Zone 7 is one of the most versatile gardening zones in the United States. With a growing season of 180–210 days and enough winter cold to grow great cool-season crops, Zone 7 gardeners can grow almost anything. Here’s your complete month-by-month planting calendar.

Understanding Zone 7

USDA Zone 7 covers a wide band across the United States:

• Zone 7a (0–5°F minimum): Parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Texas, New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest
• Zone 7b (5–10°F minimum): Parts of the same states, generally slightly warmer microclimates

Average last spring frost: April 1–15 Average first fall frost: October 25–November 10 Growing season: 180–210 days

Zone 7 is the sweet spot — warm enough for tomatoes, peppers, and melons but cold enough for excellent cool-season crops. You get true four-season gardening potential.

January: Planning and Early Seeds

Indoor tasks:

• Order seeds if you haven’t already — popular varieties sell out
• Start onion seeds indoors (10–12 weeks before transplant)
• Start leek seeds indoors
• Review last year’s garden notes. What worked? What didn’t?

Outdoor tasks:

• Prune dormant fruit trees and berry bushes
• Check stored garlic and potatoes for sprouting
• Cover overwintering crops (spinach, kale) during extreme cold snaps
• Turn compost pile on mild days

Harvest: Overwintered kale, collards, spinach (with protection)

February: The Starting Gun

Start indoors (under lights):

• Peppers (8–10 weeks before last frost) — first 2 weeks of February
• Eggplant (8–10 weeks before last frost) — first 2 weeks of February
• Tomatoes (6–8 weeks before last frost) — last 2 weeks of February
• Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage for spring planting

Direct sow outdoors (late February, if soil is workable):

• Peas — they tolerate frost and benefit from early planting
• Spinach — direct sow as soon as soil can be worked
• Radishes
• Lettuce (under row cover for protection)

Outdoor tasks:

• Prepare beds: add compost, check pH, amend as needed
• Set up trellises for peas
• Start hardening off any overwintered cold frames

March: Things Get Real

Start indoors:

• More tomatoes if needed (early March)
• Cucumbers, squash, melons (late March, 3–4 weeks before transplant)
• Herbs: basil, parsley, cilantro

Direct sow outdoors:

• Peas (if not planted in February)
• Lettuce, spinach, arugula
• Carrots (mid-to-late March)
• Beets
• Radishes
• Kale and collards for spring
• Swiss chard
• Potatoes (St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional Zone 7 planting date)
• Onion sets and transplants (mid-March)

Transplant outdoors (with protection):

• Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage transplants (mid-March, under row cover)

Key reminder: Watch the weather. Zone 7 can still get hard freezes through mid-March. Have row covers or frost cloth ready.

April: Prime Planting Month

April is the busiest month in a Zone 7 garden. The risk of frost drops rapidly, and warm-season planting begins.

After last frost (April 1–15):

• Transplant tomatoes outdoors
• Transplant peppers outdoors
• Transplant eggplant outdoors
• Direct sow bush beans
• Direct sow corn (soil temperature 60°F+)

Continue direct sowing:

• Carrots (succession plant)
• Beets (succession plant)
• Lettuce (switch to heat-tolerant varieties)
• Radishes
• Swiss chard

Late April:

• Direct sow cucumbers (soil temp 65°F+)
• Direct sow squash and zucchini
• Transplant herbs (basil, parsley)
• Direct sow dill, cilantro

Tasks:

• Install tomato cages/stakes at planting time
• Mulch everything — 3 inches minimum
• Set up drip irrigation if using it
• Watch for late frost warnings and protect tender transplants

May: Full Throttle

Direct sow:

• Pole beans and lima beans
• Southern peas/cowpeas (mid-May when soil is warm)
• Okra (needs warm soil, 65°F+)
• Sweet potato slips (after soil warms)
• Watermelon and cantaloupe (direct sow or transplant)
• Summer squash succession planting

Transplant:

• Any remaining tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
• Herb transplants

Tasks:

• Side-dress spring-planted crops with compost or organic fertilizer
• Watch for pests: aphids, flea beetles, cabbage worms on brassicas
• Harvest spring lettuce, spinach, radishes before they bolt
• Start planning your fall garden (yes, already)

Harvest: Lettuce, spinach, radishes, peas, asparagus, strawberries

June: Growth and Early Harvest

Plant:

• Succession plant bush beans every 2–3 weeks
• Succession plant cucumbers
• Last plantings of squash and okra
• Southern peas

Tasks:

• Stake and tie tomato plants as they grow
• Remove suckers from indeterminate tomatoes (or don’t — there are arguments both ways)
• Deep water established plants during dry spells (1 inch per week)
• Scout for squash vine borers — wrap stems, use Bt injections
• Harvest garlic when lower leaves brown (typically mid-June)
• Pull spring brassicas as they bolt

Harvest: Peas, lettuce (final), strawberries, garlic, early beans, early squash, first cherry tomatoes

July: Peak Production and Fall Planning

Plant:

• Bush beans (last succession for spring/summer)
• Southern peas
• Start fall broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage seeds indoors (late July)
• Start fall tomato seeds indoors (mid-July) for transplanting in August

Tasks:

• Water consistently — July heat is intense in Zone 7
• Apply shade cloth over heat-stressed plants
• Harvest squash and beans regularly to keep plants producing
• Pull spent spring crops and compost them
• Begin preparing beds for fall planting: add compost, remove weeds

Harvest: Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, corn, okra, melons (late July)

August: The Fall Transition

August is the second busiest planting month. While summer crops are still producing, fall planting begins.

Transplant outdoors:

• Fall broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage (early August)
• Fall tomatoes (early August, Zone 7b; risky in 7a)

Direct sow:

• Bush beans (August 1 — last chance for fall harvest before frost)
• Cucumbers (early August, quick-maturing varieties)
• Lettuce (start under shade cloth, move to full sun as temperatures cool)
• Kale and collards (direct sow or transplant mid-August)
• Beets
• Carrots
• Turnips
• Rutabaga

Tasks:

• Provide shade cloth for new fall transplants
• Water fall seedlings consistently
• Continue harvesting summer crops
• Remove any diseased plants promptly

Harvest: Peak tomato season, peppers, eggplant, okra, melons, beans, corn

September: Fall Garden Hits Its Stride

Direct sow:

• Lettuce, spinach, arugula (direct sow throughout September)
• Radishes
• Turnips
• Asian greens (bok choy, tatsoi, mizuna)
• Cover crops in beds you’re done with (crimson clover, winter rye)

Transplant:

• Any remaining brassica transplants (early September)

Plant:

• Garlic (late September through October)

Tasks:

• Remove spent summer crops as they finish
• Add compost to emptied beds
• Reduce watering as temperatures cool (but don’t stop — fall crops still need moisture)
• Start saving seeds from open-pollinated varieties

Harvest: Tomatoes (late season), peppers, fall beans, fall broccoli (early planted), lettuce, kale

October: Cool-Season Abundance

Plant:

• Garlic cloves (October is prime time in Zone 7)
• Onion seeds indoors for spring transplanting
• Spinach (direct sow for overwintering)
• Lettuce (last sowings for fall harvest)
• Cover crops for winter

Tasks:

• Harvest remaining warm-season crops before first frost
• Protect frost-tender plants with row covers if frost comes early
• Leave frost-tolerant crops in the ground — kale, collards, carrots, beets, turnips, spinach
• Clean and store tomato cages, stakes, and supports
• Add leaves and compost to beds as mulch

Harvest: Kale, collards, lettuce, carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, fall broccoli, final tomatoes and peppers

November: Wind Down and Winterize

Plant:

• Garlic (last chance, through mid-November)
• Overwinter spinach and lettuce under cold frames or row covers

Tasks:

• Mulch garlic beds with 4–6 inches of straw or leaves
• Spread leaves over empty beds (free mulch and soil amendment)
• Clean, sharpen, and oil tools for storage
• Drain and store irrigation lines if freezing is a concern
• Take soil tests for spring planning
• Order seed catalogs

Harvest: Kale (peak flavor after frost), collards, spinach, carrots (leave in ground until needed), Brussels sprouts, leeks

December: Rest, Plan, Dream

Tasks:

• Harvest overwintered greens as needed
• Check cold frames and row covers after storms
• Plan next year’s garden layout
• Order seeds early for best selection
• Review and update your garden journal
• Compost Christmas tree branches for mulch

Harvest: Overwintered kale, collards, spinach (with protection), carrots and beets (store in ground under mulch)

Zone 7 Quick Reference Planting Chart

Vegetable	Start Indoors	Direct Sow	Transplant Outdoors	Days to Harvest
Tomatoes	Feb 15–Mar 1	—	Apr 1–15	65–85
Peppers	Feb 1–15	—	Apr 10–20	65–80
Squash	Mar 25	Apr 15–May 15	Apr 15	50–60
Cucumbers	Mar 25	Apr 20–May 15	Apr 20	55–65
Beans	—	Apr 15–Aug 1	—	50–65
Corn	—	Apr 15–May 15	—	70–90
Lettuce	Feb 15	Mar–Apr, Sep–Oct	Mar 15	30–60
Kale	—	Mar, Aug–Sep	—	55–75
Carrots	—	Mar–Apr, Aug–Sep	—	65–80
Broccoli	Feb 15, Jul 15	—	Mar 15, Aug 1	60–80
Peas	—	Feb–Mar, Sep	—	60–70
Garlic	—	Oct–Nov	—	240 (next June)
Potatoes	—	Mar 15	—	75–120

Zone 7 Growing Tips

Extending the Season

Zone 7 gets cold enough that season extension tools make a real difference:

• Cold frames: Extend lettuce, spinach, and carrot harvests well into December and even through winter
• Row covers (frost cloth): Add 4–8°F of protection. Keep cool-season crops growing through November
• Black plastic mulch: Warms soil for earlier spring planting of warm-season crops
• Wall-O-Water or similar: Protect individual tomato transplants from late frosts, allowing planting 2–3 weeks earlier

Succession Planting

Don’t plant everything at once. Stagger plantings of these crops every 2–3 weeks:

• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Bush beans
• Carrots
• Beets

This gives you continuous harvests instead of a glut followed by nothing.

Soil Management

Zone 7 soils vary wildly by location. Get a soil test and follow the recommendations. Generally:

• Add 2–3 inches of compost every spring and fall
• Use cover crops in winter to prevent erosion and add organic matter
• Mulch heavily to moderate soil temperature and retain moisture

Zone 7 is one of the best gardening zones in America. Use this calendar, stay consistent, and you’ll be eating from your garden 9–10 months of the year.

For complete regional guides tailored to your specific Zone 7 area, check out the Harvest Home Guides book series. Each book covers a specific U.S. region with month-by-month detail.