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Monthly planting guide

What to plant in October

Computed from this directory's own crop-rules table and each zone band's real median frost dates or monthly temperatures, for the 15th of October. A single national list would be wrong for most readers: October means a different planting stage in a cold-winter zone than it does in a hot, frost-rare one. Every crop name below links to that crop's own sourced guide.

Planting windows and crop timing here are computed from USDA/NOAA climate data and the university extension sources cited below, not a site visit or soil test. Treat this as a starting point: local conditions vary, and a local nursery or extension office can advise on your exact site. See our full Disclaimer.

Zones 1-5 (cold winters)

Fort Plain, NY · Zone 5b

Nothing in our crop table has an open window here in October.

Zones 6-7 (temperate)

McMinnville, TN · Zone 7b

Nothing in our crop table has an open window here in October.

Zones 8-9 (warm)

Apopka, FL · Zone 9b

Nothing in our crop table has an open window here in October.

Zones 10-13 (hot, frost rare or absent)

Loxahatchee, FL · Zone 10b

Frost is rare or absent here; timing follows temperature, not frost dates.

Warm-season crops

Artichoke , Arugula , Basil , Bell Pepper , Cantaloupe / Muskmelon , Cleome (Spider Flower) , Cosmos , Cucumber , Eggplant , Fig , Four O'Clock , Lemongrass , Lima Beans , Marigold , Marjoram , Morning Glory , Okra , Pole Beans , Pumpkin , Rosemary , Snap Beans (Bush) , Summer Squash , Sunflower , Sweet Corn , Sweet Potato , Tomato , Watermelon , Winter Squash (Butternut) , Zinnia , Zucchini

October closes out the growing season in the cold and temperate bands while the warm band is still weeks from its own fall-planting window.

The cold band's own first fall frost, around October 6, falls inside this month. Nothing on this directory's crop table has an open window here once that date passes, which is what the empty list above is showing.

About two weeks out from the temperate band's own first fall frost of October 30, right at the closing edge of the fall-planting window rather than in its middle.

About eleven weeks out from the warm band's own first fall frost of December 29, still ahead of the four-to-eight-week window; the list above stays quiet.

October's own average in the hot band is about 77.6°F (NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals), back over the 75°F cool-season ceiling even as the year cools, so the cool-season list stays empty here for one more month.

Enter your ZIP for your own exact dates rather than these four representative bands.

Nurseries near these locations

Sources

Full per-crop citations are on each crop's own guide page, linked above. Institutions cited across this page: