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.

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