Eating Garden

A page from the garden notebook

Vegetable Planting Calendar by ZIP Code

A vegetable planting calendar by ZIP code with month-by-month planting, growing and harvest actions from your usual frost dates.

By · Updated · How we source and review advice

See planting times for your garden

Save your ZIP or place to see a month-by-month plan. These dates use usual climate patterns, so check the weather before planting.

A U.S. ZIP uses official NOAA frost records. Other countries use weather-station records, or a climate reconstruction where stations are missing. Coordinates are used once and not stored. We save only a place label and climate summary in a private browser cookie. You can clear it anytime.

A useful planting calendar is local. It starts with your usual last spring frost and first fall frost, then places each crop around those dates. A calendar from another state is an example, not an instruction for your garden.

Read a crop timeline in three parts

  1. Start indoors, when the crop benefits from an early start.
  2. Sow or plant outside, when the crop and local conditions are ready.
  3. Begin harvesting, using maturity days as an estimate.

Cool-season crops use the edges

Many leafy greens and root crops can grow during cooler parts of spring and fall. Some can appear twice on a calendar, once near each edge of the frost-free season. Use the crop's own frost tolerance because cool-season is a helpful group, not one rule for every plant.

Warm-season crops need warm conditions

Tender crops such as tomatoes, basil, peppers, cucumbers, and squash usually belong after spring frost danger and after the soil has warmed. Planting too early can slow growth even when the calendar says spring has begun.

Soil temperature can matter more than the date

Some direct-sown warm-season seeds germinate poorly in cool, wet soil. Check the crop guide for its soil-temperature needs instead of using one temperature for every seed.

Read maturity days carefully

Days to maturity may begin at sowing or at transplanting. The number is an estimate. Variety, light, weather, soil, pests, and care can move the real harvest earlier or later.

Plan backward for fall

To plan a fall crop, count backward from the expected frost date using its maturity estimate, then leave extra time for harvest and slower cool-weather growth. Do not treat the last possible date as a safe promise.

Spread out quick harvests

Some quick crops can be sown again in small amounts. This can spread the harvest instead of producing one large batch. The right gap depends on the crop and local season, so use its guide rather than one universal interval.

Explore the crop timelines

  • Radish

    A quick, cool-season root crop that is ready in weeks when soil stays loose and moist.

    Harvest
    25 to 35 days
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

  • Spinach

    A fast, cool-season leaf crop that tastes best before warm, long days make it flower.

    Harvest
    37 to 45 days
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

  • Kale

    A cold-tough leafy green that can keep making harvests well into fall.

    Harvest
    50 to 55 days
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

  • Green Beans

    A warm-season crop picked while the pods are crisp and the seeds inside are still small.

    Harvest
    50 to 60 days
    Effort
    Season
    Warm

  • Zucchini

    A fast, warm-season summer squash picked while the skin and seeds are still tender.

    Harvest
    50 to 65 daysfrom transplant
    Effort
    Season
    Warm

  • Cucumber

    A warm-season vine grown for crisp green fruit that is picked before it turns yellow.

    Harvest
    50 to 70 days
    Effort
    Season
    Warm

Add your location on Eating Garden to turn these relative crop windows into an optional month-by-month calendar where local climate evidence is available.

Sources

Start with your region

These state guides offer broad crop choices. Save your ZIP for local planting times.

Crops in this guide

  • Lettuce

    A fast, cool weather leaf crop that you can pick from for weeks. It is at its best in spring and autumn, and turns bitter in a hot, dry spell.

    Harvest
    50 to 70 days
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

  • Carrot

    A root crop that asks for little except loose, stone free ground and patience while it germinates.

    Harvest
    70 to 80 days
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

  • Basil

    A tender summer herb that grows fast, hates cold nights, and gives more the more often you cut it.

    Harvest
    50 to 75 days
    Effort
    Season
    Warm

  • Tomato

    A warm season fruit that almost everyone treats as a vegetable, and the crop most people try first. It needs heat, steady water and something to lean on.

    Harvest
    50 to 85 daysfrom transplant
    Effort
    Season
    Warm

  • Strawberry

    A low perennial that fruits for years once established. The first summer is about getting the plants settled; the real crop comes after that.

    Harvest
    300 to 400 daysfrom transplant
    Effort
    Season
    Cool

Your next useful step