USA Vegetable Planting Calendar: Month-wise Guide, Schedule, and Chart for All Zones

Timing is crucial, as any gardener can tell you. Simple forethought and preparation are always the first steps toward a fruitful harvest. The following tables, Vegetable planting timings can help you plan your garden. A planting calendar will help you determine the optimum time to plant veggies in your region and which varieties perform best. Below we learn the USA vegetable planting calendar, vegetable planting guide by zone, and seasonal planting schedule for different vegetables in the USA.

USA vegetable planting calendar

The best month to plant vegetables

Vegetables have a wide window of opportunity from January to December. You can get a head start by checking the vegetable planting calendar, but the actual month you plant vegetables should be determined by factors like your environment, growth zone, and the date of the last expected frost in your location.

Seeds for hardy annual vegetables like broccoli, chard, cabbage, carrots, peas, and parsnips should be sown outside in the spring, when the soil is at its warmest, between March and April. Starting in February, you can get a head start on the growing season by germinating some of them in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Planting greenhouse-friendly vegetables, including tomatoes, tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, and chili peppers under glass may begin in February.

Vegetables to plant in spring 

Planting and seeding should be done throughout the spring and early summer months for the best results. Beetroot, capsicum, okra, pumpkin, radish, eggplants, Jerusalem artichoke, Choko, cucumber, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, dwarf beans, lettuce, spinach, spring onions, tomato, watermelon, and zucchini are some of the fruits and vegetables that can be grown.

Alyssum, California poppy, Amaranthus, aster, celosia, dahlia, gerbera, marigold, chrysanthemum, cockscomb, nasturtium, petunia, portulaca, verbena, and zinnia are some examples of flowers that you can grow in your garden in spring.

Best vegetables to plant in April 

You must hurry up and get the seeds of vegetables with a cool-weather growth season into the ground in the garden as soon as the soil has dried out enough to the point where it can be worked with. Peas, beets, turnips, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and Swiss chard are among the vegetables that can be seeded directly into the ground. Before you start planting your seeds or setting out your transplants, make sure you prepare the soil beforehand.

In case you missed it: Vegetable Growing Season Chart in India: Sowing Guide, Germination and Planting Calendar  

Best fertilizers needed for tomatoes

Consider your soil’s nutrition levels while deciding which tomato fertilizer to use. Test your soil’s fertility before you begin applying fertilizer to your tomato plants. A fertilizer with a little lower nitrogen and greater phosphorus content, such as a 5-10-5 or 5-10-10 mixed fertilizer, is recommended if your soil is already well-balanced or has an abundance of nitrogen. On the other hand, if our soil lacks nitrogen, you should apply a well-balanced fertilizer with a nitrogen level of either 8-8-8 or 10-10-10.

Unless you’ve had ill tomato plants in the past, you may presume you have balanced soil and apply a high-phosphorus tomato plant fertilizer without a soil test. However, it’s important to avoid giving tomato plants excess nitrogen while fertilizing. Tomatoes won’t develop on such a beautiful, green plant. If this is an issue you’ve had in the past, you can try giving the plant only phosphorous instead of a full fertilizer for tomatoes.

When should tomatoes be planted?

Plant tomatoes in the late spring or early summer everywhere except zone 10, where they should be planted in the autumn or winter because of the plant’s heat-loving nature. Replace seed planting with starter plants to speed up the growth process. If you want to plant tomatoes, choose a site with plenty of sunlight. To fully develop their taste, tomatoes need 6-8 hours of sunlight daily. Let each plant develop to its full potential. Strong, long-vined, indeterminate cultivars should be planted at a distance of 3 feet. The ideal spacing for determinates is 2 feet. 

What vegetables can be planted in March?

Do you believe it is too early to begin preparing your spring garden? Not at all, since March is ideal for planting hardy, cool-season vegetables in most parts of the country. You can also start a wide range of seeds inside now, ready for early planting. Some of the hardiest crops are broad (or fava) beans, which can be planted in March, and seeds for many cool-season vegetables if you have already prepared beds for them. Seeds for other vegetables, such as carrots, beets, broccoli, horseradish, kale, leeks, chicory, and turnips, can also be planted.

Peas, shallots, parsnips, spinach (be sure the soil is loaded with organic matter), and spring onions are all excellent early veggies to plant in March. In March, herbs such as dill, chives, and coriander can be sown in the ground or in containers. Seeding of cauliflower, brussels sprouts, spinach, squash, perennial herbs, chili, sweet peppers, and celery can all begin inside (or in a greenhouse) in March. Seeds of tomatoes, cucumbers, and gherkins can now be planted in a greenhouse.

The optimal time to transplant seeds grown inside and under cover into outdoor soil is four to six weeks later or around the beginning of May. Salad greens, which can be grown in a greenhouse or a large container, are another fantastic vegetable that can be sown in March. As soon as the soil is suitable, you can plant artichoke tubers, shallots, garlic sets, asparagus crowns, and rhubarb crowns.

In case you missed it: Vegetable Seed Germination Chart: A Calendar to Time and Soil Temperature.

When should cucumbers be planted?

Cucumber seeds can be planted immediately when the soil temperature reaches 60 degrees Fahrenheit or more in the spring. Using a soil thermometer, you can find out for sure. Indoor planting should begin four to six weeks before your region’s typical last frost date. Sow cucumber seeds straight from the package; they don’t need any particular treatment before planting.

When should I plant carrots?

Sowing of carrot seeds should be done around two to three weeks before the final spring frost date. The soil should be dry and somewhat heated from the winter’s end. The temperature of the soil at which seeds can germinate most successfully ranges from 13 to 29 degrees Celsius (55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit), with a maximum temperature that must not exceed 75 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Intense summer heat stunts development lowers the quality and creates harsh or unpleasant tastes. Therefore, the optimal time to plant seeds for an autumn crop is from the middle to the end of summer, around ten weeks before the first fall frost.

When to fertilize tomato plants?

When planting tomatoes in the garden, fertilizer should be done first. They won’t need more fertilization until after they have produced fruit, so that you can hold off on that for now. Light fertilizer should be used once every two weeks after fruit production has begun on tomato plants until the first cold kills the plant.

The fertilizer for the tomato plant should be mixed in with the soil at the bottom of the planting hole, and then some unfertilized soil should be placed on top of this before the tomato plant is inserted into the hole. Natural fertilizer can cause severe damage to a tomato plant if it comes into touch with the roots.

In case you missed it: Mississippi Vegetable Planting Calendar (MS): Month Wise Garden Guide for Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Zone 7, Zone 8, and Zone 9

USA vegetable planting calendar/vegetable planting schedules

From zone 1 to 6

In case you missed it: Massachusetts Vegetable Planting Calendar (MA): Month Wise Garden Guide for Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Zone 5, Zone 6, and Zone 7

From zone 7 to 11

Conclusion 

It’s possible to do a second planting, often known as a “succession,” in certain areas. In zones 7–10, where the weather is milder, you may have two growing seasons to sow your favorite vegetables. Planting peppers and tomatoes in Florida in February will give you a summer crop, and planting them again in early October will give you a winter harvest.

In case you missed it: Kentucky Vegetable Planting Calendar (KY): Month Wise Guide for Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Zone 6, and Zone 7

Live in the following counties or states of the US and planning to grow vegetables. This USA Vegetable Planting Calander may provide some basic information on the month-wise planting schedule and chart for all zones.

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