When to Plant Vegetables: A Planting Calendar for Every USDA Zone

Plant by your last frost date, not by your zone number alone. Cool season crops go in before the last frost, warm season crops go in after it, once the soil is warm enough.

If you only remember one date, make it your local last spring frost date. Your USDA zone tells you how cold winter gets, not when spring frost ends in your yard. Elevation, a sheltered wall, a low spot that collects cold air, and year to year weather can shift that date by weeks, even inside one zone.

Use the tool: Interactive Vegetable Planting Calendar. Enter your USDA zone and your last frost date, and it will give you sowing, transplanting, and harvest dates for 30 common crops.

In this article

• How do you find your zone and your last frost date?
• What is the difference between cool season and warm season vegetables?
• What is the 30 crop calendar by frost offset?
• What is the planting calendar by zone band?
• How do you plan a fall garden?
• What if you missed the window, or a late frost hits?
• How does the Planting Calendar work?
• Frequently asked questions

Key takeaways

• Find your last frost date first, then count backward to start seeds and forward to transplant.
• Do not seed or transplant frost sensitive plants before the last frost date, according to University of New Hampshire Extension.
• Cool season vegetables tolerate a light frost and finish before summer heat, while warm season vegetables are not frost tolerant, according to Iowa State University Extension.
• A USDA zone is based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, according to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, not on frost dates.
• Soil temperature matters too. Many warm season crops need soil at 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit to germinate and grow well.
• For fall, count backward from your first frost using days to maturity, then add 1 to 2 weeks because growth slows as days shorten.

How do you find your zone and your last frost date?

Find your USDA zone by entering your zip code in the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. The map is based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, shown as 10 degree zones and 5 degree half zones. That number helps you pick perennial plants that can survive your winter, but it does not tell you your last spring frost date.

Find your last frost date from a local frost date tool, your state extension service, or the National Weather Service for your town. Use the date for your town, not the date for your zone band, and keep a note of it. You will use it for every crop below.

Worked example: if your last frost date is May 15, and tomatoes take 6 to 8 weeks from seed to transplant, start tomato seeds around March 20 to April 3, then transplant 1 to 2 weeks after May 15, once nights are warm. That is the method New Hampshire Extension describes: mark the last frost date, then count backward the weeks from sowing to transplant.

What is the difference between cool season and warm season vegetables?

Cool season vegetables grow best in cool temperatures, tolerate a light frost, and many finish before summer heat arrives. Iowa State University Extension lists beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, kale, lettuce, peas, potatoes, radishes, and spinach in this group.

Warm season vegetables grow best in warmer temperatures, are not frost tolerant, and will be damaged, sometimes badly, by below freezing temperatures. Iowa State lists cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, squash, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes in this group, and says not to plant them until the danger of frost has passed.

Illinois Extension splits the same idea into four hardiness groups, which is useful for the calendar below: very hardy, frost tolerant, tender, and warm loving. Very hardy crops withstand freezing temperatures and hard frosts. Frost tolerant crops withstand light frosts, but not freezing temperatures. Tender crops are injured or killed by frost. Warm loving crops are intolerant of frost and cold.

What is the 30 crop calendar by frost offset?

Use this table first. Find your crop, then read across to its frost offset. Start indoors means weeks from seed to transplant, and safe to set out means when to move the transplant outdoors, or when to direct sow, relative to your last frost date. Soil temperatures are from the same New Hampshire Extension table where they are given.

Caption: Match the crop to its hardiness group first, then use the frost offset in the table above. The group, not the zone number, decides whether a late frost is a risk.

What is the planting calendar by zone band?

Zone bands are planning windows, not guaranteed dates. Use them to see the pattern, then use your own last frost date for the actual day. These windows are outdoor planting or transplanting windows. Tomatoes and peppers generally need an indoor head start in colder zones.

Zone by zone, in plain terms:

• Zones 3 to 4: short season. Start onions, broccoli, and cabbage indoors in late February, tomatoes and peppers in March, then transplant heat lovers after late May.
• Zones 5 to 6: sow peas, spinach, and radishes in March to April. Transplant tomatoes and peppers in mid to late May. Plant beans, corn, cucumbers, and squash after frost.
• Zones 7 to 8: start tomatoes and peppers indoors in February. Direct sow peas and greens in late winter. Transplant tomatoes in April. Use July to August for fall brassicas and greens.
• Zones 9 to 10: grow cool season crops mainly from fall through early spring. Plant tomatoes, peppers, beans, cucumbers, and squash in late winter to early spring, with possible fall plantings.

