Western, northern, Southern Maryland, and Eastern Shore sites can shift from this Central Maryland baseline.
Regional guide
Virginia Hardiness Zone Vegetable Planting Guide
A Virginia Cooperative Extension guide for USDA hardiness-zone vegetable planting tables, frost ranges, microclimates, row covers, and crop windows.
Regional timing
Current regional planting plan
A Virginia Cooperative Extension guide for USDA hardiness-zone vegetable planting tables, frost ranges, microclimates, row covers, and crop windows.
Source-backed timing
Virginia Cooperative Extension Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide
Virginia Zones
183 frost-free days
May 1 last frost
spring release
Oct 31 first frost
fall limit
- Virginia Cooperative Extension uses USDA plant hardiness zones for selecting planting dates for spring- and fall-planted vegetables in Virginia.
- The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map of Virginia helps gardeners identify their area's hardiness zone before choosing a planting table.
- VCE Table 1 gives date ranges for average (50% chance) last spring frost and first fall frost for hardiness zones 6a through 8b.
- Catalog priority
- 27 priority crops 27 catalog examples
- Climate checks
- 4 climate signals 14 planning notes
- Timing basis
- Using Central Maryland dates May 1 to Oct 31
Provider Bush Bean, Detroit Dark Red Beet, Waltham 29 Broccoli, Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts
Virginia's mountainous topography creates diverse hardiness zones and microclimates; VCE notes Roanoke County has four different hardiness zones with a 30-day planting difference between them.
Calendar
Convert regional timing into dated sowing, transplant, and harvest jobs.
Frost dates
Keep hardiness zone context separate from local first and last frost dates.
All regions
Compare this guide with the broader regional atlas.
Delaware Frost
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension guide for frost-probability planning, succession rows, fall crops, and tender-crop timing in Delaware.
Climate signals
- Virginia Cooperative Extension uses USDA plant hardiness zones for selecting planting dates for spring- and fall-planted vegetables in Virginia.
- The 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map of Virginia helps gardeners identify their area's hardiness zone before choosing a planting table.
- VCE Table 1 gives date ranges for average (50% chance) last spring frost and first fall frost for hardiness zones 6a through 8b.
- Table 1 lists Zone 6a last spring frost from May 5-15 and first fall frost from Oct 5-15; Zone 8b lists March 15-April 1 and Nov 15-25.
Planning notes
- Actual last and first killing frost dates will vary due to local conditions and yearly temperature fluctuations; VCE suggests favoring earlier or later dates within the range based on local data or experience.
- Virginia's mountainous topography creates diverse hardiness zones and microclimates; VCE notes Roanoke County has four different hardiness zones with a 30-day planting difference between them.
- Microclimates including south slopes will be warmer, and north slopes will be cooler, so gardeners should adjust according to their specific location and experience.
- VCE says row cover fabric and cold frames may extend the expected planting and harvest window by two to four weeks in the spring and fall.
- VCE footnotes say to Plant multiple successions to extend cropping season for marked crops, and that marked transplant crops use Planting dates for transplants.
- VCE Table 3 gives recommended planting date ranges by crop for hardiness zones Zone 7a and 7b.
- For snap beans, Zone 7a runs April 20-June 10 spring and June 10-Aug 1 fall, while Zone 7b runs April 10-June 10 spring and June 10-Aug 10 fall.
- For beets, Zone 7a runs March 10-May 1 spring and Aug 10-Sept 10 fall, while Zone 7b runs March 1-April 20 spring and Aug 10-Sept 20 fall.
- For broccoli transplant dates, Zone 7a runs March 20-May 1 spring and Aug 1-Sept 1 fall, while Zone 7b runs March 10-April 20 spring and Aug 10-Sept 10 fall.
- For carrots, Zone 7a runs March 10-April 20 spring and July 10-Aug 20 fall, while Zone 7b runs March 1-April 10 spring and July 20-Sept 1 fall.
- For sweet corn, Zone 7a runs April 10-July 20 and Zone 7b runs April 1-Aug 1, with no fall planting recommended.
- For cucumbers, Zone 7a runs April 20-June 20 spring and June 20-July 20 fall, while Zone 7b runs April 10-June 10 spring and June 10-Aug 1 fall.
- For tomato transplant dates, Zone 7a runs April 20-June 20 spring and June 20-Aug 1 fall, while Zone 7b runs April 10-June 20 spring and June 20-Aug 1 fall.
- For watermelon, Zone 7a runs May 1-July 10 and Zone 7b runs April 20-July 20, with no fall planting recommended.
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
- 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
- Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
- Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
- Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
- Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
- Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 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
- Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
Related regional guides
- Delaware Frost-Probability Vegetable Garden University of Delaware Cooperative Extension guide for frost-probability planning, succession rows, fall crops, and tender-crop timing in Delaware.
- New Jersey Frost-Range Seed-Starting Garden Rutgers NJAES seed-starting guide for New Jersey gardeners using local last-frost ranges, cool-season transplants, and warm-season soil readiness.
- Central Maryland Planting Calendar Vegetable Garden A UMD Extension Central Maryland planting-calendar guide for frost assumptions, warm-soil crops, successions, transplants, and crop windows.
Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide