If you garden in the hot, wet, and humid tropics, you know the challenges—heavy rain, high humidity, and unpredictable seasons. This guide lists edible plants and herbs that grow well from seed or cuttings in tropical conditions, including what thrives year-round and what to grow in the cooler months. These tried-and-tested varieties are perfect for North Queensland and similar climates.
PLANTS FROM SEEDS AND CUTTING FOR GROWING IN THE HOT WET HUMID TROPICS
These I have grown successfully.
Amaranth, leafy green/red leaf for salad and stir fry, self-seeds, all year.
Asian greens lots more to try, these I have tried- T tatsoi, Bok Choy, Pak choy, Mizuna, Perilla, Wong Bok,
Asparagus all year
Beans, Blue lake climbing/dwarf, Italian – cool season
Beans for wet season – snake beans, wing beans
Beetroot -cool
Broccoli and Broccolini – cool
Cabbage – cool
Capsicum – doesn’t like wet soil must be well-drained
Cape gooseberry cool
Carrot cool
Cauliflower 5mths to mature cool
Celery, Chinese celery, Leaf celery – cool
Chicory cool
Corn all year
Cucumber all varieties in cool but Green Gem in summer
Chilli – doesn’t like the wet season grow in pot all year
Egg plant – grows all year
Endive cool
Florence Fennel – cool
Ginger all year
Kale – Red Russian, Dwarf Curly, Tosca can cool but can last to November
Kohlrabi – cool
Lettuce open hearted, Cos, green Mignonette, Darwin lettuce most of year in part shade
Lettuce hearting varieties in cool
Mustard all year
Melons in dry months
Ofenga – tall shrub gold and green leaves for stir fry and steaming
Okra grows all year.
Peas – cool months
Pumpkin all year
Radish all of them all year
Rocket and Wild Rocket – all year in part shade in summer
Rosella all year
Shallots bunching – all year from bulbs each year
Silver beet most of year
Spring onion – cool
Sunflowers all year
Strawberries – cool
Sweet Potato all year from cuttings
Tomatillo – cool months – need a support ring
Tomatoes large – cool months Scorpio – round indeterminate bush, resistant to bacterial wilt,
Grosse Lise, indeterminate, Tropic indeterminate, Black Russian indeterminate plant early in season,
Egg tomatoes Roma determinate,
Cherry/Small tomatoes Pink Thai determinate, Beams Yellow Pear determinate, Tommy Toe indeterminate.
Turnip snowball – crunchy and sweet to eat raw – fast growing for cool months.
Watercress – grows well in wicking pot in part shade all year
Herbs: All year round – All Basils, Holy Basil, Mexican Tarragon, Vietnamese Mint, Oregano, Marjoram, Chives, Garlic Chives,
Mint. Thyme, Rosemary will grow all year in pots if potting mix is very well drained.
Watercress – grows well in wicking pot in part shade
Zucchini tromboncino grows prolifically in wet season lots of small fruit or 1 metre long squash like fruits so useful of many
dishes.
Herbs: Cool season – Coriander, Anise Hyssop, Parsley, Fennel, Dill,