calendar behind the month pages is free to read any time at plantingseason.com.au/grow/northern-rivers/.

Specifications

FormatPaperback, glued spine, printed on demand by Amazon
Size8 x 10 in (20.3 x 25.4 cm)
Pages162
InteriorBlack ink on white paper
CoverMatte
DatesUndated: write the year on each month page and start in any month of any year
WeeksMonday start
UnitsMetric (cm, mm, degrees Celsius)
SpellingAustralian English
EditionNorthern Rivers, calendar data as at October 2026
Author and publisherPlanting Season
Sold onAmazon Australia (amazon.com.au)
EditionsPaperback only at launch. Amazon does not publish write-in books as Kindle books.

Want it to lie flat? Add a spiral

Amazon prints this planner as a paperback with a glued spine, and print on demand offers no spiral or lay-flat binding. Many planner buyers take theirs to an office supply or print shop and pay to have the glued spine cut off and a spiral or coil binding put on. The inner margin on every page is 16 mm (0.625 in), so the punch holes land in blank paper, clear of the writing areas.

Ask the shop to trim as little as possible from the spine edge.

Questions

When will the Northern Rivers planner be out?

It is not on sale yet. The Australian editions are the first to launch, before New Zealand and the United States. Leave your email on this page and we will tell you when it is on Amazon Australia.

Is it dated?

No. The planner is undated, so you write the year on each month page and it works in any year. Start it in whatever month you buy it.

How is it different from a blank garden planner?

Every month opens with a page already filled in for Northern Rivers: what to sow, what to start in trays, what to plant out, what to pick, the jobs that matter and the pests to watch. The sowing windows come from the Planting Season calendar for Northern Rivers. The facing pages are yours to write in.

Is Northern Rivers the right edition for me?

This edition is set for The Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Kyogle and the Clarence Valley. If you are not sure which region you garden in, enter your postcode on the Find My Region page. If you garden across a boundary, use the later date.

Is it spiral bound?

No. Amazon prints it as a paperback with a glued spine and offers no spiral binding. Many owners have an office supply or print shop cut the spine off and add a spiral; the inner margins are wide enough for the punch holes to miss the writing areas.

What does the reader code give me?

Each planner has a reader code on page 160 for three months of Planting Season Pro. Scan the QR code or enter the code at plantingseason.com.au/redeem/. One claim per account. Pro adds more than one garden bed, the Pro plants, the Orchard's tree records, Flock, Bees, Livestock and Worms, and Projects. The calendar, frost alerts and one bed are free without a code.

Will there be a Kindle or PDF version?

Not at launch. Amazon does not sell write-in books like this one as Kindle books, and the paperback comes first.

Other Australian editions

Each edition carries its own region's calendar. See every planner or find your region.

South East QueenslandSydneyCanberraMelbourneTasmaniaAdelaidePerthNorth QueenslandDarwin