Houston / Zone 9a–9b
The Houston Planting Calendar.
Most planting calendars don't work in Houston. They were written for somewhere cooler. By May, the May tomato is dead.
This is the calendar that fits Zone 9a/9b — two real planting windows, summer survival, and what to plant this week.
Two real windows. Survival in between.
Spring · March–May
Spring opens around March 1 and closes around May 15. Tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant go in as transplants. Beans, basil, and cucumbers go direct. By April, sweet potato slips and okra take over.
Survive · June–August
June through August is survival mode. Okra, sweet potatoes, malabar spinach. Anything else is a heat casualty. Mid-summer is when fall tomato + pepper seeds go indoors.
Fall · September–November
Fall opens around September 1 and closes around November 30. Broccoli, cabbage, and kale start indoors in August and transplant in September. Lettuce, kale, and carrots go direct through October. Fall in Houston outproduces spring most years.
Cool · December–February
Garlic in the ground. Lettuce under cover on cold nights. Indoor seed starts for the next spring window. Cool is prep season — quiet outside, busy on the kitchen counter.
Live · updates weekly
This month in Houston: May.
Each block is one week of May. Plant the listed crops this week. If a week has indoor starts, those are seeds going on the counter for the next window.
Week 19 · Spring window
Plant
- — Okra
- — Southern peas (last call)
- — Heat-tolerant basil
Start indoors
- — Basil (succession)
- — Malabar spinach starts
Week 20 · Survive window
Plant
- — Okra
- — Sweet potatoes
- — Malabar spinach
Start indoors
- — Basil (succession)
- — Heat-tolerant lettuce
Week 21 · Survive window
Plant
- — Okra
- — Southern peas (final)
- — Heat-tolerant herbs
Start indoors
- — Basil (succession)
Week 22 · Survive window
Plant
- — Okra
- — Sweet potato slips (final)
- — Basil
Start indoors
- — Tomato seeds for fall transplant
What to plant by month.
Year at a glance. Color-coded by window — leaf for spring, clay for survive, ember for fall, moss for cool. Top crops per month, pulled from the live dataset.
January
Cool window
- — Garlic (last call)
- — Onion sets
- — Lettuce
- — Carrots
February
Cool window
- — Carrots
- — Beets
- — Lettuce
- — Spinach
March
Spring window
- — Beans (direct)
- — Corn (direct)
- — Cucumbers
- — Squash
April
Spring window
- — Okra
- — Southern peas
- — Squash
- — Sweet potatoes
May
Spring window
- — Okra
- — Southern peas (last call)
- — Heat-tolerant basil
- — Sweet potatoes
June
Survive window
- — Okra
- — Heat-tolerant herbs
- — Malabar spinach
- — Heat-tolerant southern peas
July
Survive window
- — Okra
- — Malabar spinach
- — Basil
- — Southern peas
August
Survive window
- — Okra
- — Pumpkin
- — Heat-tolerant beans
- — Cucumbers
September
Fall window
- — Lettuce (direct)
- — Kale (direct)
- — Cilantro
- — Carrots
October
Fall window
- — Garlic (cloves)
- — Onion sets
- — Carrots
- — Lettuce
November
Fall window
- — Spinach
- — Kale
- — Fava beans
- — Garlic
December
Cool window
- — Garlic
- — Hardy greens
- — Lettuce (under cover)
- — Spinach
Free download
Get the printable version.
The full 5-page Houston Planting Calendar — color-coded, every major crop, two windows, summer survival. Print it. Pin it. Plant by it.
FAQ.
When is the first frost in Houston?
Late November to early December most years. Plan to cover anything tender by Thanksgiving. Last frost is mid-February to early March — risky to plant warm crops before March 1.
Why don't tomatoes work in May?
May daytime highs hit the upper 80s and 90s. Tomatoes stop setting fruit above 90°F. By the time they would have ripened, the plant has stalled. Plant transplants in March, harvest by mid-June.
What zone is Houston?
USDA Zone 9a inland, 9b closer to the coast. Both have mild winters and brutal summers. Pick crops bred for warm climates — Zone 9a/9b — not generic 'beginner gardening' picks.
Can I grow year-round in Houston?
Yes — but with two real planting windows and two harvest-or-survive windows. Spring (March–May) and fall (September–November) are the active windows. Summer is heat survival. Winter is cool greens and prep. Plant for the window.
Beyond the calendar
Want the full system?
Calendar tells you when. The Beautiful Edible Backyard System tells you how — fence-line bed, drip irrigation, vertical growing, structure first, plants second. 26 pages. $19.