Regional guide

Western North Carolina Planting Calendar

NC State Extension guide for Western North Carolina climate stress, cool spring and fall crops, warm summer crops, transplants, and season extension.

Climate signals

• NC State's Western North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs lists Publication date: Aug. 4, 2016 and AG-756-03.
• The source says freezing temperatures, high temperatures, humidity, and solar intensity are common in western North Carolina and can stress plants.
• Gardeners should choose varieties tolerant of temperature extremes, plant at appropriate times to avoid extremes, or protect the plants.
• Western North Carolina has three optimal growing seasons: spring, summer, and fall.
• The source says to choose cool-season plants for spring and fall and warm-season plants for summer.
• Warm-season vegetables do not tolerate frost and should be planted outside only when frost is no longer a threat.

Planning notes

• NC State says beans are susceptible to stem rot in cold weather; with that exception, it says to start early to avoid insect and disease pressure that builds late in the season.
• Table 1 dates are suggested guidelines; weather conditions vary from year to year, and planting dates should be adjusted accordingly.
• Plants established in the middle of the recommended planting dates have the best success probability, with lower success rates at the early and late ends of the guidelines.
• Use the table as outdoor planting guidance because NC State says dates on the chart are for planting outside in the garden.
• Read the table legend before linking crops to catalog examples: B = bulbs, C = crowns, S = seeds, T = transplants, and Tu = tubers.
• For transplant crops, NC State says to seed 6-8 weeks before the T date and harden seedlings off before transplanting.
• Shade in the summer and frost protection in the winter can extend the season; spunwoven covers can begin the garden earlier in the spring and extend it longer into the fall, and plastic mulches can produce vegetables earlier in the season.
• Plant additional plants every few weeks within the planting window to extend your harvest.
• The source table gives crop rows for Beans, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, melons, okra, peppers, pumpkin, tomatoes, and watermelon.
• It also gives Western table rows for Celery, Fennel, Kohlrabi, Leek, green onions, Parsnips, Peas, and Rutabaga, plus annual herb rows for Basil, Cilantro, Dill, and Parsley and sunflower as an annual planting-calendar row.
• Use these priority catalog links as crop-row examples, not NC State 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.

• Astro Arugula Vegetable · Cool · 35 days
• Genovese Basil Herb · Warm · 68 days
• 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
• White Stem Bok Choy Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
• Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
• Tall Utah Celery Vegetable · Cool · 110 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Santo Cilantro Herb · Cool · 50 days
• Georgia Southern Collards Vegetable · Cool · 65 days
• Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
• Bouquet Dill Herb · Shoulder · 55 days
• Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Florence Fennel Herb · Warm · 80 days
• Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• American Flag Leek Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Vegetable · Warm · 85 days
• Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
• Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
• Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 days
• Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Herb · Shoulder · 75 days
• Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 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
• Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
• Mammoth Sunflower Flower · Warm · 90 days
• Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days

Related regional guides

• North Carolina Piedmont Season-Window Garden A North Carolina Piedmont guide for half-hardy spring crops, warm-season beds, summer succession, fall greens, and overwintered or cover-crop planning.
• Eastern North Carolina Planting Calendar NC State Extension guide for Eastern North Carolina planting dates, coastal timing shifts, frost and heat stress, transplants, and season extension.

Source: NC State Extension Western North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs