Planning path

Warm Season Garden Planner

Plan warm-season crops from local last frost, soil warmth, transplant timing, tender direct sowing, full sun, water access, and maturity windows.

Current warm-season plan

Warm bed: first plant-out April 29

Open the warm bed with soil-ready direct rows and hardened tender transplants before scanning all 55 warm-season entries.

Open catalog path

Warm-bed runway

Tender transplant Roma Tomato main warm bed anchor · Apr 29 · 76d · 24" spacing
Pepper row California Wonder Pepper late warm transplant · May 6 · 72d · 18" spacing
Warm direct row Provider Bush Bean warm-soil repeat crop · Apr 25 · 50d · 4" spacing
Vine row Marketmore 76 Cucumber warm direct or transplant slot · Apr 29 · 58d · 18" spacing

First plant-out: Apr 29
Warm direct row: Apr 25
Warm catalog: 55 crops

Warm-season timing checks

Wait for frost-free warmth: Use the local last-frost date as the first screen, then wait for crop-appropriate air and soil warmth before planting tender crops outside.
Check soil temperature: Beans, corn, cucurbits, basil, and other heat-loving crops germinate and root better when soil is warm enough for that crop, not just when the calendar says spring.
Separate tender direct sowing and transplants: Direct sow crops that establish quickly in warm soil, and transplant long-season tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and similar crops after hardening them off.
Harden and shelter starts: Move indoor-grown starts gradually into outdoor sun, wind, and night temperatures; use temporary protection when a cold snap or wind would stress young plants.
Plan long-season maturity: Check days to maturity against the expected frost-free season so slow warm-season crops have enough time to flower, fruit, and ripen.
Manage heat and water stress: Keep warm-season beds near reliable water, irrigate deeply during hot dry weather, and watch flowering and fruiting crops for stress during heat waves.

Regional warm-season checks

Pair warm-season catalog entries with regional frost-free timing, soil warmth, heat stress, transplant limits, and local spring/fall windows

South Carolina Spring and Fall Garden Clemson checks for Coastal/Piedmont warm-season rows, freeze danger, and okra/tomato fall no-planting caveats
Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide Texas A&M checks frost-free and first-freeze maps, early spring/fall maturity timing, and full-sun well-drained site fit
Oklahoma Garden Planning Guide OSU checks 70-90F warm-season fit, 50F seed-depth soil minimum, and southeast-to-northwest date shifts
California Interior Valley Vegetable Planting Guide UC checks 65-95F warm-season bands, local frost-date caveats, and Interior Valley warm-crop month rows

Warm-season seed candidates

Black-Eyed Susan 90 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Blanketflower 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Canada Goldenrod 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Clustered Mountain Mint 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Common Milkweed 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Dense Blazing Star 365 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Eastern Bee Balm 365 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Foxglove Beardtongue 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Joe Pye Weed 365 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Lanceleaf Coreopsis 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Little Bluestem 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
New England Aster 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
Purple Coneflower 365 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Swamp Milkweed 365 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days before last frost
German Chamomile 60 days · Direct sow · direct sow on last frost
French Marigold 55 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
Common Borage 60 days · Direct sow · direct sow 7 days after last frost
Common Summer Savory 60 days · Direct sow · direct sow 7 days after last frost
Common Lemon Balm 70 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
California Giant Zinnia 75 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
Sensation Mix Cosmos 75 days · Direct sow · direct sow 7 days after last frost
Florence Fennel 80 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
Tall Double Mix Strawflower 80 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
Indian Summer Rudbeckia 90 days · Either · transplant 7 days after last frost
Mammoth Sunflower 90 days · Direct sow · direct sow 7 days after last frost
Common Anise 120 days · Direct sow · direct sow 7 days after last frost
Provider Bush Bean 50 days · Direct sow · direct sow 10 days after last frost
Red Garnet Amaranth 45 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days after last frost
Marketmore 76 Cucumber 58 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Genovese Basil 68 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Red Stem Malabar Spinach 70 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Sorghum-Sudangrass Cover Crop 70 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days after last frost
Toma Verde Tomatillo 70 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Broadleaf Sage 75 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Roma Tomato 76 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Envy Edamame Soybean 80 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days after last frost
Golden Bantam Sweet Corn 80 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days after last frost
Red Noodle Yardlong Bean 80 days · Direct sow · direct sow 14 days after last frost
Sugar Baby Watermelon 80 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Globe Amaranth Gomphrena 85 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Grandiflora Petunia 85 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Hale's Best Jumbo Melon 85 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Chief Mix Celosia 90 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Greek Oregano 90 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Munstead Lavender 90 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Tall Verbena 90 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Waltham Butternut Squash 95 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Delicata Winter Squash 100 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Small Sugar Pumpkin 100 days · Either · transplant 14 days after last frost
Arp Rosemary 120 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Green Globe Artichoke 120 days · Start indoors · transplant 14 days after last frost
Buckwheat Cover Crop 35 days · Direct sow · direct sow 21 days after last frost
Clemson Spineless Okra 56 days · Direct sow · direct sow 21 days after last frost
California Wonder Pepper 72 days · Start indoors · transplant 21 days after last frost
Black Beauty Eggplant 80 days · Start indoors · transplant 21 days after last frost

Supporting planning paths

Warm Season Seeds 55 catalog entries tagged warm season
Direct Sow Garden Planner 43 warm-season entries can be direct sown
Transplant Garden Planner 31 warm-season entries can be transplanted
Container Garden Planner 37 warm-season entries also fit containers
Quick Harvest Garden Planner 9 warm-season entries mature in 60 days or less
Soil-Temperature Germination Planner Confirm warm-soil germination ranges before direct sowing tender crops or moving starts outside
Frost Protection and Season Extension Planner Plan row cover, water-filled walls, and cold-snap protection before tender warm-season starts meet cold nights or wind
Garden Watering Planner Plan deep irrigation, rainfall gaps, and soil checks before heat waves stress flowering or fruiting warm-season crops
Planting Calendar Tool Map warm-season timing to last frost, soil warmth, and harvest estimates

Source basis

Clemson Extension planning a garden Warm-season crop grouping, full-sun needs for fruiting crops, water access, and summer garden planning
Cornell tomato growing guide 1 entry cites this source
CSU vegetable planting guide 11 entries cite this source
Oklahoma State University Extension Oklahoma Garden Planning Guide Oklahoma Garden Planning Guide regional warm-season source
Penn State plant factsheets 4 entries cite this source
Penn State planting for pollinators 2 entries cite this source
Penn State pollinator recommendations 1 entry cites this source
Seed Savers seed saving guide 14 entries cite this source
Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide regional warm-season source
UC Master Gardener Program Time of planting California Interior Valley Vegetable Planting Guide regional warm-season source
UMD Extension wilting vegetable plants Heat, drought, water stress, flower and fruit stress, drainage, and deep watering guidance for vegetables
UMN companion planting guide 2 entries cite this source
UMN planting the vegetable garden 1 entry cites this source
UMN starting seeds indoors 10 entries cite this source
Wisconsin Extension cover crops and green manures 2 entries cite this source
Xerces pollinator-friendly native plant lists 7 entries cite this source

Where the warm season has already closed

Warm-season crops are the ones a first frost ends outright, and five regions have that cut-off worked out from published windows.

Which warm-season crops have run out of season in Texas, North Florida, Central Maryland, New York City and York County, PA The crops whose expected harvest now lands after the first frost, and what to sow instead.