January 2018, revised May 2025
Horticulture/Garden/2018-01pr
Suggested Vegetable Planting Dates for Utah Shawn Olsen, USU Extension Faculty Vegetable plants vary in their tolerance to cold temperatures and can be grouped into four major categories, A-D, for the purpose of spring planting dates. Of course, each season has its own unique weather conditions. The “average planting date” shown in Table 1 is for the initial planting. With many crops such as broccoli, radish, carrot, sweet corn, and Swiss chard, several plantings can be made a few weeks apart and later than the average planting time. The suggested planting dates are based on interviews with Extension faculty and experienced gardeners in various parts of Utah. Plants can be started from seed or transplants (young plants). The most commonly used method for the suggested planting time is listed. Many vegetables are easier to grow using transplants that are started indoors several weeks before planting outdoors. For example, artichokes need to be planted from seed indoors in early January and then grown for 2-3 months to be large enough for the transplant to be planted outside 3-4 weeks before the frost free date. Tomatoes are generally planted indoors in early April and then planted outside mid to late May. Detailed instructions for growing your own transplants are available in the USU Extension publication “Grow Your Own Transplants at Home” (Banks, 2011) and others listed in the Resources section. For some plants, the difference between using a transplant and seed is minimal--for example, summer squash seed planted outside in warm soil can germinate in 3 days and you have a plant. The book “Vegetables, Fruits, & Herbs” (USU Extension, 2012) gives detailed instructions on how to grow many different vegetables.
The USU Extension Yard and Garden website provides information on garden and soil care and detailed growing information for fruits and vegetables in Utah.
Group A: Hardy
(Plant as soon as the soil dries out in the spring.) Seed: Kohlrabi Onions Peas Radish Spinach Turnip Plants: Artichoke Asparagus Broccoli Cabbage Turnip Brussels sprouts
Group B: Semi-Hardy
(Plant a week or two after “A” group or about 2 weeks before average last spring frost.) Seed: Beet Carrot Endive Lettuce Parsley Parsnip Potato Salsify Swiss chard Plants: Cauliflower
Group C: Tender
(Plant on the average date of the last spring frost— about when the first apples reach full bloom.) Seed: Cucumber Dry bean New Zealand spinach Snap bean Spinach Summer squash Sweet corn Plant: Celery