Zone 7a planting calendar

What to plant in September: zone 7a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 7a: last spring frost around April 15, first fall frost around October 25. 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: April 15
Typical first frost: October 25
Winter lows: 0 to 5 °F
Zone 7a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Transplant for fall

  • Broccoliaround Sep 1

    Last safe transplant date to mature (65 days) before frost on 10-25.

  • Kalearound Sep 11

    Last safe transplant date to mature (55 days) before frost on 10-25.

Direct sow for fall

  • Spinach2 sowings: Sep 5 and Sep 26

    Succession sowing 2 of 3. Sow every 21 days for a steady cut. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.

  • Lettucearound Sep 5

    Counts back 50 days from your first frost. Takes a light frost with cover.

  • Radish2 sowings: Sep 8 and Sep 22

    Succession sowing 3 of 3. Sow every 14 days for a steady cut. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.

  • Cilantroaround Sep 10

    Counts back 45 days from your first frost. Takes a light frost with cover.

Sow cover crop

Plant to overwinter

  • Onionaround Sep 27

    In zone 7+ onion sets planted before frost overwinter for an early summer bulb.

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