When to Plant Cool Season Vegetables: A Simple Guide for 12 Weeks Before the Frost

Looking to find out when to plant cool season vegetables? Here’s a complete guide of what cool season crops to plant from late summer to the first frost.

Are you gearing up for a successful fall vegetable garden? Even if you’re growing in an area with short seasons or challenging weather, there are still plenty of opportunities to get your hands dirty and reap the rewards! With just a bit of planning and some wise gardening decisions, it’s possible to start planting vegetables that will last into the cooler months. This post will provide information on when is the best time to plant fall vegetables, regardless of what climate zone you live in. So grab those gloves and shovels – it’s time to get going on your autumn veggie plot!

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Planning your fall garden using frost dates

Fall gardening is one of the most fun times to garden! The weather is cooling down, the pests are ending their life cycles and the stresses of a summer garden that is overrun by weeds give way to the hope of fall harvests!

Even if you just start considering growing your food in July, you need not worry about being too late to get a garden growing! Let’s jump right into some simple planning for your fall garden! You’ll need 2 numbers to determine when to plant fall vegetables! They are:

• Avg First frost
• Days to maturity for the crops you want to grow

Determine your frost dates

The first step is to figure out when you can begin planting your vegetables. Frost dates are a great way to determine what plants will do well in your area. Knowing the average date of the last spring frost and first fall frost can help you plan your garden around these dates. 

In most areas, the last spring frost occurs between mid-March and mid-April while the first fall frost usually occurs between mid-October and mid-November. The Farmers Almanac has a frost date calculator that can help you with the remaining calculations for your fall vegetable planting plan.

Once you have the frost date, you can count backward from that date to determine how many days you have until the frost date. This gives you a general idea of how much time you have remaining in the season. 

Determine which crops to grow

Once you have your frost dates (and the amount of time you have until the frost), you’ll need to decide what you want to plant! Fall gardening is the season for growing cool weather crops, especially those that are frost-hardy (meaning they can still thrive in the frosty weather of late fall and even early winter! 

Here you’ll want to think about growing leafy greens, cole crops, roots, and pods (like sugar snap peas). Select the varieties of these plants you’d like to plant, keeping in mind that if you are planting warm-season crops like squash or beans the frost will kill them.

You want to take care to understand the days to maturity for each variety. This is often found on the seed package. 

Choosing varieties that have shorter days to maturity than the number of days you have left before frost can help ensure the plants are mature enough to tolerate any early frosts that may come. 

Also read: A Complete Guide to Cool Weather Vegetables and Herbs

Additional Considerations

When determining what vegetables you want to grow for your fall garden and when to plant cool season vegetables, there are a few additional considerations you’ll want to be aware of. 

First, any seeds you start will germinate much sooner due to the soil temperature will be warm. This is great if you have time enough in your growing season to start seeds outside. 

Secondly, you will be planting cold-weather vegetables during the time of year when daytime temperatures are still high, so be prepared with shade clothes or umbrellas to keep the seedlings from bolting in the warm weather. 

Additionally, if your winters are harsh you may want to consider a cold frame or floating row cover to protect your vegetables from the cooler temperatures of late winter.

Lastly, as you get closer to your frost date, you will also be dealing with less daylight. This can cause your plants to mature more slowly. So I like to add about 2 weeks onto the days to maturity so that I get the best results for a fall harvest. As the days get shorter, plants will grow, just at a much slower rate!

When to plant cool season vegetables

Now that we have an idea of what plants we want to grow, and how long we have to grow, here are a few quick reference lists of when to plant cool season vegetables so you can get a jump start on growing at several intervals until your frost date.

I have divided the intervals every two weeks and also divided each list into what seeds you can plant and what transplants you can plant to prolong your gardening season.

Happy fall gardening!

12 weeks before first frost date

At this time in mid-summer you still have time to get a few warm-season vegetables in for a fall harvest! You want to particularly consider bush beans and summer squash which germinate quickly in the summer heat! Bonus here, the life cycle of many squash bugs has ended so the pest pressure at this time is much lower! 

10 weeks before first frost date

It’s your last chance to get a round of bush beans in before the risk of frost! Choosing a fast-maturing variety will ensure you get a good harvest before the end of the season kills these frost tender vegetables! Many of the cold season vegetables (specifically the cole crops) will be planted as transplants so that they are mature enough before the colder weather. 

8 weeks before first frost date

By now the weather is starting to cool off as we are entering early fall. Plants such as cilantro, lettuce, and spinach that are typically quick to bolt in warmer weather can be planted with our other cold hardy vegetables! You want to ensure that you are planting in direct sunlight and not shade now, because the daylight is slowly decreasing which will slow the growth rate of many of these plants until early spring. Warm season crops will now have to wait until it’s time to plant your spring garden next year. 

6 weeks before first frost date

In the final stretch of the garden season and our list is getting shorter, but you still have time to get several of the root vegetables and leafy greens in before the end of fall!

4 weeks before first frost date

Here you really want to be thinking about putting your garlic in. If you have a very mild winter, you may even consider waiting another two weeks or so before planting garlic in the garden!

2 weeks before first frost date

Final week before frost date thru the frost date

Here you may consider planting herbs and flowers that require some cold stratification. Here is a list of some common plants that benefit from cold stratification. Plant while the ground is still workable.

• Catnip
• Chamomile
• Comfrey
• Echinacea (purple coneflower)
• Lavender
• Lemon Balm
• Marshmallow
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Artichokes

Fall gardening can be a great experience for anyone who loves the outdoors or wants to gain a bit of knowledge about producing food. Many gardeners choose not to do it because they don’t think of it as worth their time. But, with proper planning and some extra effort, your garden can serve you well throughout the fall season and into winter – giving you the satisfaction of eating home-grown fruits and vegetables.

Put in the extra effort now while in autumn so your team plant can survive during the harsh winter months! Finally, remember that patience is key for your plants to achieve their fullest potential -don’t give up on them too soon. With hope for plentiful harvests, Happy Gardening!