Vegetables & Plant Hardiness in Zone 7 for a Fall Garden

Varieties For Zone 7

• Zone 7 covers a wide variety of states such as the eastern states of Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Maryland to western states such as California and Oregon. As with any plant, there are many different varieties of the same vegetable. Finding the variety that grows best in zone 7 is the key to hardiness. When preparing to purchase seeds, look for varieties that list zone 7 on the packaging. Another good way to tell what varieties grow well in zone 7 is to visit your local garden shop. Browse around the vegetables that are for sale and take notes for future reference if you want to start your own transplants.

Cool Weather Vegetables

• Some vegetables prefer to grow in the cooler weather of late winter, early spring and fall, as opposed to the hotter weather of summer. These vegetables include kale, lettuce, onions, sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach and broccoli. Plant these vegetables outside anywhere from January to March in zone 7 for a spring harvest, and again in mid-summer for a fall harvest. They are all hardy and can tolerate lower temperatures at night and even a frost or two will not do much damage. It is best to start seedlings indoors about 6 weeks before you want to plant them outside. Seeds may have a hard time germinating if the soil is too cold, too hot or there is not enough moisture.

Summer Planting

• For a fall garden, plant transplants in the middle of summer. Start seeds for transplant indoors 6 to 8 weeks before planting them outside. Plan on starting your seeds for transplants for a fall garden inside about mid-June. This gives the plants a head start just in case you have an early frost or snowfall. Before planting them outside, you must harden off your transplants. To harden them off, put the seedlings outside to get them used to the sun and the change in temperatures. Start by putting seedlings out for an hour at a time. If it is really hot, put them outside in the shade. Gradually increase the time the plants spend outdoors in the sun until the time you plant them in the garden.

Figuring Summer Planting Dates

• It can be a little tricky to time vegetable planting for a fall crop. The key is to count backwards. The first frost date for zone 7 could be as early as September 30. Make sure that you can harvest most of your fall crop by this date just in case there is an early winter. Seed packs tell you the length of time to harvest, such as 55 to 60 days for cauliflower or 55 to 65 days for beets. Start counting backwards from September 30 to figure out when to plant your fall harvesting crops outside. Start seeds indoors about six weeks prior.