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Zone 7A Vegetable Planting Calendar

When can you plant in Zone 7A? In Zone 7A, outdoor sowing opens with cool-season crops like Lettuce and Spinach in January, and warm-season crops like Tomato follow after the ~April 1 last frost. The season runs about 207 frost-free days, until ~October 25. The calendar below scores all 35 crops month by month.

Scored per crop from your zone's frost dates, each crop's days-to-maturity, and typical soil temperatures — honestly, including when not to plant.

A zone caveat: USDA zones reflect winter lows, not summer heat — this calendar is a zone-level guide. For timing tuned to your ZIP region, sun, and soil, get your free AI garden plan.

Last frost (50/50 date)

~April 1

First frost (50/50 date)

~October 25

A single frost date is a coin flip dressed up as a fact: these are the 50/50 dates, and about half of years see frost past them. Across 4,330 NOAA stations, frost odds typically stay near 1 in 3 for about a week past the date and don't drop below 1 in 10 until roughly 16 days past it — cautious growers wait those two-plus weeks; gamblers plant on the date and keep row cover handy. The free AI plan reads the real percentile dates for your ZIP region and lets you pick your risk.

Zone 7A Month by Month

The same verdicts as the grid, read as a to-do list. Temperatures are the zone-level model this calendar scores against — your bed's soil thermometer overrules them.

1. January soil ~43°F · highs ~45°F · 5 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula, Peas, and Cilantro. Start indoors: Onion and Rosemary. Risky: Kale, Swiss Chard, Carrot, and Radish and 11 more (soil still cool (~43°F)).
2. February soil ~45°F · highs ~48°F · 20 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Kale, Swiss Chard, Carrot, Radish, Beet, and Broccoli and 9 more. Start indoors: Kale, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, Sweet Potato, Thyme, Oregano, Chives, and Parsley.
3. March soil ~50°F · highs ~56°F · 20 of 35 crops in a good window
   Start indoors: Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Basil, Zucchini, Cucumber, Pumpkin, Okra, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe. Nothing new opens or closes.
4. April soil ~57°F · highs ~67°F · 20 of 35 crops in a good window
   Last good month for: Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula, Cilantro, and Parsley.
5. May soil ~63°F · highs ~79°F · 22 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Tomato, Basil, Zucchini, Cucumber, Bean, and Corn and 1 more. Risky: Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula, and Cilantro and 1 more (last sowing before the window closes); Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin, and Sweet Potato (soil still cool (~63°F)).
6. June soil ~68°F · highs ~87°F · 26 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Pepper, Eggplant, Pumpkin, and Sweet Potato. Last good month for: Pumpkin and Sweet Potato. Risky: Okra, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe (soil still cool (~68°F)).
7. July soil ~70°F · highs ~90°F · 27 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Okra, Watermelon, and Cantaloupe. Last good month for: Potato, Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, Basil, and Corn and 4 more.
8. August soil ~68°F · highs ~87°F · 17 of 35 crops in a good window
   Last good month for: Swiss Chard, Carrot, Beet, Broccoli, Cabbage, and Cauliflower and 4 more. Risky: Potato (finishes just ahead of first frost).
9. September soil ~63°F · highs ~79°F · 10 of 35 crops in a good window
   Opens: Spinach, Arugula, and Cilantro. Last good month for: Spinach, Kale, Arugula, Peas, and Cilantro. Risky: Lettuce (last sowing before the window closes); Swiss Chard, Carrot, Beet, and Broccoli and 1 more (finishes just ahead of first frost); Garlic (shoulder of the garlic window).
10. October soil ~57°F · highs ~67°F · 6 of 35 crops in a good window
    Opens: Garlic. Last good month for: Radish. Risky: Spinach, Arugula, and Cilantro (finishes just ahead of first frost).
11. November soil ~50°F · highs ~56°F · 5 of 35 crops in a good window
    Last good month for: Garlic.
12. December soil ~45°F · highs ~48°F · 4 of 35 crops in a good window
    Last good month for: Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Chives. Risky: Garlic (shoulder of the garlic window).

When to Start Seeds Indoors vs. Direct Sow in Zone 7A

In Zone 7A, start Onion, Rosemary, Eggplant and other transplants indoors 5–10 weeks before your ~April 1 last frost, then set them out once it passes. Arugula, Bean, Beet and the other direct-sow crops go straight into the bed. Exact indoor start dates for every crop are below.

Planting a fall garden? Count the indoor weeks back from your transplant date instead of the spring frost — the free AI plan's prep runway computes that per plant, including hardening-off days.

How Much Fits in a Zone 7A Season

• 22 of 35 crops have four or more good planting months in Zone 7A.
• Widest windows: Chives (11 months), Oregano (11 months), Rosemary (11 months).
• Tightest windows: Cantaloupe (1), Okra (1), Pumpkin (1), Sweet Potato (1), Watermelon (1), Eggplant (2) and 2 more — plant these on the first good month, not the last.
• Good months per crop in Zone 7A: Chives 11 · Oregano 11 · Rosemary 11 · Thyme 11 · Peas 9 · Radish 9 · Kale 8 · Beet 7 · Broccoli 7 · Cabbage 7 · Carrot 7 · Cauliflower 7 · Onion 7 · Swiss Chard 7 · Potato 6 · Arugula 5 · Cilantro 5 · Spinach 5 · Bean 4 · Cucumber 4 · Lettuce 4 · Zucchini 4 · Basil 3 · Corn 3 · Parsley 3 · Sunflower 3 · Tomato 3 · Eggplant 2 · Garlic 2 · Pepper 2 · Cantaloupe 1 · Okra 1 · Pumpkin 1 · Sweet Potato 1 · Watermelon 1

Zone 7A Planting FAQ