On average, your frost-free growing season starts Apr 17 and ends Oct 20, totalling 186 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 March 6, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around February 7 and then transplant them into the garden around March 28. Do the same with lettuce and spinach. Plant onion starts and potatoes around February 17. 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 February 7. Then, around April 13 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 April 17, 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 | Mar 3 - Mar 18 | n/a |
Beans | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 15 |
Beets | n/a | n/a | Feb 21 - Mar 6 |
Broccoli | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Brussel Sprouts | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Cabbage | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Cantaloupe | n/a | n/a | Apr 3 - Apr 17 |
Carrots | n/a | n/a | Mar 6 - Apr 3 |
Cauliflower | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Chard | n/a | n/a | Mar 6 - Mar 20 |
Collards | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Corn | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 1 |
Cucumbers | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 1 |
Eggplants | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Apr 17 - May 1 | n/a |
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 1 |
Kale | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Kohlrabi | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Lettuce | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 6 - Apr 3 | Mar 6 - Apr 3 |
Mustard | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | n/a |
Okra | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 1 |
Onions | Jan 31 - Feb 7 | Feb 17 - Mar 18 | n/a |
Peas (English) | n/a | n/a | Feb 17 - Mar 18 |
Peas (Southern) | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 15 |
Peas (Sugar Snap) | n/a | n/a | Feb 17 - Mar 18 |
Peppers | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Apr 17 - May 1 | n/a |
Potatoes | n/a | n/a | Feb 17 - Mar 18 |
Radishes | n/a | n/a | Mar 3 - May 1 |
Spinach | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Mar 20 - Apr 3 | Mar 3 - Apr 3 |
Sweet Potatoes | n/a | Apr 17 - May 8 | n/a |
Tomatoes | Feb 7 - Feb 21 | Apr 17 - May 1 | n/a |
Watermelon | n/a | n/a | Apr 17 - May 1 |
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 October 20. 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 12. 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 5, 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 11, but because of the heat during that time of year, it's better to start them indoors around June 22 and then transplant them into the garden around August 1. Do the same with lettuce and spinach. Sow peas directly around August 6. 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 7. |
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 7 - Aug 6 |
Beets | n/a | n/a | Aug 6 - Sep 20 |
Broccoli | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Brussel Sprouts | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Cabbage | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Cantaloupe | n/a | n/a | Jun 22 - Jul 7 |
Carrots | n/a | n/a | Jul 22 - Sep 20 |
Cauliflower | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Chard | n/a | n/a | Jul 7 - Sep 20 |
Collards | Jun 22 - Aug 6 | Jul 22 - Sep 5 | n/a |
Corn | n/a | n/a | Jul 7 - Jul 22 |
Cucumbers | n/a | n/a | Jul 7 - Jul 22 |
Eggplants | May 11 - May 26 | Jun 22 - Jul 7 | n/a |
Garlic | n/a | n/a | Aug 6 - Sep 20 |
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins | n/a | n/a | Jun 7 - Jul 7 |
Kale | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Kohlrabi | May 26 - Jul 10 | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | n/a |
Lettuce | Jul 22 - Aug 21 | Aug 21 - Sep 20 | Aug 21 - Sep 20 |
Mustard | n/a | n/a | Aug 21 - Sep 20 |
Okra | n/a | n/a | Jun 7 - Jul 7 |
Onions | n/a | n/a | Sep 20 - Sep 30 |
Parsley | Jun 7 - Jul 22 | Jul 22 - Sep 5 | n/a |
Peas (English) | n/a | n/a | Jul 22 - Aug 21 |
Peas (Southern) | n/a | n/a | Jun 7 - Jul 7 |
Peas (Sugar Snap) | n/a | n/a | Jul 22 - Aug 21 |
Peppers | May 16 - May 31 | Jun 27 - Jul 12 | n/a |
Potatoes | n/a | n/a | Jul 22 - Aug 21 |
Radishes | n/a | n/a | Aug 21 - Sep 20 |
Spinach | Jul 7 - Aug 21 | Aug 6 - Sep 20 | Aug 6 - Sep 20 |
Tomatoes | May 16 - May 31 | Jun 27 - Jul 12 | n/a |
Turnips | n/a | n/a | Sep 5 - Oct 5 |
Watermelon | n/a | n/a | Jun 7 - Jul 7 |