What to plant in May

Find your USDA hardiness zone below to see which crops have a start-indoors, sowing, or transplanting window in May. Every crop links to exact dated windows computed from your zone's frost dates.

These tables use US hardiness zones and northern hemisphere seasons. In Australia the months flip, and the Dibble app handles Canadian and Australian zones directly.

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Zone 3

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 3
Task	Crops
Start seeds indoors	Tomato (dates), Basil (dates), Marigold (dates), Tomatillo (dates)
Direct sow	Potato (dates), Lettuce (dates), Carrot (dates), Cucumber (dates), Spinach (dates), Beet (dates), Radish (dates), Sweet Corn (dates), Cilantro (dates), Zinnia (dates), Sunflower (dates), Cosmos (dates), Dill (dates), Swiss Chard (dates), Turnip (dates), Parsnip (dates), Arugula (dates), Nasturtium (dates), Calendula (dates), Borage (dates), Green Onion (dates), Bok Choy (dates), Fennel (dates), Shallot (dates), Kohlrabi (dates), Chamomile (dates)
Transplant	Onion (dates), Kale (dates), Broccoli (dates), Cabbage (dates), Marigold (dates), Strawberry (dates), Blueberry (dates), Raspberry (dates), Blackberry (dates), Asparagus (dates), Rhubarb (dates), Grape (dates), Fig (dates), Mint (dates), Parsley (dates), Thyme (dates), Rosemary (dates), Oregano (dates), Sage (dates), Chives (dates), Cauliflower (dates), Brussels Sprouts (dates), Leek (dates), Celery (dates), Lavender (dates), Collard Greens (dates), Apple (dates), Pear (dates), Peach (dates), Plum (dates), Cherry (dates), Apricot (dates), Lemon (dates), Orange (dates)
Plant tubers	Dahlia (dates)

Zone 4

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 4
Task	Crops
Start seeds indoors	Basil (dates), Brussels Sprouts (dates), Tomatillo (dates)
Direct sow	Potato (dates), Carrot (dates), Bean (bush) (dates), Cucumber (dates), Zucchini (dates), Spinach (dates), Beet (dates), Sweet Corn (dates), Cilantro (dates), Zinnia (dates), Sunflower (dates), Cosmos (dates), Dill (dates), Swiss Chard (dates), Parsnip (dates), Nasturtium (dates), Calendula (dates), Borage (dates), Bok Choy (dates), Fennel (dates), Shallot (dates), Kohlrabi (dates), Chamomile (dates)
Transplant	Tomato (dates), Onion (dates), Kale (dates), Broccoli (dates), Cabbage (dates), Basil (dates), Marigold (dates), Strawberry (dates), Blueberry (dates), Raspberry (dates), Blackberry (dates), Asparagus (dates), Rhubarb (dates), Grape (dates), Fig (dates), Mint (dates), Parsley (dates), Thyme (dates), Rosemary (dates), Oregano (dates), Sage (dates), Chives (dates), Cauliflower (dates), Leek (dates), Celery (dates), Lavender (dates), Tomatillo (dates), Collard Greens (dates), Apple (dates), Pear (dates), Peach (dates), Plum (dates), Cherry (dates), Apricot (dates), Lemon (dates), Orange (dates)
Plant tubers	Dahlia (dates)

Zone 5

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 5
Task	Crops
Start seeds indoors	Brussels Sprouts (dates)
Direct sow	Carrot (dates), Bean (bush) (dates), Cucumber (dates), Zucchini (dates), Winter Squash (dates), Beet (dates), Sweet Corn (dates), Zinnia (dates), Sunflower (dates), Cosmos (dates), Cantaloupe (dates), Watermelon (dates), Nasturtium (dates), Borage (dates), Pumpkin (dates), Fennel (dates)
Transplant	Tomato (dates), Pepper (dates), Basil (dates), Marigold (dates), Raspberry (dates), Fig (dates), Mint (dates), Parsley (dates), Thyme (dates), Rosemary (dates), Oregano (dates), Sage (dates), Eggplant (dates), Celery (dates), Lavender (dates), Hot Pepper (dates), Tomatillo (dates), Lemon (dates), Orange (dates)
Plant tubers	Dahlia (dates)

Zone 6

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 6
Task	Crops
Start seeds indoors	Brussels Sprouts (dates)
Direct sow	Bean (bush) (dates), Cucumber (dates), Zucchini (dates), Winter Squash (dates), Sweet Corn (dates), Zinnia (dates), Sunflower (dates), Cosmos (dates), Okra (dates), Cantaloupe (dates), Watermelon (dates), Nasturtium (dates), Borage (dates), Pumpkin (dates), Fennel (dates)
Transplant	Tomato (dates), Pepper (dates), Sweet Potato (dates), Basil (dates), Marigold (dates), Fig (dates), Mint (dates), Thyme (dates), Rosemary (dates), Oregano (dates), Sage (dates), Eggplant (dates), Celery (dates), Lavender (dates), Hot Pepper (dates), Tomatillo (dates), Lemon (dates), Orange (dates)
Plant tubers	Dahlia (dates)

Zone 7

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 7
Task	Crops
Start seeds indoors	Brussels Sprouts (dates)
Direct sow	Bean (bush) (dates), Cucumber (dates), Zucchini (dates), Winter Squash (dates), Sweet Corn (dates), Zinnia (dates), Cosmos (dates), Okra (dates), Cantaloupe (dates), Watermelon (dates), Nasturtium (dates), Pumpkin (dates)
Transplant	Tomato (dates), Pepper (dates), Sweet Potato (dates), Basil (dates), Marigold (dates), Fig (dates), Rosemary (dates), Eggplant (dates), Hot Pepper (dates), Tomatillo (dates), Lemon (dates), Orange (dates)
Plant tubers	Dahlia (dates)

Zone 8

Full zone calendar

What to plant in May: Zone 8
Task	Crops
Direct sow	Bean (bush) (dates), Zucchini (dates), Winter Squash (dates), Okra (dates), Cantaloupe (dates), Watermelon (dates), Pumpkin (dates)
Transplant	Tomato (dates), Pepper (dates), Sweet Potato (dates), Basil (dates), Eggplant (dates), Hot Pepper (dates), Tomatillo (dates)

Zone 9

Full zone calendar

No planting windows land in May for Zone 9. It is a good month to plan beds, order seeds, and get ahead of the season.

Zone 10

Full zone calendar

No planting windows land in May for Zone 10. It is a good month to plan beds, order seeds, and get ahead of the season.

Zone 11

Full zone calendar

No planting windows land in May for Zone 11. It is a good month to plan beds, order seeds, and get ahead of the season.

What to plant in May, by state

Each state page shows May for its most common zone, plus the whole season and every zone the state spans.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Washington, D.C.

Other months

January February March April June July August September October November December

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