Vegetable Growing Guide

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How to Grow Vegetables

November 30, 2023

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In one handy chart, the �� Vegetables Growing Guide summarizes when to start seeds indoors and outdoors, the soil temperature needed to germinate, the plant’s hardiness level, when to fertilize, and when to water.

Of course, see the master Planting Calendar for more specific dates by YOUR zip code for all your common vegetables.

Vegetables Growing Guide

Note: Each of the vegetables listed below links to an individual vegetable plant guide that covers sowing to growing to harvest!

Vegetable	Start Seeds Indoors (weeks before last spring frost)	Start Seeds Outdoors (weeks before or after last spring frost)	Minimum Soil Temp. to Germinate (°F)	Cold Hardiness	When to Fertilize	When to Water
Beans	—	Anytime after	48–50	Tender	After heavy bloom and set of pods	Regularly, from start of pod to set
Beets	—	3 before to 3 after	39–41	Half-hardy	At time of planting	Only during drought conditions
Broccoli	6–8	2–3 before	55–75	Hardy	Three weeks after transplanting	Only during drought conditions
Brussels sprouts	6–8	—	55–75	Hardy	Three weeks after transplanting	At transplanting
Cabbage	6–8	1 before to 1 after	38–40	Hardy	Three weeks after transplanting	Two to three weeks before harvest
Carrots	—	3–5 before	39–41	Half-hardy	Preferably in the fall for the following spring	Only during drought conditions
Cauliflower	6–8	1 before to 1after	65–75	Half-hardy	Three weeks after transplanting	Once, three weeks before harvest
Celery	6–8	—	60–70	Tender	At time of transplanting	Once a week
Corn	—	2 after	46–50	Tender	When eight to ten inches tall, and again when first silk appears	When tassels appear and cobs start to swell
Cucumbers	2–4	1–2 after	65–70	Very tender	One week after bloom, and again three weeks later	Frequently, especially when fruits form
Lettuce	4–6	1 before to 2 after	40–75	Half-hardy	Two to three weeks after transplanting	Once a week
Melons	2–4	2 after	55–60	Very tender	One week after bloom, and again three weeks later	Once a week
Onion sets	—	4 before	34–36	Hardy	When bulbs begin to swell, and again when plants are one foot tall	Only during drought conditions
Parsnips	—	0–3 before	55–70	Hardy	One year before planting	Only during drought conditions
Peas	—	4–6 before	34–36	Hardy	After heavy bloom and set of pods	Regularly, from start of pod to set
Peppers	8–10	—	70–80	Very tender	After first fruit-set	Once a week
Potato tubers	—	0–2 after	55–70	Half-hardy	At bloom time or time of second hilling	Regularly, when tubers start to form
Pumpkins	2–4	1 after	55–60	Tender	Just before vines start to run, when plants are about one foot tall	Only during drought conditions
Radishes	—	1 before to 1 after	39–41	Hardy	Before spring planting	Once a week
Spinach	—	4–6 before	55–65	Hardy	When plants are one-third grown	Once a week
Squash, summer	2–4	1 after	55–60	Very tender	Just before vines start to run, when plants are about one foot tall	Only during drought conditions
Squash, winter	2–4	1 after	55–60	Tender	Just before vines start to run, when plants are about one foot tall	Only during drought conditions
Tomatoes	6–8	—	50–55	Tender	Two weeks before, and after first picking	Twice a week

Ready to plan an amazing vegetable garden? Let’s get to the drawing board. !

Hi, Brian, There are many reasons why seeds do not germinate: too much or too little moisture, too high or too low temperature, oxygen (for example, too much water can hamper the amount of oxygen available), light (some plants like a lot and some like less; the amound of light a seed gets be affected by the depth at which it is planted); the medium into which a seed is planted. Different seeds may have slightly, or greatly varying, needs of all of these conditions. And, most seed suppliers know that very few varieties have 100% germination; that's why you get lots of seeds in packets. Some of your best guidance is on the seed packet.
All we can suggest is that you review/reconsider the needs of the specific varieties and see if you can better fulfill their needs.

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hello, what can i do to my garden patch to make the soil more healthy so my veggies grow? i think the ground on my whole property is really bad, it wont even grow grass very well. but this yr. i would really like to grow a garden if possible. can u tell me what i can do without buying a bunch of exspensive stuff? thank you

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St. Louis city has an area where they grind and compost all the collected leaf & lawn waste and the give it away for load your own gardeners. See if you have something like that close to you. Check craigslist for stables or chicken/rabbit owners who give away free manure...often city parks do this also if you have any mounted ( horse) policemen. I mix all the above with my soil in raised beds and add some each fall/winter to prepare my beds for the next year, with great results. Good luck!

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You could try making ‘lasagna beds’, also known as sheet composting. Basically you add compostable materials like the layers in a lasagna—it takes a little while to work, but it is effective and you don’t need to make or buy sides for the bed (unless you want to). This article explains more: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/create-vegetable-beds-lasagna-mulching

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what month do I start getting the ground ready for winter garden? " I am the registered user."

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Before the ground gets too hard, you'll want to remove any old plant debris and weeds to avoid overwintering insects. See our article on putting the garden to bed here: http://www.almanac.com/content/putting-garden-bed

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I want to plant cabbage and tomatoes

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We moved our garden to a new spot for more room, our new garden plot has a slight incline & the top seems to stay drier. I thought we could plant according to the grade. Vegetables that are dry tolerant to the higher/drier end etc. Just wondering if someone could help me with that layout? Is there a rule of thumb to that planting layout? Ready to garden if it would quit snowing!

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Some herbs such as rosemary or thyme will do well in a dry spot, and root crops such as carrots and beetroot will often cope with drier soil (for short periods, at least). If the soil is very dry, however, you may find installing irrigation easier to enable you to rotate annual crops in that part of your garden.

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I too have that problem. My garden is 120'x250' with a slight incline. I box bladed the low area to give me a water run off. Also, if you build your rows up with a row hipper, or disc row builder, any rain will run off between your rows. This will help keep your plants dry during heavy rain.

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