Regional guide

Central New Hampshire Memorial Day Vegetable Garden

A UNH Extension guide for central New Hampshire's Memorial Day frost baseline, indoor starts, soil temperatures, and sequence plantings.

Climate signals

• UNH Extension says gardeners must determine the last frost date for their own area; for central New Hampshire, Memorial Day is a conservative estimate for the last frost date.
• Do not seed or transplant frost-sensitive plants before the local last frost date.
• Use a calendar to count backwards the number of weeks a seed takes to grow from sowing when scheduling indoor starts for transplanting.
• UNH marks crops with T when they should be started from seed indoors and set out as transplants, and marks S when the harvest season can be prolonged with multiple smaller sequence plantings.

Planning notes

• For tomatoes, UNH gives a 6-8 weeks from sowing to transplant example; with a Memorial Day target, that means starting seeds the first week of April.
• Plant beans after last frost, beets when soil warms to 45 F, carrots when soil warms to 60 F, corn when soil warms to 60 F, and peas as soon as soil thaws.
• Start broccoli 4-6 weeks before transplant and set it out 2-4 weeks before last frost; use the same 4-6 week start and 2-4 weeks before last frost timing for Brussels sprouts.
• Start cabbage 4-6 weeks before transplant and set it out 4 weeks before last frost; cauliflower uses a 4-6 week start and 2 weeks before last frost.
• Celery needs 10-12 weeks from seed to transplant and goes out after last frost.
• Cucumber needs 3-4 weeks from seed to transplant, goes out 1-2 weeks after last frost, and can be direct-seeded when soil warms to 70 F.
• Eggplant needs 8-10 weeks from seed to transplant and goes out 2-3 weeks after last frost; peppers need 8-10 weeks and go out 2 weeks after last frost.
• Kale and kohlrabi need 4-6 weeks from seed to transplant and can go out 4 weeks before last frost.
• Lettuce needs 4-5 weeks from seed to transplant and can go out 3-4 weeks before last frost.
• Melons need 3-4 weeks from seed to transplant and go out 2 weeks after last frost.
• Onions need 8-10 weeks from seed to transplant and can go out 4 weeks before last frost.
• Pumpkins need 3-4 weeks from seed to transplant, go out 2 weeks after last frost, and can be direct-seeded when soil warms to 70 F.
• Radishes and turnips can be seeded 2-4 weeks before last frost, while rutabagas are seeded from mid-June to mid-July.
• Spinach needs 4-6 weeks from seed to transplant and can go out 3-6 weeks before last frost.
• Swiss chard needs 4-6 weeks from seed to transplant, goes out 2 weeks before last frost, and can also be seeded 4 weeks before last frost.
• Tomatoes need 6-8 weeks from seed to transplant and go out 1-2 weeks after last frost.
• Winter squash needs 3-4 weeks from seed to transplant, goes out 2 weeks after last frost, and can be direct-seeded when soil warms to 70 F.

Catalog crop examples

These catalog entries match crops covered by the regional timing source; variety-specific details remain tied to each seed entry's own source.

• Genovese Basil Herb · Warm · 68 days
• Provider Bush Bean Vegetable · Warm · 50 days
• Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
• Waltham 29 Broccoli Vegetable · Cool · 74 days
• Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
• Golden Acre Cabbage Vegetable · Cool · 64 days
• Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
• Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
• Tall Utah Celery Vegetable · Cool · 110 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
• Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• American Flag Leek Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
• Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 days
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
• Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 days
• California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days
• Small Sugar Pumpkin Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
• French Breakfast Radish Vegetable · Cool · 28 days
• American Purple Top Rutabaga Vegetable · Cool · 90 days
• Bloomsdale Spinach Vegetable · Cool · 42 days
• Delicata Winter Squash Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
• Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
• Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days

Related regional guides

• Maine Coastal and Northern Vegetable Garden A UMaine planting-window guide for central Maine dates, coastal and northern timing shifts, spring greens, warm transplants, and fall rows.
• Vermont Frost-Relative Vegetable Garden UVM Extension Master Gardener Planting the Garden guide for Vermont vegetable timing by crop hardiness and frost-free-date spacing.
• Massachusetts Extension Planting Chart Vegetable Garden A UMass Extension planting-chart guide for Massachusetts crop groups, frost risk, direct/transplant markers, succession, and regional timing shifts.
• Connecticut Crop Planning Calendar Vegetable Garden UConn Extension crop planning calendar for Connecticut vegetable growers using frost-aware field timing, indoor starts, cover crops, and fall reset windows.
• Rhode Island Planting Calendar Vegetable Garden URI Cooperative Extension calendar for Rhode Island gardeners using May 15/October 15 frost dates, method legend, and crop-row timing.

Source: UNH Extension growing vegetables when to plant your vegetable garden