Vegetable Garden Schedule 2026
Your complete month-by-month timeline for a productive vegetable garden in 2026.
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Crops by Season
🌱 Early Season (Spring)
Plant 4-6 weeks before last frost
Peas
Plant: 4-6 weeks before last frost
Spinach
Plant: 6 weeks before last frost
Lettuce
Plant: 4-6 weeks before last frost
Kale
Plant: 6 weeks before last frost
Radishes
Plant: 4 weeks before last frost
Carrots
Plant: 3-4 weeks before last frost
☀️ Main Season (Summer)
Plant after last frost
Tomatoes
Plant: After last frost
Peppers
Plant: 2-3 weeks after last frost
Cucumbers
Plant: 2 weeks after last frost
Squash
Plant: 2 weeks after last frost
Beans
Plant: After last frost
Corn
Plant: After last frost
🍂 Fall Season
Plant 8-12 weeks before fall frost
Broccoli
Plant: 10-12 weeks before fall frost
Cabbage
Plant: 10-12 weeks before fall frost
Cauliflower
Plant: 10 weeks before fall frost
Kale
Plant: 8 weeks before fall frost
Spinach
Plant: 8 weeks before fall frost
Lettuce
Plant: 8 weeks before fall frost
Succession Planting Strategy
Succession planting is the secret to a continuous harvest all season long. Instead of planting all your seeds at once, sow small batches every 2–3 weeks. This ensures that as one crop finishes, the next is already maturing. It works especially well for fast-growing vegetables like lettuce, radishes, beans, carrots, and peas.
🌿 Staggered Sowing (2–3 week intervals)
- Lettuce & greens — sow a 3-foot row every 14 days
- Radishes — sow a short row every 10 days for continuous crunch
- Bush beans — plant a 5-foot row every 21 days through midsummer
- Carrots — make a small sowing every 3 weeks from spring to late summer
🔄 Same-Spot Relay Planting
When you harvest a crop, replant that same spot with a different vegetable for the next season. For example: follow spring peas with summer bush beans, then follow those with fall spinach. This keeps your beds productive from March through November without any wasted space.
📋 Sample Succession Plan
March–April: Direct sow peas, spinach, and radishes. May–June: After harvesting peas, plant bush beans and summer squash. July–August: Pull up spent spring crops and sow fall carrots, kale, and beets. September–October: Plant garlic and overwintering onions in newly cleared beds.
Monthly Garden Activities
January
🌱 Indoors: Order seeds, start onions/celery
☀️ Outdoor: Plan garden layout, read seed catalogs
February
🌱 Indoors: Start tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
☀️ Outdoor: Prepare seed starting area, test equipment
March
🌱 Indoors: Start squash, cucumbers, melons
🌍 Direct: Peas, spinach (early zones)
☀️ Outdoor: Prepare beds, add compost
April
🌱 Indoors: Finish warm season seedlings
🌍 Direct: Carrots, beets, lettuce
☀️ Outdoor: Transplant cold-hardy crops
May
🌍 Direct: Beans, corn, direct sow
☀️ Outdoor: Main transplant month - tomatoes, peppers
June
🌱 Indoors: Start fall brassicas
🌍 Direct: Succession plant lettuce
☀️ Outdoor: Stake tomatoes, begin pest control
July
🌍 Direct: Plant fall vegetables
☀️ Outdoor: Water deeply, harvest early crops
August
🌍 Direct: Plant spinach, lettuce for fall
☀️ Outdoor: Plant fall garden, prepare for autumn
September
🌍 Direct: Plant garlic for next year
☀️ Outdoor: Harvest remaining crops
October
☀️ Outdoor: Clean up beds, plant cover crops
November
🌱 Indoors: Order seeds for next year
☀️ Outdoor: Winterize garden, review season
December
🌱 Indoors: Plan next year garden
☀️ Outdoor: Rest, review catalogs
Get Your Zone-Specific Schedule
Select your USDA zone for personalized planting dates: