Regional guide

Tennessee Spring Cool-Season Vegetable Garden

UT Extension spring cool-season guide for Tennessee planting intervals, regional timing shifts, seed depth, hardening, and source-row examples.

Climate signals

• UT Extension SP291-O is the Guide to Spring-Planted, Cool-Season Vegetables by David W. Sams, Professor Emeritus, Plant Sciences.
• Cool-season vegetables require cool soil and air temperatures to germinate, grow, and mature with maximum yield and quality.
• The guide says cool-season vegetables are shallow-rooted and susceptible to drought.
• Cool-season vegetables may be grown as a spring or a fall crop, but SP291-O points gardeners to SP291-G for the fall crop and says its table covers the spring garden.
• Plant cool-season vegetables near the early end of the recommended planting interval in West Tennessee, later in Middle and East Tennessee, and at high elevations near the very end of the recommended interval.

Planning notes

• Use closer row spacings only in compact gardens worked by hand; UT Extension says the recommended plant spacing within rows should not be reduced.
• The UT Extension table includes planting interval, seed or plants per 100-foot row, row spacing, plant spacing, days to first harvest, harvest season length, and yield per 100-foot row; days to first harvest, harvest length, and yield vary with varieties, culture, weather, and other factors.
• For early spring soil preparation, work ridges in late fall; ridges dry out and warm faster than level soil so they can be planted earlier.
• Plant most cool-season vegetable seed at a depth equal to approximately three times the seed diameter; plant lettuce seed very shallowly because it needs light to germinate.
• Multiple plantings of rapidly maturing cool-season vegetables can extend the harvest season.
• Harden transplants of cool-season vegetables by lowering the growing temperature about 10 degrees for 10 days or two weeks before transplanting.
• Beets include Detroit Dark Red in the variety list; the row uses Mar. 1 to Mar. 10 and 55 to 60 days to first harvest.
• Carrots include Danvers in the variety list; the row uses Mar. 1 to Apr. 1 and 75 to 85 days to first harvest.
• Lettuce, Leaf includes Black Seeded Simpson in the variety list; the row uses Feb. to Apr. and 40 to 50 days to first harvest.
• Mustard includes Southern Giant Curled in the variety list; the row uses February and 35 to 45 days to first harvest.
• Onions, Bunch include Evergreen bunching in the variety list; the row uses Feb. or Mar. and 30 to 60 days to first harvest.
• Peas, Snap include Sugar Snap in the variety list; the row uses Feb. 1 to March 20 and 65 to 75 days to first harvest.
• Spinach includes Longstanding Bloomsdale in the variety list; the row uses February and 40 to 50 days to first harvest.
• Turnip, Roots includes Purple Top and White Globe in the variety list; the row uses March and 40 to 65 days to first harvest.
• Source rows without priority links include carrots, spinach, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, radish, Swiss chard, Irish potatoes, head lettuce, collards, and broccoli because the catalog lacks exact cultivar matches or the source row is not an exact catalog cultivar.
• Use priority catalog links as exact catalog cultivar matches for UT Extension source rows, not UT Extension cultivar endorsements.

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.

• Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 days
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days

Related regional guides

• Tennessee Warm-Season Vegetable Garden A UT Extension guide for Tennessee warm-season vegetable timing, regional timing adjustments, spacing, and harvest planning.

Source: UT Extension Guide to Spring-Planted Cool-Season Vegetables