Vegetables to Plant in Spring and Fall: A Season-by-Season Planting Guide

Timing is everything in the vegetable garden. Plant too early and frost kills your seedlings; plant too late and crops bolt in the heat or run out of season. The key is understanding the difference between cool-season and warm-season vegetables and planting each by your local frost dates.

First, find your frost dates

Your average last spring frost date and average first fall frost date are your planting calendar's anchors. Your local cooperative extension office publishes them, and they vary widely: from early in the year along the Gulf Coast to late spring in the northern states and mountains.

Vegetables to plant in spring

Early spring (2 to 6 weeks before the last frost)

These cool-season crops tolerate light frost and prefer cool soil:

• Peas
• Spinach and lettuce
• Radishes
• Onions (sets or transplants)
• Potatoes
• Broccoli, cabbage and kale transplants
• Carrots and beets

Late spring (after the last frost)

Warm-season crops are killed by frost and grow poorly in cold soil. Wait until the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed:

• Tomatoes and peppers (transplants)
• Beans
• Cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash
• Corn
• Melons and winter squash
• Basil

Eggplant, peppers and melons especially love heat, so in cooler climates waiting a week or two longer pays off.

Vegetables to plant in fall

Fall gardens are underrated. Many cool-season vegetables taste sweeter when they mature in cool weather, and there are fewer pests. Plant in late summer, working backward from your first fall frost date using the "days to maturity" on the seed packet, plus a couple of weeks because growth slows as days shorten.

• Lettuce, spinach and arugula: fast and frost-tolerant.
• Kale and collards: extremely cold-hardy, and frost improves their flavor.
• Radishes and turnips: quick-growing root crops.
• Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower: use transplants in late summer.
• Carrots and beets: roots sweeten in cold soil.
• Garlic: plant cloves in mid-to-late fall for harvest the following summer.

In the South: fall is prime time

In hot Southern climates, summer heat can be harder on gardens than winter. Many Southern gardeners grow cool-season crops through fall and winter. Check your extension office's planting calendar.

Extend your season

• Row covers protect crops from light frost and add several degrees of warmth.
• Cold frames can keep greens growing well into winter in many areas.
• Succession planting, meaning sowing small amounts every two to three weeks, keeps harvests coming.

New to growing food? Start with our beginner gardening tips.