Planting calendar

Zone 7 Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month

Last updated July 31, 2026

Zone 7 at a glance

Zone 7 runs winter lows of 0 to 10°F, and is conventionally taken to average its last spring frost around April 5 and its first fall frost around November 1 — about 210 frost-free days. Seven months frost-free. Mid-summer heat, not frost, becomes the limiting factor for lettuce and spinach.

Sow frost-tolerant crops (peas, spinach, radishes, lettuce, kale, carrots) 6 to 2 weeks before April 5. Plant warm-season crops (beans, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers) 1 to 3 weeks after it. Sow a second round of greens and roots about 10 to 12 weeks before November 1.

Typical regions in zone 7: Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, northern Georgia, Seattle, Portland.

Month by month in zone 7

9 of the 12 months have something to plant in zone 7. Rows marked re-sow are succession sowings — the same crop planted again every 14 days for a continuous harvest, up to the last date it can still mature before November 1.

January

Crop	What to do	Window
Onion	Start indoors	January 25 - February 8
Pepper	Start indoors	January 25 - February 8

February

Crop	What to do	Window
Kale	Start indoors	February 22 - March 8
Onion	Start indoors	January 25 - February 8
Pepper	Start indoors	January 25 - February 8
Tomato	Start indoors	February 8 - February 22
Peas	Direct sow outdoors	February 22 - March 8
Spinach	Direct sow outdoors	February 22 - March 8

March

Crop	What to do	Window
Cucumber	Start indoors	March 8 - March 15
Kale	Start indoors	February 22 - March 8
Carrot	Direct sow outdoors	March 15 - March 22
Kale	Direct sow outdoors	March 8 - March 22
Lettuce (leaf)	Direct sow outdoors	March 8 - March 22
Peas	Direct sow outdoors	February 22 - March 8
Radish	Direct sow outdoors	March 8 - March 22
Spinach	Direct sow outdoors	February 22 - March 8
Onion	Transplant outdoors	March 8 - March 22
Carrot	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing July 30
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 29

April

Crop	What to do	Window
Bush beans	Direct sow outdoors	April 12 - April 19
Cucumber	Direct sow outdoors	April 19 - April 26
Zucchini	Direct sow outdoors	April 19 - April 26
Pepper	Transplant outdoors	April 19 - April 26
Tomato	Transplant outdoors	April 12 - April 19
Bush beans	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 19
Carrot	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing July 30
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 29

May

Crop	What to do	Window
Bush beans	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 19
Carrot	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing July 30
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 29

June

Crop	What to do	Window
Bush beans	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 19
Carrot	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing July 30
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 29

July

Crop	What to do	Window
Carrot	Direct sow for a fall crop	July 16 - July 30
Kale	Direct sow for a fall crop	July 31 - August 14
Peas	Direct sow for a fall crop	July 26 - August 9
Bush beans	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 19
Carrot	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing July 30
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 29

August

Crop	What to do	Window
Kale	Direct sow for a fall crop	July 31 - August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Direct sow for a fall crop	August 10 - August 24
Peas	Direct sow for a fall crop	July 26 - August 9
Spinach	Direct sow for a fall crop	August 15 - August 29
Bush beans	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing August 19
Kale	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 14
Lettuce (leaf)	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 24
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing September 18
Spinach	Re-sow every 14 days may bolt in heat	last sowing August 29

September

Crop	What to do	Window
Radish	Direct sow for a fall crop	September 4 - September 18
Radish	Re-sow every 14 days	last sowing September 18

Nothing to sow outdoors in October, November, December in zone 7. Crops already in the ground keep growing and keep being harvested. Use the time to plan beds, order seed, build a compost pile, or start long-season crops under a light indoors.

Every crop, sowing to harvest

One row per crop, with the indoor start where it applies, the outdoor planting window, the second fall sowing where the season allows it, and the earliest realistic harvest.

Harvest dates assume the earliest outdoor planting in the window and the crop's published days-to-harvest range. Weather moves all of it.
Crop	Start indoors	Plant outdoors	Fall sowing	Re-sow until	Harvest from
Radish	-	Direct sow outdoors: March 8 - March 22	September 4 - September 18	September 18	March 30 - April 7
Lettuce (leaf)	-	Direct sow outdoors: March 8 - March 22	August 10 - August 24	August 24	April 22 - May 2
Spinach	-	Direct sow outdoors: February 22 - March 8	August 15 - August 29	August 29	April 3 - April 13
Bush beans	-	Direct sow outdoors: April 12 - April 19	-	August 19	June 1 - June 11
Zucchini	-	Direct sow outdoors: April 19 - April 26	-	-	June 3 - June 13
Kale	February 22 - March 8	Direct sow outdoors: March 8 - March 22	July 31 - August 14	August 14	April 27 - May 12
Peas	-	Direct sow outdoors: February 22 - March 8	July 26 - August 9	-	April 23 - May 3
Carrot	-	Direct sow outdoors: March 15 - March 22	July 16 - July 30	July 30	May 19 - June 3
Cucumber	March 8 - March 15	Direct sow outdoors: April 19 - April 26	-	-	June 13 - June 23
Tomato	February 8 - February 22	Transplant outdoors: April 12 - April 19	-	-	June 11 - July 6
Pepper	January 25 - February 8	Transplant outdoors: April 19 - April 26	-	-	June 28 - July 18
Onion	January 25 - February 8	Transplant outdoors: March 8 - March 22	-	-	June 16 - July 6

Growing in zone 7

Seven months frost-free. Mid-summer heat, not frost, becomes the limiting factor for lettuce and spinach.

Soil beats calendar. Extension guidance for the hardiest crops is “as soon as the soil can be worked” or “as soon as the soil thaws” — not a fixed date. If you cannot crumble a handful of soil in your fist, wait, whatever the table says. Warm-season crops have a matching rule: beans want 60°F soil, cucumbers and squash 70°F.

About the bolting warnings. Cool-season crops run to seed and turn bitter in summer heat. The “may bolt in heat” flag above is a rough calendar rule — mid-June to the start of September, the same window across the whole country — because a hardiness zone carries no summer-temperature information at all. In zone 7 treat it as about right, with heat-tolerant varieties and afternoon shade extending it either side.

Where these dates come from. A USDA hardiness zone describes average annual extreme minimum WINTER temperature — it is a winter-survival rating for perennials, not a frost-date band. The frost dates below are widely-used approximations for each zone, not official USDA figures, and a single zone spans hundreds of miles. Treat them as a default guess and replace them with your own local averages wherever you have them.

You can enter your own frost dates in the interactive calendar and every window on it recalculates from your numbers. Look up your local averages on the NOAA last-spring-freeze map. Note that an “average” frost date is the point where the chance of freezing drops below 50 percent, so for tender crops it is worth waiting a week or two past it.

Other zones: zone 3 , zone 4 , zone 5 , zone 6 , zone 8 , zone 9 , zone 10 . Or use the interactive calendar to check a single month.

Zone 7 questions

When is the last frost in zone 7?

Zone 7 is conventionally taken to average its last spring frost around April 5 and its first fall frost around November 1, giving roughly 210 frost-free days. Be aware that a hardiness zone is defined by winter minimum temperature, not by frost dates — these are widely-used approximations, not official USDA figures. Get your real dates from the NOAA freeze-date map or your county cooperative extension office.

What can I plant now in zone 7?

Use the month-by-month table on this page. The pattern is: frost-tolerant crops like peas, spinach and radishes go in 6 to 2 weeks before April 5; warm-season crops like beans, zucchini and tomatoes go in 1 to 3 weeks after it; and cool-season crops get a second sowing about 10 to 12 weeks before November 1.

Can I grow tomatoes in zone 7?

Yes. In zone 7, start tomato seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before April 5 or buy a seedling, then transplant 1 to 2 weeks after the last frost once nights stay above 50°F. With 210 frost-free days there is comfortable room for any variety, including large beefsteak types.

How many harvests can I get in zone 7?

Two full rounds: a spring planting of cool-season crops, a summer planting of warm-season crops, and a fall sowing of greens and roots in the same beds.

Does a raised bed change these dates in zone 7?

Yes, in spring. A raised bed warms 2 to 3 weeks earlier than open ground, so you can bring the early sowings forward by up to two weeks. Autumn dates are unchanged, since the first frost arrives on the same day regardless of your setup.