Regional guide
Montana Frost-Window Vegetable Garden
An MSU frost-window guide for Montana's short-season vegetable schedules, local frost dates, direct seeding, transplants, and succession rows.
Climate signals
- MSU Extension says the limited growing season in much of Montana makes selection and planting timing critical.
- The guide tells gardeners to find the average dates of the last frost in spring and the first frost in fall for their location.
- For short-season planning, MSU says to count the number of days between the last spring frost and first fall frost.
- The schedule is designed to calculate the specific time to plant seeds or start transplants after local frost dates are known.
Planning notes
- Use snap beans from 1 week before last frost to 12 weeks before first frost, with once a week bush-bean succession plantings up to the last planting date.
- Use beets from 4 weeks before last frost to 8-10 weeks before first frost for spring and fall root rows.
- Plan broccoli from 6 weeks before last frost to 14 weeks before first frost; cabbage and cauliflower also use transplant windows tied to local frost dates.
- Use sweet corn around the last frost through 3 weeks after frost, and choose quick-maturing varieties where the frost-free window is tight.
- Use lettuce from 4 weeks before last frost to 6 weeks before first frost, with 2-week succession rows up to the last planting date.
- Sow peas 4 to 6 weeks before last frost to 2 to 3 weeks after last frost, with a fall planting about 12 weeks before first frost.
- Plant radishes every 10 days until warm weather arrives, then repeat fall successions up to the last fall planting date.
- Use spinach from 6 weeks before last frost to 7 weeks before mid-summer, plus a fall row 6 to 8 weeks before first frost.
- Use turnips from 6 weeks before last frost to mid-summer, then fall rows 6 to 8 weeks before first frost.
- Set tomatoes from last frost to 10 weeks before first frost; peppers, eggplant, pumpkins, squash, and watermelon also need local first-frost checks.
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.
- 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
- Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
- Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 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
- Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
- Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
- Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
- Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
Related regional guides
- Wyoming Statewide Short-Season Vegetable Garden University of Wyoming Extension statewide short-season guide for gardens where growing seasons range from short to very short.
- Idaho Zone and Microclimate Vegetable Garden University of Idaho Extension spring vegetable guide for Idaho gardeners using USDA zones, local microclimates, frost-free days, and zone-specific crop windows.
- New Mexico Growing-Zone Vegetable Garden A New Mexico guide for USDA zones 5a-8b, frost-free-day ranges, site variability, direct seeding, transplant timing, and spring/fall windows.