A coastal Pacific Northwest garden is a good warning about zone numbers. A mild winter zone does not automatically mean an early tomato season, because cool spring soils and late frost risk can push tomatoes, beans, and squash to late April to May, later than a calendar based zone 8 date alone would suggest. Check soil temperature and local frost risk, not just the zone.

How do you plan a fall garden?

Count backward from your first fall frost date, using the seed packet days to maturity, then add 1 to 2 weeks because growth slows as days shorten. That is the planning method, not a fixed fall planting date.

In zones 5 to 8, plant fall greens and brassicas from late summer into early fall. In warmer zones, the main cool season window begins in autumn. Peas, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and brassicas are the usual fall crops, because they tolerate light frost and finish before hard freezes.

If you are planting in late summer, keep soil moist for germination, because dry hot soil is the usual reason fall seeds fail, not cold. Shade a newly sown bed for a few days if heat is high, then remove the shade once seedlings are up.

What if you missed the window, or a late frost hits?

If you missed the spring window, do not plant a long season warm crop and hope for a long fall. Switch to a faster crop, a smaller transplant, or a fall cool season crop. A nursery transplant gives you weeks back compared with starting from seed, because the indoor weeks are already done.

If a late frost is forecast after you have transplanted tender crops, cover them with frost cloth, buckets, or row cover in the evening, and remove the cover in the morning once temperatures rise. Do not use plastic directly on leaves, because it can transfer cold to the leaves. Water the soil before a frost, because moist soil holds heat better than dry soil, but do not water leaves in the evening.

If frost damage happens, wait a day before judging the plant. Leaves that look wilted in the morning may recover, while leaves that turn black and mushy will not. Prune only the clearly dead parts, keep watering normally, and watch for new growth from the stem.

How does the Planting Calendar work?

The calendar turns your last frost date into dates you can put on a calendar, so you do not have to count backward for 30 crops by hand.

Add your zone and your last frost date, then pick a crop. The calendar gives you three dates for that crop: when to start seeds indoors, when to set transplants out or direct sow, and when to expect harvest, based on the frost offset table above. For example, with a May 15 last frost date, tomatoes start indoors around March 20 to April 3, transplant around late May, and harvest follows the variety days to maturity after transplant.

That matters because a zone table alone gives you a month, not a date for your yard. Your last frost date, plus the crop frost offset, gives you a date you can actually plant by.

Frequently asked questions

Is my USDA zone the same as my last frost date?

No. A USDA zone is based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. Your last frost date depends on local spring weather, elevation, and microclimate, and it can vary by weeks inside one zone. Use the zone to pick hardy perennials, and use the last frost date to time vegetable planting.

What if I have no frost?

If you have no frost, use soil temperature and heat instead of a frost date. Plant warm season crops when soil is warm enough, usually 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit for the crops in the table above, and plant cool season crops in your cool season, which may be fall through early spring in hot climates.

What matters more, frost date or soil temperature?

Both matter, and neither alone is enough. Frost date decides whether a tender plant will be killed by cold. Soil temperature decides whether seeds will germinate and roots will grow. A warm day after the last frost does not mean cold soil is warm enough for beans, corn, or squash, so check soil temperature with a thermometer before direct sowing warm season crops.

Can I plant after the last frost date?

Yes, for most crops, as long as enough warm growing days remain before the first fall frost. For warm season crops, check days to maturity against your first frost date. For cool season crops, planting after the last frost can still work in spring, but heat may cut the harvest short, so fall planting is often better for a second crop.

How do I adjust for a late frost?

If a late frost is forecast, cover tender transplants in the evening and remove the cover in the morning. If you have not transplanted yet, hold transplants indoors for a few more days rather than planting into a forecast frost. After frost, wait a day, prune only clearly dead leaves, and watch for new growth.

Do I need to start all vegetables indoors?

No. Direct sow peas, beans, corn, carrots, radishes, and spinach outdoors at the times in the table above. Start tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, and other long season or frost sensitive crops indoors, so they are ready to transplant at the right frost offset.

Next steps

Use the Interactive Vegetable Planting Calendar for your own yard. Enter your zone and your last frost date, pick your crops, and let it give you the sowing, transplanting, and harvest dates in order.

For tomato timing specifically, see When to Plant Tomatoes by USDA Zone (and When It's Too Late), and for indoor starts, see How to Start Seeds Indoors: A Schedule by Plant Type.