Zone 11a planting calendar

What to plant in March: zone 11a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 11a: last spring frost around January 1, first fall frost around December 31. Zones are set by winter lows, not frost dates, so two gardens in the same zone can be weeks apart. Measure your ZIP below for dates from your area's own 30-year record.

These are zone-average dates. Check an area-level frost estimate from thirty years of nearby weather history and this calendar retimes itself.
Typical last frost: January 1
Typical first frost: December 31
Winter lows: 40 to 45 °F
Zone 11a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Succession sow

  • Winter squash2 sowings: Mar 5 and Mar 26

    Sowing 3: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.

  • Beetaround Mar 12

    Sowing 3: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season.

  • Carrotaround Mar 12

    Sowing 3: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season.

  • Cucumberaround Mar 19

    Sowing 4: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season.

  • Zucchiniaround Mar 19

    Sowing 4: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season.

  • Basilaround Mar 19

    Sowing 4: replant every 21 days so one planting never has to feed you all season.

Garden care

  • Scout for pests weeklyaround Mar 5

    Squash bugs, hornworms and cucumber beetles peak now: five minutes of hand-picking beats a rescue spray.

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