Seeds for Gardens

Zones

Plant by zone, not by catalog

Each page names typical frost dates, the crops that finish, and the mistake that wastes a spring in that climate.

  1. Zone 3a

    Frost May 25 – Sep 10

    Greens the moment the soil thaws. 50-day tomatoes under cover. Kale, garlic with thick mulch, and honesty.

  2. Zone 3b

    Frost May 18 – Sep 18

    Short-season fruit started indoors, two sowings of greens, garlic if you mulch hard.

  3. Zone 4a

    Frost May 12 – Sep 25

    Early Girl, Provider beans, kale, garlic. A heat mat in March is worth more than a fifth tomato variety.

  4. Zone 4b

    Frost May 5 – Oct 1

    Short-season fruit, two sowings of greens, garlic in October.

  5. Zone 5a

    Frost Apr 28 – Oct 8

    54–65 day tomatoes, bush beans, a fall kale sowing, garlic.

  6. Zone 5b

    Frost Apr 22 – Oct 12

    Peas and spinach early. Cherries and Early Girl for fruit. Fall greens in August.

  7. Zone 6a

    Frost Apr 18 – Oct 15

    Early Girl and Sungold. Two lettuce seasons. Garlic in October. A heat mat for peppers.

  8. Zone 6b

    Frost Apr 10 – Oct 22

    Most beginner crops finish. Choose 70-day fruit or start 80-day types indoors on time.

  9. Zone 7a

    Frost Apr 2 – Nov 1

    Full tomato season if started indoors. Fall greens in late August. Garlic still wants a chill.

  10. Zone 7b

    Frost Mar 25 – Nov 8

    Peppers that actually ripen. Succession greens. A fall garden that is not an afterthought.

  11. Zone 8a

    Frost Mar 15 – Nov 15

    Spring tomatoes. Fall brassicas and greens. Heat-set peppers. Skip midsummer lettuce.

  12. Zone 8b

    Frost Mar 5 – Nov 25

    In the Northwest: greens, peas, tomatoes against a south wall. In Texas: two vegetable years around the heat.

  13. Zone 9a

    Frost Feb 15 – Dec 10

    Space, morning sun, fall tomatoes, winter greens. Garlic is optional; the chill is weak.

  14. Zone 9b

    Frost Feb 1 – Dec 20

    Heat-lovers in the shoulder seasons. Shade cloth in summer. Greens in winter.

  15. Zone 10a

    Frost Jan 20 – Dec 31

    Year-round succession. Tomatoes when your microclimate is warm enough, not when Illinois is.

  16. Zone 10b

    Frost Jan 10 – Dec 31

    Sow every month something finishes. Herbs and cherry tomatoes are the backbone.

  17. Zone 11a

    Frost Jan 1 – Dec 31

    Warm-night crops. Tomatoes in the cooler months. Skip anything that wants a freeze to sweeten.

  18. Zone 11b

    Frost Jan 1 – Dec 31

    Year-round succession. Herbs and heat-lovers. Treat winter as the tomato season.

Cities