What to plant in your garden from spring to fall in Maine

Get the most from your fruit and vegetable garden

For many of us in Maine, summer flies by like a golden dream—and the growing season seems just as sweet and fleeting. But if you keep a backyard garden, with a little planning, you can enjoy a plentiful harvest from early spring to late fall. Use this handy list to strategize a growing plan that will allow you to rotate through all your favorite produce and savor the season in southern and central Maine from its earliest beginning to its lingering end.

This information—and more!—can be found on the Cooperative Extension website at extension.umaine.edu.

Early Spring

Illustration of pea pods on a vine

Plant as soon as the ground can be worked:

Plants
Broccoli
Cabbage

Seeds
Endive
Lettuce
Onion sets
Peas
Radish
Spinach
Turnip

Mid-Spring

Plant two weeks before the average last frost date.

Plants
Cauliflower

Seeds
Beet
Carrot
Onion sets
Parsnips
Swiss chard

Plant one week before the average last frost date.

Seeds
Beans
Corn
Early potatoes

Illustration of beets and carrots laid flat

Early Summer

Plant when soil and sun are warm.

Plants
Eggplant
Pepper
Tomato

Illustration of squash

Seeds
Cucumber
Lima beans
Melon
Okra
Pumpkin
Squash
Winter potatoes

Mid-Summer to Fall

Plant in late June to early July.

Plants
Beet
Broccoli
Carrot
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Radish

Seeds
Beet
Broccoli
Carrot
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Radish

Plant in early August:

Plants
(hot weather is not good for these plants)
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower

Seeds
Lettuce
Spinach
Turnip


Starting seeds indoors

If you want to get a head start on the season and seed your own plants indoors before transplanting them outside, the info below will help you know when to get them started. All of these take 1-3 weeks to germinate.

Plant + Weeks to sow indoors before last frost
Broccoli: 5-7
Cabbage: 5-7
Cauliflower: 5-8
Eggplant: 8-9
Head lettuce: 3-5
Peppers: 8-10
Tomatoes: 6-8


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Green & Healthy Maine is published by TheSunriseGuide, LLC. This article originally ran in the 2018 SunriseGuide.

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