When to Plant Veggies
The following list shows planting times for common vegetable crops in Ventura County and neighboring areas.
The two sets of planting dates shown in the chart are for coastal regions (Camarillo, Oxnard) and the interior (Thousand Oaks, Ojai).
Where there are two possible crops per year, planting dates are separated with’;’.
No matter what zone you live in, see the video demo on my Garden Planning software review page.
| Name | Plant date Coastal |
Plant date Interior |
Warm/Cool Season |
Amount to plant |
Inches Between |
| Artichoke | May-July | July | Cool | 3-4 plants | 48″ |
| Asparagus | Jan-Feb | Jan-Feb | Cool | 30-40 plants | 12″ |
| Beans, Lima | May-Jun | May-Jun | Warm | 15′-30′ row | 6″ |
| Beans, Snap | March-August, | Ap-May; Jul-Aug |
Warm | 15′-25′ row | 3″ (bush) 24″ (pole) |
| Beets | Jan-Sep | Feb-Apr;Aug | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 18″ |
| Broccoli | Jun-Jul Jan-Feb |
Dec-Feb Jul |
Cool | 6′-10′ row | 12″-18″ |
| Brussels Sprouts | Jun-Jul | —– | Cool | 15′-20′ row | 24″ |
| Cabbage | Aug-Feb | Jul;Feb | Cool | 10-15 plant | 24″ |
| Cabbage, Chinese | Aug-Octb | Aug | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 6″ |
| C antelopes, other melons |
Apr-May | Apr-Jun | Warm | 5-10 hills | 12″ |
| Carrots | Jan-Sep | Aug-Sep; Feb-Apr |
Cool | 10′-25′ row | 2″ |
| Cauliflower | Jul-Oct Jan-Feb |
Jul-Aug | Cool | 10-15 plants | 24″ |
| Celery | Apr-Aug | Jun-Aug | Cool | 20′-30′ row | 5″ |
| Chard | Feb-May | Feb-Aug | Cool | 3-4 plants | 12″ |
| Chayote | Apr-May | Apr-Jun | Warm | 1-2 plants | 72″ |
| Chives | Feb-Apr | — | Cool | 1 clump | — |
| Corn, sweet | Mar-Jul | Feb-Mar | Warm | 4 rows x 20′-30′ | 12″ |
| Cucumbers | Apr-Jun | Apr-Jul | Warm | 6 plants | 24″ |
| Eggplant | Apr-May | Apr-May | Warm | 4-6 plants | 18″ |
| Endive | Dec-Aug | Jan-Apr Aug |
Cool | 10′-15′ row | 10″ |
| Fennel | Feb-Jul | Aug | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 4″ |
| Garlic | Oct-Dec | Oct-Dec | Cool | 10′-20′ row | 3″ |
| Kale, | Aug-Oct | Aug-Sep | Cool | 10′ row | 18″-4″ |
| Kohlrabi | Jan; Aug-Sep |
Aug | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 3″ |
| Leeks | Jan-Apr | Jan-Apr | Cool | 10′ row | 2″ |
| Lettuce | Aug-Apr | Aug; Nov-Mar |
Cool | 10-15′ row, or 5′/month |
12″ |
| Mustard | Aug-Feb | Aug; Apr | Cool | 10′ row | 8″ |
| Okra | Apr-May | May | Warm | 10′-20′ row | 18″ |
| Onions (bulb) | Feb-Mar | Nov-Mar | Cool | 30′-40′ row | 3″ |
| Onions (green) | All Year | Aug-dec | Cool | — | — |
| Parsely | Mar-Jul | Dec-May | Cool | 1-2 plants | 8″ |
| Parsnips | Mar-Jul | Dec-May | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 3″ |
| Peas | Aug; Dec-Mar |
Sep-Jan; Jan-Feb |
Cool | 30′-40′ row | 2″ |
| Peppers | Apr-May | May | Warm | 5-10 plants | 24″ |
| Potatoes,sweet | Apr-May | Apr-Jun | Warm | 50′-100′ row | 12″ |
| Potatoes. white | Feb-May; Jun-Aug |
Feb-May; Jun-Aug |
Warm | 50′-100′ row | 12″ |
| Pumpkins | May-Jun | May-Jun | Warm | 1-3 Plants | 48″ |
| Radish | All Year | Sep-Apr | Cool | 4′ row | 1″ |
| Rhubarb | Dec-Jan | dec-Jan | Cool | 2-3 plants | 36″ |
| Rutabaga | Jul-Sep; Aug-Mar |
Jul-Sep; Aug-Mar |
Cool | 10′-15′ row | 3″ |
| Spinach | Aug-Mar | Sep-Jan | Cool | 10′-20′ row | 3″ |
| Squash, summer | Apr-Jun | Apr-Jul | Warm | 2-4 plants | 24″ |
| Squash,winter | Apr-Jun | Apr-Jun | Warm | 2-4 plants | 24″ |
| Tomatoes | Apr-July15 | Apr-May | Warm | 6-12 plants | 18″-36″ |
| Turnips | Jan | Feb;Aug | Cool | 10′-15′ row | 2″ |
| Watermelon | Apr-Jun | Apr-Jun | Warm | 6 plants | 60″ |
I’m taking advantage of the free trial of the Crop Planning software at GrowVeg.com. It’s an easy-to-use way to plan your garden. You simply set your frost dates, and the program calculates seed sowning and planting dates for you. I’ve put a video review of the program here.
It has a simple drawing program to draw your garden. Next, drag and drop crops to your rows, and pull them to length. Reports show you how many plants you need, distance between, and detailed crop infomation is a click away. You can print your garden plan, plant list and calendar of gardening tasks.
You are able to create a new planting plan for the next year or next season. Create a new plan from an old one, and the program will warn you if you are not doing proper crop rotation! Very cool. An added surprise comes when a garden task is due – you can choose to get an e-mail reminder of monthly tasks! You can try it for free. It’s fun and easy to use.
Click the banner below to try the garden planning software – for free
Hi, You talk about Ventura County and neighboring areas…I live in Upland (I.E.), should I use the dates above, or do they not apply?
Thank you.
Lizzy
P.S.
I’m super new at this…we just rented a home that has a backyard area for vegetable planting. THANKS!
Hi, Lizzy
Check here for your USDA zone – just plug in your zip code. : http://www.sunset.com/garden/climate-zones/climate-zones-intro-us-map-00400000036421/
BTW, the weather everywhere has been nutty last 3 years, all the plants and trees are confused, and nobody knows whether it is spring or fall… The best advice I can give is plant a few the same crop every few weeks – some early, some in the recommeded period, and some late. Some of them are bound to hit favorable weather.
Good luck to us all this year!
Mike
Mike,
I’m brand new to gardening also and planning to do some square foot container gardening on my upper deck. I live in Long Beach just a few blocks from the ocean – so appreciate your coastal planting chart. I have a question though…. Since I am just getting going and it’s almost April – can I plant seeds for Tomatoes, Basil, eggplant, squash and peppers directly into the ground as long as nighttime temps are above 50 or 55?
Everyone shows starting seeds indoors – but is that mostly to enable a jump on the season?