When to Plant Vegetables in Texas: Your Texas Vegetable Garden Guide

With the right planning, and the help of Texas Native mulch, soil, and compost, gardening in Texas can be both rewarding and productive. Even beginners can grow healthy, vibrant vegetables and turn their garden into something to be proud of.

Thanks to Texas’ mild winters in many regions, you can extend your growing season nearly year-round, as long as you choose the right plants and know the best times to plant them. With thoughtful planning, Texas gardening doesn’t stop with summer.

At Texas Native, we know dirt, we know gardening, and we know which vegetables grow best in Texas, even if you're just starting out!

Read on for our Complete Guide to Vegetable Garden Planting in Texas, including information on the state's regional gardening zones, when to plant the most popular varieties in all four seasons, and the easiest crops to grow when you're first testing out your green thumb.

Still have questions? We're here to help! At Texas Native, we take pride in supporting Texas gardens with locally-sourced mulch, soil, and compost crafted from recycled green waste, locally sourced organic matter, and other all-natural ingredients to enrich your soil and promote healthy plant growth. Shop our full selection today!

Understanding Texas’s Regional Gardening Zones

Texas covers more land than many countries, including Germany, France, and Spain, which means the climate varies widely across the state. From dry West Texas to the humid Gulf Coast, knowing your region is key to successful gardening in Texas.

Because Texas spans multiple climate zones, it’s crucial to know which regional gardening zone you’re in before planting. Understanding your zone helps you choose the right plants at the right time, turning a good garden into a great one with a strong harvest.

Know Your USDA Hardiness Zone

Designed to help farmers and gardeners plan their planting and harvesting schedules, the USDA's Hardiness Zone Map divides the U.S. into growing regions based on the average lowest wintertime temperature experienced there.

Texas is so big that there are eight of these zones across the state! They range from Zone 6b in the extreme upper panhandle (-5 to 0 degree maximum winter lows), to Zone 10a at the tip of South Texas, with maximum lows between 30 and 35 degrees.

Most plant tags and seed packets include USDA Hardiness Zone information, an essential detail for Texas gardeners. Always check the zone rating before planting vegetables to ensure you're choosing the right time and varieties for your region’s climate.

Here's the basics about Texas's hardiness zones, including major cities in each zone.

• Zones 6b–7b (-5 to 5 degree wintertime minimum): These zones are in the far northern part of Texas, and include cities like Amarillo, Plainview, and Lubbock. Winters in the area are generally the coldest in the state, with the first and last frost coming sooner and later, respectively. That means the growing season is usually much shorter unless you have a greenhouse.

• Zones 8a–8b (10 to 20 degree wintertime minimum): Covering the middle of the state diagonally, these zones include cities like Wichita Falls, Abilene, Dallas, Longview, and Tyler. In general, the region has milder winters and a long growing season that can stretch from early spring well into the fall.

• Zones 9a–10a (20 to 30 degree wintertime minimum): Covering South Texas, this zone includes cities like Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and the Rio Grande Valley. These areas generally have very mild winters, with only a few days each year that dip below freezing. With careful planning and plant selection, gardeners in these areas can enjoy a nearly year-round growing season.

Key Texas Vegetable Planting Dates by Season

Now that you understand a little more about the USDA Hardiness Zones, let's talk about what kinds of vegetables grow best in Texas by season.

Please note that these are only rough guidelines. For best results, check out your seed packets or plant tags. Keep in mind that you'll need to take into account not only your regional hardiness zone but also a wide variety of other factors, including average rainfall, your soil quality, average summer high temperatures, the amount of land you have available for a garden plot, whether you're planting directly in the ground or raised beds and more.

What Crops Should You Plant in Texas Each Season?

If it can be grown, there's usually a Texas gardening region and a Texas gardener who can grow it. Remember to always consult your seed packets and plant tags for the most up-to-date information, but let's look at popular vegetables that can be planted in Texas, by season.

Spring (February–May)

Spring is showtime for most gardeners, when warmer days, April showers, and rising soil temperatures give your seeds and seedlings what they need to really get growing!

A wide variety of vegetable favorites can be planted in the early to mid-spring in most areas of Texas, including tomatoes, various types of peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, and corn. Read Texas Native's Guide to Springtime Garden Prep.

Summer (June–August)

Summer heat can be brutal in many parts of Texas, requiring gardeners to take extra steps like more personal heat protection, frequent watering, providing shade to keep crops from wilting, and other measures. That said, summer is a great time to plant more heat-tolerant crops.

Crops that can be planted in early- to mid-summer in Texas include plants like okra, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, and eggplants. In addition, Texas' long growing season and plentiful sunshine allow gardeners in Central and South Texas to plant a second, mid-summer round of vegetables like beans and squash with proper watering.

Fall (September–November)

While the hectic pace of summertime picking has many gardeners looking forward to tucking their garden plot in for a long winter sleep in the fall, the warmer temperatures in much of Texas mean you can keep harvesting some crops well past Halloween with little planning.

Fall is an ideal time not only for harvesting crops like gourds, squash, and pumpkins, but also for planting hearty, cold-resistant crops. Consider early-fall plantings of leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, kale, turnips, and collards, as well as broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.

Winter (December–January)

Wintertime gardening in North Texas is likely to be tough sledding unless you have access to a heated greenhouse or hoop enclosures. For gardeners in these areas, it's best to focus these months on soil-building for spring by adding compost or planting cover crops like oats, winter rye, or winter wheat.

For those in the warmer zones of Texas, however, winter gardening is absolutely possible. That's especially true for those who live in the warmest areas near the Gulf Coast. For best results in central and south Texas, try hardy or underground crops like garlic, onions, leeks, carrots and radishes, and leafy greens like collards, kale, turnips and spinach.

Read Texas Native's Complete Guide to Winter Gardening

Do Planting Dates Differ If I'm Planting from Seeds vs. Seedlings?

They do! While many garden vegetables can be planted as seed, some varieties do better if they're transplanted as seedlings once they've emerged from the soil.

Most warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers can be purchased as seedlings from nurseries or home improvement stores in the spring. If you'd rather start from seed, however, these crops should generally be planted indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost date for your area. Once the danger of frost has passed, the new seedlings can be planted in the ground.

Don't know your first and last frost dates? The Old Farmer's Almanac has an online tool that allows you to search Texas frost dates by ZIP code.

Cool-season crops like carrots and radishes don't always transplant well, so they should usually be direct-seeded into your garden for best results. Whatever you're planting, always check the seed packet or plant tag for specific guidance.

Which Vegetables Grow Best in Texas?

With plenty of sunshine and a long growing season, many parts of Texas are able to produce a wide variety of vegetables throughout the year.

Just starting out as a gardener in Texas and don't know what to plant? Here's a few beginner-friendly vegetable options that can really get your garden growing in each season.

Spring (February–May)

• Green Beans

• Radishes

• Zucchini

• Cucumbers

• Tomatoes

Summer (June–August):

• Okra

• Black-Eyed Peas

• Corn

• Rosemary

• Basil

Fall (September–November)

• Lettuce

• Kale

• Cabbage

• Radishes

• Cauliflower

• Broccoli

Winter (December–January)*

• Garlic

• Onions

• Mustard Greens

• Spinach

• Turnips

*Zones 8b+

Do the Vegetables I Can Grow in Texas Vary by Region in Texas?

With good resources and careful planning, it's possible to harvest garden crops in most parts of Texas every season. In general, the further north you are, the more carefully you'll need to plan your plantings to avoid problems from frost or overnight cold snaps. Here are a few general tips for growing in each region.

Panhandle & North Texas (Zones 6b–7b): Shorter growing seasons mean more careful planning is required for North Texas gardens. For best results and to extend your yields into the fall, mix in summertime faves like peppers and tomatoes with frost-hardy crops like greens, onions, and garlic that can survive the chill or an early frost.

Central Texas (Zones 8a–8b): This region is blessed with two prime growing seasons, spring and fall, allowing gardeners to grow not only summer favorites like tomatoes, corn, and watermelon, but also a wide variety of hearty, fall-harvested crops like cabbage, kale, broccoli, and lettuce.

South Texas & Gulf Coast (Zones 9–10): With warm temperatures and plentiful rainfall much of the year, South Texas and the Gulf Coast are nearly foolproof for gardeners of all skill levels. That said, the heat and humidity mean you'll need to choose crops that are heat-tolerant and pest and disease-resistant. Check your seed packets and plant tags for more information.

