When to Plant Vegetables – ADOT Road Conditions – Upcoming Taste of Rim Country

Hello Everyone!

Spring is around the Corner and now is the time to start thinking about planting that vegetable garden. Here is a handy timeline and some tips for starting seeds in the Payson area courtesy of the National Gardeners Association. Be sure to keep an eye on the thermometer just in case we haven’t seen the end of winter.

When to Plant Vegetables in Payson, AZ

Your planting strategy: Cold crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around April 1, assuming the ground can be worked, but it’s better to start them indoors around March 4 and then transplant them into the garden around April 23. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Plant onion starts and potatoes around March 14. Sow the seeds of peas (sugar snap and English) at the same time. If the ground is still frozen, then plant these as soon as the ground thaws.

Do you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants? Start these indoors aroundMarch 4. Then, around May 9 you should start watching the weather forecast and, as soon as no frost is forecast, go ahead and transplant those into the ground.

Now, for all the summer vegetables like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around May 13, or if your soil is still very cold, once the soil is near 60° F in temperature. Having said that, we note that your location has a shorter than average growing season. Many summer vegetables need more days to mature than your area will provide. For that reason, we recommend you get a head-start by starting these summer vegetables indoors around April 23, and transplant those seedlings out after the danger of frost is past.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants: