Planting Dates
USDA Zone 7 vegetable planting calendar (week-by-week).
Zone 7 is one of the longest-growing-season regions in the continental US, and one of the trickiest to plan, because the spring transition is volatile and you can grow three distinct seasons of crops if you time it right.
What "Zone 7" actually tells you
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7 is defined by an average annual minimum winter temperature of 0°F to 10°F (-18°C to -12°C). It runs across a wide belt of the US (northern North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and most of the mid-Atlantic coast), plus pockets of the Pacific Northwest and northern California foothills.
Hardiness zones tell you what perennials survive your winter. They do not tell you when to plant annuals. For that you need frost dates, and frost dates inside Zone 7 vary by as much as four weeks depending on which sub-zone (7a vs 7b) you are in, your elevation, and proximity to water. The schedule below uses the extension-service median dates that the Planting Dates calculator pre-loads for Zone 7: March 22 last frost, November 5 first frost. These are averages, not guarantees. Colder 7a pockets run two to three weeks later in spring, and your own microclimate matters more than the zone line. Adjust if you know your local dates.
The three Zone 7 seasons
- Spring cool-season (late February–early June). Lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, carrots, brassicas, alliums. These crops bolt or grow bitter in heat, so get them in early.
- Warm-season (April–October). Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, cucumbers, melons, corn. These need soil temps above 60°F and zero frost risk.
- Fall cool-season (August–November). Re-plant the cool crops from spring. Many do better in fall because they ripen into cooling weather rather than the spring heat wave.
The full week-by-week calendar
Mid-January (~10 weeks before the median last frost): Start indoors: onions (from seed), leeks, celery, peppers, eggplant. Long-season slowpokes go first, and peppers and eggplant need a 70°F+ soil temperature to germinate, so use a heat mat.
Late January (~8 weeks out): Start indoors: tomatoes.
Mid-February (~5–6 weeks out): Start indoors: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts.
Late February: Direct sow outdoors as soon as soil is workable: peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, arugula. Cover with frost cloth if a hard freeze threatens.
Week 1: Direct sow: carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, kale. Plant onion sets and shallots. Start indoors: cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash for an early-April set-out.
Week 2: Direct sow: Swiss chard, collards, mustard greens, plus a second succession of lettuce and radishes. Transplant: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts (these can take a light frost).
Week 3 (around March 22, the median last frost): Hold the warm-season transplants. A cold snap after the average date is routine in Zone 7, so monitor the 10-day forecast. Plant potatoes.
Week 4: If the forecast is clean and soil has reached 60°F, the earliest tomato transplants can go out under cover. Otherwise give it another week.
Week 1 (~2 weeks after the median last frost): The week everything happens. Transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. Direct sow beans (bush and pole), corn, cucumbers, summer squash, melons. Soil temperature is the real gate: beans want 65°F, corn 60°F.
Week 2: Direct sow: more lettuce and radishes before the heat arrives. Slip-plant sweet potatoes once soil is thoroughly warm.
Week 3: Direct sow: second succession beans, second succession corn (block planting for pollination).
Week 4: Direct sow: okra (it sulks in cool soil, so late April is early enough). Sidedress the February-sown cool crops with compost.
Week 1: Direct sow: winter squash, pumpkins (90–120 days puts them at a September–October finish, well ahead of the November 5 median frost). Transplant: late tomatoes for fall harvest.
Week 2: Direct sow: a third succession of bush beans.
Week 3: Sidedress spring crops with compost. Plant a second round of summer squash if your first crop fails to vine borers.
Week 4 (Memorial Day): Final direct-sow window for full-season crops. Anything started after this date is a fall crop.
Week 1–2: The spring cool-season bed winds down: harvest the last lettuce and spinach before they bolt, then replant the space with bush beans or cucumbers.
Week 3: Sidedress tomatoes and peppers with compost tea. Pinch tomato suckers.
Week 4: Direct sow: succession beans, cucumbers for fall pickling. Start indoors: fall brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kale) for August transplant.
