Best Way to Plant Veggies
The following list shows when to plant vegetables in southern California. The most common vegetable crops are listed. This is specificly a southern California vegetable planting guide, and the two sets of planting dates 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’;’. When planting vegetables in California, make sure the varieties you select are suited for your particular climate. 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″ |
| Cantelopes, 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 GroVeg from Groveg.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.
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