When to plant common vegetables & herbs
When to plant 12 common garden vegetables and herbs — from frost-tender tomatoes, peppers, and basil to cold-hardy peas, spinach, and lettuce. Each crop's guide explains its frost tolerance, days to maturity, and how to time planting by counting from your local last spring frost, the standard method taught by U.S. Cooperative Extension services.
- Hardy — plant before last frost
- Half-hardy — tolerates light frost
- Tender — plant after last frost
- Very tender — needs warm soil
Crops
| Crop | Category | Frost tolerance | Start indoors? | Days to maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pea | cool-season legume | Hardy | direct-sow | 55–70 days |
| Spinach | cool-season green | Hardy | direct-sow | 40–50 days |
| Broccoli | cool-season brassica | Half-hardy | 6–8 wk before | 55–75 days |
| Carrot | cool-season root | Half-hardy | direct-sow | 60–80 days |
| Lettuce | cool-season green | Half-hardy | 4–6 wk before | 45–60 days |
| Bush bean | warm-season legume | Tender | direct-sow | 50–60 days |
| Cucumber | warm-season vine | Tender | 3–4 wk before | 50–70 days |
| Summer squash / zucchini | warm-season vine | Tender | direct-sow | 45–60 days |
| Sweet corn | warm-season grain | Tender | direct-sow | 60–90 days |
| Tomato | warm-season fruit | Tender | 6–8 wk before | 60–80 days |
| Basil | warm-season herb | Very tender | 4–6 wk before | 30–45 days |
| Pepper | warm-season fruit | Very tender | 8–10 wk before | 60–90 days |
Data: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (public domain) and USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Planting windows synthesized from U.S. Cooperative Extension guides.
How the timing works
The dates for each crop come from a simple, well-established method: count forward or back from your average last spring frost. Cold-hardy crops go out weeks before it; tender crops wait until after it; long-maturing crops are started indoors first. Because the anchor is your local frost date, the same crop is planted on very different calendar days in Minneapolis and Atlanta. Pick your location on the home planner for exact dates, and see the methodology for the offsets and sources.