Week 1: Heavy tomato, cucumber, squash, bean harvest begins. Stay on top of cucumber and zucchini; they hide under leaves.
Week 2–3: Direct sow: late carrots, beets for fall (these will mature into October cool weather, sweetening as they go).
Week 4: Start indoors or direct-sow second crop of lettuce in the shade of taller plants. Direct sow short-season bush beans for fall.
Week 1: Transplant fall brassicas (started indoors in June). Direct sow: turnips, more carrots, radishes.
Week 2: Direct sow: spinach (germinates better as soil cools), Swiss chard for fall.
Week 3: Direct sow: arugula, mustard greens, mizuna, tatsoi. These quick crops ripen in 30–45 days for a September salad bed.
Week 4: Garlic prep: order seed garlic now for October planting. Pull spent summer crops to free up beds.
Week 1–2: Last direct sow for fall: lettuce, spinach, radishes, arugula. After mid-September, only frost-tolerant fast-cycle crops will mature.
Week 3: Plant fall onion sets and shallots for overwintering.
Week 4: Sow cover crops (winter rye, hairy vetch, crimson clover) in beds you are putting to bed.
Week 1: Plant garlic and shallots for next year. They need 4–6 weeks of root growth before the ground freezes.
Week 2–3: Harvest winter squash before frost can touch the fruit; cure in a warm spot for 2 weeks.
Week 4 (approaching the November 5 median first frost): Last call for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. Pick everything; green tomatoes ripen on a windowsill. Harvest sweet potatoes after a light frost browns the leaves but before any hard freeze.
November: The first frost typically lands in the first week; hard freezes follow by month's end. Final fall harvests. Cover overwintering crops (kale, spinach, garlic) with mulch. Cold frames extend lettuce, spinach, kale, mâche for another 6–8 weeks.
December: Final harvest of any overwintering crops.
January: Plan next year's beds. Order seeds (best selection ships January–February). Repair raised-bed frames before the ground thaws, and start the first onion and pepper trays indoors by mid-month.
Not in Zone 7?
The Planting Dates calculator handles USDA zones 3 through 11 with frost dates pre-loaded, or accepts custom frost dates for anywhere in the world. Hemisphere toggle flips the whole schedule for southern-hemisphere users.
Open the calculator →Three common Zone 7 mistakes
Planting warm-season crops too early
A 70°F day in late March after a mild winter is a trap. Tomato transplants in cold (under 55°F) soil sulk, lose lower leaves, and produce 2–3 weeks later than transplants put in warmer soil one week later. Wait for soil temperature, not air temperature.
Skipping the fall replant
The August replant is the part most home gardeners forget. Zone 7 has enough season after September 15 to produce a second crop of lettuce, spinach, kale, radishes, and turnips, often higher quality than the spring version because they ripen into cooling weather.
Ignoring soil temperature for direct sow
Spinach germinates best at 50–60°F soil. Beans need 65°F. Corn needs 60°F. Tomatoes transplant well at 65°F+. A cheap soil thermometer at 4-inch depth removes 80% of "why didn't my seeds come up" surprises.
How to adjust for your microclimate
Your last-frost date is the single most important variable. Find it by:
- Checking the Old Farmer's Almanac frost-date lookup by ZIP code (US) or postal code (Canada).
- Calling your local cooperative extension office. They keep multi-decade frost-date averages by county.
- Asking neighbours who have been gardening for 10+ years. They know the local pockets where frost lingers longest.
Once you know your last-frost date, shift every "transplant" event in the calendar above to 1–2 weeks after your last frost. Shift "start indoors" events to 6–10 weeks before your last frost (peppers and onions at the long end, tomatoes around 8, brassicas around 6). The cool-season direct-sow dates (peas, spinach, lettuce) move with your soil-workable date, usually 4–6 weeks before last frost.
Sources: USDA Agricultural Research Service (Plant Hardiness Zone Map), NOAA Climate Data Online (frost-date averages by station), Virginia Cooperative Extension (Home Vegetable Gardening), University of Maryland Extension (Vegetable Planting Calendar), Penn State Extension (Vegetable Planting Guide).
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