Regional guide
Tennessee Warm-Season Vegetable Garden
A UT Extension guide for Tennessee warm-season vegetable timing, regional timing adjustments, spacing, and harvest planning.
Climate signals
- UT Extension SP291-P says warm-season vegetables require warm soil and air temperatures to germinate, grow, and mature properly.
- The guide says warm-season vegetables will not tolerate any frost and may be severely damaged by prolonged temperatures as much as 15 degrees above freezing.
- Warm-season vegetables are generally planted after danger of frost in spring, grown through summer heat, and must be planted no later than early July for most crops.
- Plant warm-season vegetables near the early end of the recommended planting interval in West Tennessee, later in Middle and East Tennessee, and near the very end at high elevations.
- The table is for home gardeners; commercial growers are told to consult commercial variety and planting-date literature.
Planning notes
- The UT Extension table pairs each crop with varieties, 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.
- Beans, Bush Snap include Provider in the variety list; the row uses Apr.10 to June 20, 1/4 lb. seed per 100-foot row, 24 to 36 inches between rows, 3 to 4 inches between plants, and 52 to 60 days to first harvest.
- Eggplant includes Black Beauty in the variety list; the row uses May planting, 50 plants per 100-foot row, 36 inches between rows, 24 inches between plants, and 65 to 80 days to first harvest.
- Okra includes Clemson Spineless in the variety list; the row uses May 5 to May 20, 1 ounce seed per 100-foot row, 36 inches between rows, 6 to 12 inches between plants, and 50 to 60 days to first harvest.
- Pepper, Sweet includes California Wonder in the variety list; the row uses May or June, 60 plants per 100-foot row, 36 inches between rows, 18 to 24 inches between plants, and 55 to 80 days to first harvest.
- Pumpkins include Sugar or Pie in the variety list; the row uses May planting, 1 ounce seed per 100-foot row, 120 to 144 inches between rows, 48 inches between plants, and 100 to 120 days to first harvest.
- Squash, Winter includes butternut types and acorn types in the variety list; the row uses May or June, 1 ounce seed per 100-foot row, 72 to 96 inches between rows, 24 to 36 inches between plants, and 90 to 110 days to first harvest.
- Beans and corn are sensitive to cool soils, where seed tends to rot rather than germinate if soils are cool and wet.
- Okra, peppers and eggplant require even warmer soils, about 70 degrees, to germinate quickly.
- Use exact catalog matches where the UT Extension table names the variety, and use the pumpkin and winter squash entries only as type matches; other warm-season catalog entries should keep relying on their own seed-entry sources.
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
- Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
- California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days
- Small Sugar Pumpkin Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
- Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
Related regional guides
- 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.