Can Using Mulch in the Garden Help Me Grow Bigger, Better Vegetables?

You bet! Available in a wide range of colors, Texas Native  mulch is a wonderworker in the garden, soaking up water to help lock in moisture close to plant roots while forming a formidable, flexible barrier that keeps weeds in check.

A two to three-inch layer of Texas Native mulch can also protect plants and prevent soil erosion during heavy storms, and acts as a thermal blanket, protecting tender roots from extreme heat.

With Texas Native 100% organic mulch, you'll never have to worry about harmful chemicals or weird flavors leaching into your vegetables. At the end of the growing season, just till the mulch into your soil, and it'll feed your garden plot all winter long as it decays.

Ready to learn more about mulch? Read Texas Native's Complete Guide to Mulch, with tips on selecting, applying, and maintaining the perfect garden from the mulch experts at Texas Native.

Need more gardening tips you can trust? Texas Native has you covered! Read our Native Insights blog for information on selecting compost, pet safety in the garden, why poorly-processed mulch might smell bad (and how that can kill your garden), and much more.

Soil Preparation Tips for Texas Vegetable Gardens

The soil in Texas can vary widely, ranging from the sandy soils of East Texas to heavy clay in Central Texas and arid, desertlike caliche in West Texas.

Regardless of the type of dirt you have, here are a few ways to improve your soil, helping you build the feeding foundation of a beautiful, high-yield Texas vegetable garden.

• Test Your Soil: Use a home test kit or your county extension office to check pH and nutrient levels. In Texas, low-cost soil testing is available through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

• Improve Soil Structure: Soil that's rocky or too claylike can often be improved enough to grow great gardens. Just spread two to four inches of Texas Native compost or mulch over your garden and till it in to instantly boost the organic nutrients and structure of your soil.

• Adjust pH: Soil that's too acidic or not acidic enough can stunt your plants and harm your final yields. For best results, aim for a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0, which is perfect for most vegetables. Powdered lime can raise pH, while sulfur can lower it.

• Improve Drainage: While water is a good thing in a garden, too much of it can harm your plants, leading to root rot or damage to your vegetables. In clay-heavy soils like we have in many parts of Texas, create raised beds or amend your soil by tilling in coarse sand and/or Texas Native compost to improve drainage.

• Pre-Planting Prep: Proper prep is very important to success at any job, including Texas vegetable gardening. To get your soil ready for tender roots, use a tiller, hoe or shovel to loosen the soil to a depth between 8–12 inches deep.

A Basic Texas Kitchen Garden Layout

Knowing how to get started and what to plant in a Texas vegetable garden can be a challenge for many beginning gardeners, but don't worry. Most vegetables that can be grown in Texas are fairly low-maintenance, and most won't cross-pollinate if they're placed next to the wrong thing (check out this online vegetable cross-pollinator guide to see what can't be planted together).

A classic 4' x 4' raised bed is an ideal setup for beginner gardeners in Texas. It gives you full control over your soil, easy access to your plants, and a manageable space to start growing vegetables.

With just 16 square feet, smart planning is key. Divide the bed into 2' x 2' sections and plant a mix of your favorite vegetables. In this example, we’ve included leafy greens like cabbage and lettuce (A), tomatoes (B), root veggies and peppers (C), and marigolds with herbs (D) to naturally deter pests.

As your gardening skills grow, simply expand with more 4' x 4' beds, leaving narrow walkways between. Raised beds can be built from wood or purchased as affordable, rust-resistant metal kits from home improvement stores or online.

Aim for nutrient-rich soil 12 to 18 inches deep. Texas Native's line of bagged compost and soil can help with that. They're available at a home improvement store near you.

Contact Texas Native

For over 35 years, Texas Native has been collecting organic materials and transforming them into sustainable landscaping products. We're focused on diverting green waste from landfills and burn piles while helping our local contractors and homeowners conserve water and promote soil health in their landscapes.

Today, the Texas Native brand offers more than 40 different premium mulch, soil, compost, and aggregate products across the state of Texas.

Have questions? Contact us today through our convenient online form, phone (512)259-7430, or send an email to info@austinwoodrecycling.com.

Using Texas Native products in your garden? Tag us on Facebook or Instagram and show off your Texas native garden!