Arizona · Maricopa County

What to plant in Phoenix in late winter and spring

The University of Arizona's calendar for Maricopa County says: We have two optimal growing and planting seasons: one in the spring, the other in the fall. This is the spring one: it lists 46 crops with a window inside January 1 – May 31. Three warm-season crops, by their windows here: tomatoes February 15 – March 31, peppers February 15 – March 31 and summer squash February 15 – April 14 .

Every late-winter and spring window, as published

Earliest window first. A crop with two lines changes method partway through the season.

Crop	Plant	Harvest, as published
Asparagus	transplants: January 1 – February 14	2-3 years
Beets	seeds: January 1 – March 14	60-80 days
Bok choy	seeds: January 1 – February 28	45 days
Broccoli	seeds or transplants: January 1–14 transplants: January 15–31	T=90-100 S=120-130 days
Cabbage	seeds or transplants: January 1–14 transplants: January 15–31	T=80-90 S=120-130 days
Chinese cabbage	seeds or transplants: January 1–14 transplants: January 15–31	T=45 S=70-80 days
Carrots	seeds: January 1 – April 30	60-100 days
Cauliflower	seeds or transplants: January 1–14 transplants: January 15–31	T=90-100 S=120-130 days
Chard	seeds or transplants: January 1–31	60-90 days
Collard greens	seeds: January 1 – February 28	80 days
Endive	seeds: January 1–31	80-120 days
Kohlrabi	transplants: January 1 – February 14	T=45-60 S=50-60 days
Leeks	seeds: January 1–31	180-200 days
Head lettuce	seeds or transplants: January 1–31 transplants: February 1–14	50-100 days
Leaf lettuce	seeds or transplants: January 1 – February 14 transplants: February 15–28	30-90 days
Mustard	seeds: January 1 – February 28	35-45 days
Bulb onions	sets or cloves: January 1 – February 14	Sets=4-5 months S=7-8 months
Green onions	seeds: January 1 – April 30	T90-100 days
Peas	seeds: January 1 – February 28	Sept=60-120 Nov=120-150 days
Potatoes	seeds: January 1 – March 14	90-120 days
Radishes	seeds: January 1 – April 30	30-60 days
Rutabagas	seeds: January 1–31	100-120 days
Spinach	seeds: January 1 – February 28	30-90 days
Turnips	seeds: January 1 – February 28	75-120 days
Globe artichokes	transplants: January 15 – March 31	4-6 months
Jerusalem artichokes	transplants: January 15 – May 31	6-8 months
Sunflower	seeds: February 1 – May 31	90-110 days
Basil	seeds: February 15–28 seeds or transplants: March 1 – May 31	T=30 S=60-75 days
Sweet corn	seeds: February 15 – April 14	70-90 days
Cucumbers	seeds: February 15 – April 30	60-90 days
Armenian cucumbers	seeds: February 15 – May 31	55 days
Cantaloupe and honeydew melons	seeds: February 15 – May 31	80-120 days
Watermelon	seeds: February 15 – March 31	90-120 days
Okra	seeds: February 15 – April 30	70-100 days
Peppers	transplants: February 15 – March 31	90-120 days
Summer squash	seeds: February 15 – April 14	60-90 days
Tomatoes	transplants: February 15 – March 31	50-120 days
Eggplant	transplants: March 1–31	70-120 days
Sweet potatoes	transplants: March 1 – May 31	120-160 days
Pumpkin	seeds: March 1–31	90-120 days
Winter squash	seeds: March 1–31	90-120 days
Lima beans	seeds: March 15 – April 14	60-100 days
Snap beans	seeds: March 15 – April 30	60-90 days
Yardlong beans	seeds: March 15 – April 30 seeds: May 15–31	60-90 days
Peanuts	seeds: March 15 – April 30	5 months
Black-eyed peas	seeds: April 1 – May 31	90-120 days

When the last freeze comes

NOAA's median last spring freeze at each station Maricopa County ZIP codes cite. Half of years freeze later than the date shown.

Last spring freeze — the 23 NOAA stations Maricopa County ZIP codes cite, 1991–2020 normals (median dates)
Station	NOAA ID	Last spring freeze
Aguila, AZ	USC00020060	March 17
Carefree, AZ	USC00021282	February 4
Castle Hot Springs, AZ	USC00021353	January 15
Chandler Heights, AZ	USC00021514	February 1
Dateland Whitewing Rch, AZ	USC00022434	January 25
E Mesa, AZ	USC00022782	February 1
Fountain Hills, AZ	USC00023190	January 6
Gila Bend 2Se, AZ	USC00023393	January 23
Laveen 3 Sse, AZ	USC00024829	January 14
Litchfield Park, AZ	USC00024977	January 7
Painted Rock Dam, AZ	USC00026194	January 21
Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ	USW00003184	January 8
Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ	USW00023183	January 5
Pinnacle Peak, AZ	USC00026603	January 27
Punkin Ctr, AZ	USC00026840	March 7
Roosevelt 1 S, AZ	USC00027281	January 17
Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ	USW00003192	January 6
South Phoenix, AZ	USC00028112	January 21
Stewart Mtn Dam, AZ	USC00028214	February 13
Tempe Asu, AZ	USC00028499	February 13
Wickenburg, AZ	USC00029287	March 7
Wittmann 1Se, AZ	USC00029464	February 5
Youngtown, AZ	USC00029634	January 20

Where these dates come from

Every planting window on this page is from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County (az1005), by Kai Umeda, revised September 2018, peer reviewed. It lists 53 crops in 24 half-month planting windows; S means seeds, T transplants, X sets or cloves.

Publication: https://extension.arizona.edu/publication/vegetable-planting-calendar-maricopa-county
PDF: https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1005-2018.pdf

⚠️ It is written for Maricopa County, which holds 135 of the 164 ZIP codes in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area. It is not written for the other 29 — Pinal County (29) — nor for Tucson, Yuma or anywhere else in Arizona, and this site does not stretch it to cover them. Freeze dates, summer highs and rainfall are NOAA 1991–2020 normals from the stations named on this page.