When to Plant Vegetables in Raleigh State Univ, NC

Your vegetable planning guide for Raleigh State Univ, NC

On average, your frost-free growing season starts Mar 31 and ends Nov 8, totalling 222 days. You will find both Spring and Fall planting guides on this page.

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For the Spring:
Your Spring Planting Strategy
Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around February 18, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around January 21 and then transplant them into the garden around March 11. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Plant onion starts and potatoes around January 31. Sow the seeds of peas (sugar snap and english) at the same time. If the ground is still frozen, then plant these as soon as the ground thaws.

Do you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants? Start these indoors around January 21. Then, around March 27 you should start watching the weather forecast and, as soon as no frost is forecast, go ahead and transplant those into the ground.

Now, for all the summer vegetables like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around March 31, or if your soil is still very cold, once the soil is near 60° F in temperature.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Asparagus n/a Feb 15 - Mar 1 n/a
Beans n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 28
Beets n/a n/a Feb 4 - Feb 18
Broccoli Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Cabbage Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a Mar 17 - Mar 31
Carrots n/a n/a Feb 18 - Mar 17
Cauliflower Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Feb 18 - Mar 3
Collards Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Corn n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 14
Cucumbers n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 14
Eggplants Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 31 - Apr 14 n/a
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 14
Kale Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Kohlrabi Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Lettuce Jan 21 - Feb 4 Feb 18 - Mar 17 Feb 18 - Mar 17
Mustard Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 n/a
Okra n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 14
Onions Jan 14 - Jan 21 Jan 31 - Mar 1 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Jan 31 - Mar 1
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 28
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Jan 31 - Mar 1
Peppers Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 31 - Apr 14 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Jan 31 - Mar 1
Radishes n/a n/a Feb 15 - Apr 14
Spinach Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 3 - Mar 17 Feb 15 - Mar 17
Sweet Potatoes n/a Mar 31 - Apr 21 n/a
Tomatoes Jan 21 - Feb 4 Mar 31 - Apr 14 n/a
Watermelon n/a n/a Mar 31 - Apr 14

For the Fall:
Your Fall Planting Strategy
Gardening in the fall can be much more challenging than spring planting, because you are in a race to get your crops mature and harvested before the winter frosts begin, around November 8. This means you need to consider how much time each variety needs between planting and picking. Those numbers vary widely between different varieties of the same kinds of plants! Usually the "Days to Harvest" are present on the seed packet.

Most tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, for example, require around 100 days to harvest, therefore you'd want to transplant those into the ground around July 31. Anyway, it's important to remember that the numbers in this fall planting guide are only a starting point for you! Good luck and good gardening to you.

Fall is the time to plant garlic. Around September 24, take your cloves apart and plant the toes about 3 to 4 inches deep. This may not be accurate! Garlic dates vary wildly around the country. The way to be sure is to use a soil thermometer. When the soil temperature is 60° at a depth of 4 inches, then plant your garlic.

Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around August 30, but because of the heat during that time of year, it's better to start them indoors around July 11 and then transplant them into the garden around August 20. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Sow peas directly around August 25.

Now, for all the usual hot weather veggies like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around July 26.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Beans n/a n/a Jul 26 - Aug 25
Beets n/a n/a Aug 25 - Oct 9
Broccoli Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Cabbage Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a Jul 11 - Jul 26
Carrots n/a n/a Aug 10 - Oct 9
Cauliflower Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Jul 26 - Oct 9
Collards Jul 11 - Aug 25 Aug 10 - Sep 24 n/a
Corn n/a n/a Jul 26 - Aug 10
Cucumbers n/a n/a Jul 26 - Aug 10
Eggplants May 30 - Jun 14 Jul 11 - Jul 26 n/a
Garlic n/a n/a Aug 25 - Oct 9
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a Jun 26 - Jul 26
Kale Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Kohlrabi Jun 14 - Jul 29 Jul 26 - Sep 9 n/a
Lettuce Aug 10 - Sep 9 Sep 9 - Oct 9 Sep 9 - Oct 9
Mustard n/a n/a Sep 9 - Oct 9
Okra n/a n/a Jun 26 - Jul 26
Onions n/a n/a Oct 9 - Oct 19
Parsley Jun 26 - Aug 10 Aug 10 - Sep 24 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Aug 10 - Sep 9
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a Jun 26 - Jul 26
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Aug 10 - Sep 9
Peppers Jun 4 - Jun 19 Jul 16 - Jul 31 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Aug 10 - Sep 9
Radishes n/a n/a Sep 9 - Oct 9
Spinach Jul 26 - Sep 9 Aug 25 - Oct 9 Aug 25 - Oct 9
Tomatoes Jun 4 - Jun 19 Jul 16 - Jul 31 n/a
Turnips n/a n/a Sep 24 - Oct 24
Watermelon n/a n/a Jun 26 - Jul 26

How accurate is all this? For nearly all locations, we are confident in the dates. There are, however, some difficult areas of the world that don't match up perfectly with the dates we have given. For that reason, we recommend you use this guide as a very good starting place, but don't interpret the dates as absolutely perfect for every location.

Did you find this useful? Garden.org has a vast array of useful features. May we recommend that you take a look at our excellent food gardening guide?

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