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Vegetable Gardening Planting Times
Here are the rules of thumb.
Average Frost
Find your last average frost date. In our USDA zone 4 garden we figure (roughly) were looking at May 20.
For every zone you are colder add a week. So a zone 3 would be approximately May 27 (or end of May)
For every zone you are warmer subtract a week. So a zone 5 would be approximately May 13.
This comes with a warning that these are very rough approximations. Youll never be penalized (except with peas) for waiting an extra week to plant. And if the weather looks promising, then you can afford to gamble a little. But each year is different.
Plant Adjustments
Now you know your planting date you can make the following vegetable gardening planting times adjustments.
Peas can be planted 6 weeks before the average planting date (or earlier if the ground is thawed and workable)
Cole crops (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) can be planted 2-3 weeks before the planting date.
Tomatoes, corn, carrots, and the main run of vegetables can be planted on the planting date.
Peppers, cucumbers, other tender vines such as melons that love the heat and warm soils can be planted 2 weeks after the planting date for best results. Youll often find that a later planting of heat-loving plants will catch up, pass and out-yield an earlier planting. I know it takes patience but
And thats the rule of thumb for finding the vegetable gardening planting times in your area.
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