As we approach the month of May, many home gardeners are concerned about which vegetables can be planted now and which must be planted at a later date. For planting purposes vegetables are divided into three groups: Hardy, Half Hardy and Tender. This is based on their tolerance of freezing temperatures.

The hardy temperatures can be planted with a good amount of safety about the 20th of April. This group includes: Broccoli, cabbage, onions, radishes, and rutabaga. The recommended planting date for peas and spinach is May 1. When planting broccoli, cabbage and onions, transplants are normally used. These can be purchased or started indoor at an earlier date.

The half hardy vegetable are a group which will tolerate light frost. The recommended planting date for these is May 10th. This group includes: Beets, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, and Swiss chard. Cauliflower is normally transplanted. Before setting your transplants out into the garden, make sure that they are 'hardened off'. This is a process of preparing a plant for transplanting and the conditions it will face in the garden. Hardening off can be accomplished by putting the plants outdoors in their containers and decreasing the amount of water you give them for a week before they are to be transplanted. Be careful when you put the plants outdoors the first couple of times, they are very tender.

The tender vegetables are a group which will not tolerate freezing temperatures. This date is about the 25th of May in our area. This group includes: All beans, cucumbers, muskmelons, peppers, pumpkins, squash (summer and winter), tomatoes and watermelons. Sweet corn and popcorn can be safely planted slightly earlier (May 10-15). Again, certain plants such as tomatoes and peppers are transplanted. This is done because they need a head start to reach maturity in our short growing season.

This page was last updated April 2003

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