When to Plant Veggies

The following list shows planting times for common vegetable crops. The two sets of planting dates are for coastal regions (Camarillo, Oxnard) and the interior (Thousand Oaks, Ojai). Where there are two possible crops per year, planting dates are separated with’;’. No matter what zone you live in, see the video demo on my Garden Planning software review page.

Name	Plant date Coastal	Plant date Interior	Warm/Cool Season	Amount to plant	Inches Between
Artichoke	May-July	July	Cool	3-4 plants	48″
Asparagus	Jan-Feb	Jan-Feb	Cool	30-40 plants	12″
Beans, Lima	May-Jun	May-Jun	Warm	15′-30′ row	6″
Beans, Snap	March-August,	Ap-may; Jul-Aug	Warm	15′-25′ row	3″ (bush) 24″ (pole)
Beets	Jan-Sep	Feb-Apr;Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	18″
Broccoli	Jun-Jul Jan-Feb	Dec-Feb Jul	Cool	6′-10′ row	12″-18″
Brussels Sprouts	Jun-Jul	—–	Cool	15′-20′ row	24″
Cabbage	Aug-Feb	Jul;Feb	Cool	10-15 plant	24″
Cabbage, Chinese	Aug-Octb	Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	6″
Cantelopes, other melons	Apr-May	Apr-Jun	Warm	5-10 hills	12″
Carrots	Jan-Sep	Aug-Sep; Feb-Apr	Cool	10′-25′ row	2″
Cauliflower	Jul-Oct Jan-Feb	Jul-Aug	Cool	10-15 plants	24″
Celery	Apr-Aug	Jun-Aug	Cool	20′-30′ row	5″
Chard	Feb-May	Feb-Aug	Cool	3-4 plants	12″
Chayote	Apr-May	Apr-Jun	Warm	1-2 plants	72″
Chives	Feb-Apr	—	Cool	1 clump	—
Corn, sweet	Mar-Jul	Feb-Mar	Warm	4 rows x 20′-30′	12″
Cucumbers	Apr-Jun	Apr-Jul	Warm	6 plants	24″
Eggplant	Apr-May	Apr-May	Warm	4-6 plants	18″
Endive	Dec-Aug	Jan-Apr Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	10″
Fennel	Feb-Jul	Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	4″
Garlic	Oct-Dec	Oct-Dec	Cool	10′-20′ row	3″
Kale,	Aug-Oct	Aug-Sep	Cool	10′ row	18″-4″
Kohlrabi	Jan; Aug-Sep	Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	3″
Leeks	Jan-Apr	Jan-Apr	Cool	10′ row	2″
Lettuce	Aug-Apr	Aug; Nov-Mar	Cool	10-15′ row, or 5′/month	12″
Mustard	Aug-Feb	Aug; Apr	Cool	10′ row	8″
Okra	Apr-May	May	Warm	10′-20′ row	18″
Onions (bulb)	Feb-Mar	Nov=Mar	Cool	30′-40′ row	3″
Onions (green)	All Year	Aug-dec	Cool	—	—
Parsely	Mar-Jul	Dec-May	Cool	1-2 plants	8″
Parsnips	Mar-Jul	Dec-May	Cool	10′-15′ row	3″
Peas	Aug; Dec-Mar	Sep-Jan; Jan-Feb	Cool	30′-40′ row	2″
Peppers	Apr-May	May	Warm	5-10 plants	24″
Potatoes,sweet	Apr-May	Apr-Jun	Warm	50′-100′ row	12″
Potatoes. white	Feb-May; Jun-Aug	Feb-May; Jun-Aug	Warm	50′-100′ row	12″
Pumpkins	May-Jun	May-Jun	Warm	1-3 Plants	48″
Radish	All Year	Sep-Apr	Cool	4′ row	1″
Rhubarb	Dec-Jan	dec-Jan	Cool	2-3 plants	36″
Rutabaga	Jul-Sep; Aug-Mar	Jul-Sep;Aug-Mar	Cool	10′-15′ row	3″
Spinach	Aug-Mar	Sep-Jan	Cool	10′-20′ row	3″
Squash, summer	Apr-Jun	Apr-Jul	Warm	2-4 plants	24″
Squash,winter	Apr-Jun	Apr-Jun	Warm	2-4 plants	24″
Tomatoes	Apr-July15	Apr-May	Warm	6-12 plants	18″-36″
Turnips	Jan	Feb;Aug	Cool	10′-15′ row	2″
Watermelon	Apr-Jun	Apr-Jun	Warm	6 plants	60″

 

Software Review

I’m taking advantage of the free trial of the Crop Planning software at GrowVeg.com. It’s an easy-to-use way to plan your garden. You simply set your frost dates, and the program calculates seed sowning and planting dates for you. I’ve put a video review of the program here.

It has a simple drawing program to draw your garden. Next, drag and drop crops to your rows, and pull them to length. Reports show you how many plants you need, distance between, and detailed crop infomation is a click away. You can  print your garden plan, plant list and calendar of gardening tasks.

You are able to create a new planting plan for the next year or next season. Create a new plan from an old one, and the program will warn you if you are not doing proper crop rotation! Very cool. An added surprise comes when a garden task is due – you can choose to get an e-mail reminder of monthly tasks!  You can try it for free. It’s fun and easy to use.

Click the banner below to try the garden planning software – for free

Read the next article: Plant Disease Symptoms and their Causes.