Regional guide

Ohio Central Normal-Season Vegetable Garden

OSU Extension central Ohio guide for normal-season direct-seeded rows, transplants, timing shifts, succession, and fall crops.

Climate signals

• More than 40 different vegetable crops can be grown in Ohio, according to OSU Extension's Planning for the Garden guide.
• The planting tables are for normal seasons in central Ohio, not a statewide exact date rule.
• Spring planting dates in the tables should be read as about 2 weeks earlier for southern Ohio and 2 weeks later for northern Ohio.
• Tomatoes and peppers use May 15 central Ohio setting dates, while eggplant is set May 15 or after danger of frost has passed.
• The Fall Garden section says late summer or early fall plantings should mature crops before extremely cold fall weather.

Planning notes

• The source is from Home Vegetable Gardening, OSU Extension Publication 287, 1991; use it as central Ohio timing guidance and verify local frost risk.
• Use radishes or leaf lettuce every 7 to 10 days for succession; OSU gives April 15, April 25, and May 4 radish examples.
• Bush snap beans run May 15 to August 1 in the direct-seeded table.
• Beets run April 15 to July 15, and carrots run April 1 to July 15.
• Collards run April 1 to August 15.
• Sweet corn runs May 1 to July 1, and cucumber runs May 10 to June 1.
• Kale, kohlrabi, and leaf lettuce each run April 1 to August 1.
• Spinach is listed for April 1 and September 1.
• Turnips are listed for April 1 to June 1 and August 15.
• Muskmelon is May 15, pumpkin is May 20, winter squash is June 1 to June 15, and watermelon is May 20.
• Broccoli starts Feb. 20, moves to a coldframe in March, and is set in the garden April 1.
• Tomatoes start April 1, move to a coldframe April 20, and are set in the garden May 15.
• Fall garden direct-seeded rows include snap beans August 1, collards August 1-15, kale August 1-15, kohlrabi August 1, leaf lettuce August 1, radish August 1-15, spinach September 1, and turnip August 1-15.
• Fall garden transplants include Brussels sprouts seeded June 1-10 and set July 1, cabbage seeded May 15-June 1 and set July 15, and cauliflower seeded June 1-10 and set July 1.
• Use these priority catalog links as crop-level examples for OSU timing rows, not OSU cultivar recommendations.

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
• Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Georgia Southern Collards Vegetable · Cool · 65 days
• Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
• Green Curled Endive Vegetable · Cool · 85 days
• Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
• Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
• Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 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
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Waltham 29 Broccoli Vegetable · Cool · 74 days
• Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
• Golden Acre Cabbage Vegetable · Cool · 64 days
• Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
• Tall Utah Celery Vegetable · Cool · 110 days
• Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
• California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days

Related regional guides

• Indiana Frost and Soil Temperature Vegetable Garden A Purdue Extension guide for Indiana frost-relative planting, soil-temperature thresholds, hardiness groups, fall timing, and succession planning.
• Iowa Planting and Harvest Timing Vegetable Garden An Iowa State Extension guide for Iowa vegetable planting schedules, harvest timing, staggered chart use, and April-October planning.
• Kansas Expected Planting Calendar Vegetable Garden A K-State Research and Extension guide for Kansas planting windows, crop temperatures, frost resistance, spacing, and harvest timing.
• Kentucky Three-Region Vegetable Garden A University of Kentucky guide for Western, Central, and Eastern Kentucky vegetable planting dates, methods, and safe planting windows.

Source: OSU Extension Planning for the Garden