On average, your frost-free growing season starts Mar 29 and ends Nov 5, totalling 221 days. You will find both Spring and Fall planting guides on this page.
Your planting strategy: |
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Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around February 16, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around January 19 and then transplant them into the garden around March 9. Do the same with lettuce and spinach. Plant onion starts and potatoes around January 29. 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 19. Then, around March 25 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 29, 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 |
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Asparagus | n/a | Feb 13 - Feb 28 | n/a |
Beans | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 26 |
Beets | n/a | n/a | Feb 2 - Feb 16 |
Broccoli | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Brussel Sprouts | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Cabbage | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Cantaloupe | n/a | n/a | Mar 15 - Mar 29 |
Carrots | n/a | n/a | Feb 16 - Mar 15 |
Cauliflower | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Chard | n/a | n/a | Feb 16 - Mar 1 |
Collards | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Corn | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 12 |
Cucumbers | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 12 |
Eggplants | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 29 - Apr 12 | n/a |
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 12 |
Kale | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Kohlrabi | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Lettuce | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Feb 16 - Mar 15 | Feb 16 - Mar 15 |
Mustard | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | n/a |
Okra | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 12 |
Onions | Jan 12 - Jan 19 | Jan 29 - Feb 28 | n/a |
Peas (English) | n/a | n/a | Jan 29 - Feb 28 |
Peas (Southern) | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 26 |
Peas (Sugar Snap) | n/a | n/a | Jan 29 - Feb 28 |
Peppers | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 29 - Apr 12 | n/a |
Potatoes | n/a | n/a | Jan 29 - Feb 28 |
Radishes | n/a | n/a | Feb 13 - Apr 12 |
Spinach | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 1 - Mar 15 | Feb 13 - Mar 15 |
Sweet Potatoes | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 19 | n/a |
Tomatoes | Jan 19 - Feb 2 | Mar 29 - Apr 12 | n/a |
Watermelon | n/a | n/a | Mar 29 - Apr 12 |
Your fall planting strategy: |
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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 5. 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 28. 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 21, 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 27, but because of the heat during that time of year, it's better to start them indoors around July 8 and then transplant them into the garden around August 17. Do the same with lettuce and spinach. Sow peas directly around August 22. 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 23. |
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 23 - Aug 22 |
Beets | n/a | n/a | Aug 22 - Oct 6 |
Broccoli | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Brussel Sprouts | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Cabbage | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Cantaloupe | n/a | n/a | Jul 8 - Jul 23 |
Carrots | n/a | n/a | Aug 7 - Oct 6 |
Cauliflower | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Chard | n/a | n/a | Jul 23 - Oct 6 |
Collards | Jul 8 - Aug 22 | Aug 7 - Sep 21 | n/a |
Corn | n/a | n/a | Jul 23 - Aug 7 |
Cucumbers | n/a | n/a | Jul 23 - Aug 7 |
Eggplants | May 27 - Jun 11 | Jul 8 - Jul 23 | n/a |
Garlic | n/a | n/a | Aug 22 - Oct 6 |
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins | n/a | n/a | Jun 23 - Jul 23 |
Kale | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Kohlrabi | Jun 11 - Jul 26 | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | n/a |
Lettuce | Aug 7 - Sep 6 | Sep 6 - Oct 6 | Sep 6 - Oct 6 |
Mustard | n/a | n/a | Sep 6 - Oct 6 |
Okra | n/a | n/a | Jun 23 - Jul 23 |
Onions | n/a | n/a | Oct 6 - Oct 16 |
Parsley | Jun 23 - Aug 7 | Aug 7 - Sep 21 | n/a |
Peas (English) | n/a | n/a | Aug 7 - Sep 6 |
Peas (Southern) | n/a | n/a | Jun 23 - Jul 23 |
Peas (Sugar Snap) | n/a | n/a | Aug 7 - Sep 6 |
Peppers | Jun 1 - Jun 16 | Jul 13 - Jul 28 | n/a |
Potatoes | n/a | n/a | Aug 7 - Sep 6 |
Radishes | n/a | n/a | Sep 6 - Oct 6 |
Spinach | Jul 23 - Sep 6 | Aug 22 - Oct 6 | Aug 22 - Oct 6 |
Tomatoes | Jun 1 - Jun 16 | Jul 13 - Jul 28 | n/a |
Turnips | n/a | n/a | Sep 21 - Oct 21 |
Watermelon | n/a | n/a | Jun 23 - Jul 23 |