What to Plant in May: A Zone-by-Zone Late Spring Garden Guide

May is the busiest month in the home garden calendar. In southern zones, last-frost dates have come and gone — it’s prime time for warm-season planting. In northern zones, last frost is still a few weeks out, but seeds need to be started indoors NOW for a productive summer.

This guide breaks down exactly what to plant in May based on your USDA zone, plus what to do if you’re getting started late and need fast-maturing crops to catch up.

What’s special about May

By the second week of May:

• Zones 6 and warmer: last frost has passed; soil is warming through 50s into low 60s
• Zones 4–5: last frost is approaching (mid-to-late May); you can transplant cold-tolerant crops outside while continuing to start warm-season seedlings indoors
• Zones 3: last frost is still 2–3 weeks out; everything happens indoors or under cover

The single most useful thing to know about May planting is your zone’s last-frost date. Get that wrong and you either plant too early (and lose crops to frost) or too late (and lose harvest to fall frost). See the frost dates explained guide for how to find yours.

Zones 3–4 (last frost late May–early June)

You’re still pre-frost. May is a transition month: continue indoor seed-starting, do hardening-off for your earliest transplants, and direct-sow only cold-hardy crops.

Direct-sow outdoors in May (these tolerate light frost):

• Peas (snap, snow, shelling)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Radishes (28-day harvest!)
• Arugula
• Kale
• Carrots (slow to germinate — 14+ days)
• Beets
• Swiss chard

Continue starting indoors in early May for late-May / early-June transplant:

• Tomatoes (if you haven’t started them in March/April, buy starts from a nursery — too late to start from seed and get a useful harvest)
• Peppers (same — buy starts)
• Cucumbers (3 weeks before transplant is fine)
• Zucchini, summer squash
• Basil
• Marigolds

Wait until last frost has fully passed (late May / early June):

• Tomatoes outdoors
• Peppers outdoors
• Cucumbers outdoors
• Summer squash outdoors
• Beans (direct-sow)
• Corn (direct-sow)
• Sweet potatoes

Zones 5–6 (last frost late April–mid May)

This is your prime planting window. By mid-May, soil has warmed enough for nearly everything.

Direct-sow in early May:

• Beets, carrots, radishes
• Spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale
• Swiss chard
• Peas (last call — peas hate heat, plant ASAP)

Direct-sow after mid-May (post-frost):

• Bush beans, pole beans
• Cucumbers (or transplant)
• Zucchini, summer squash (or transplant)
• Sweet corn
• Watermelon, cantaloupe (warm-season — wait until soil is at 65°F+)

Transplant outdoors after mid-May:

• Tomatoes — including indeterminates (heritage varieties) which take longer to fruit
• Peppers (sweet, hot, bell)
• Eggplant
• Basil (cold-sensitive — wait until nights are reliably above 50°F)
• Marigolds, nasturtiums (companion flowers)

Last-call indoor seed-starting (for fall harvest crops):

• Brussels sprouts
• Late cabbage
• Broccoli for fall

Zones 7–8 (last frost late March–early April)

Last frost is well past. May is for warm-season planting and starting to plan your fall garden.

Direct-sow throughout May:

• Bush beans, pole beans (succession plant every 2 weeks)
• Cucumbers
• Summer squash, zucchini
• Watermelon, cantaloupe
• Sweet corn
• Okra
• Sunflowers
• Black-eyed peas / cowpeas (heat-loving)

Transplant in May:

• Tomatoes (any not yet planted — but earliest possible is best)
• Peppers
• Eggplant
• Sweet potato slips (warm-soil heat-loving)

Already too late for productive harvest:

• Spring brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower) — they’ll bolt in summer heat
• Peas — they’ll burn out before producing

Start indoors in late May for fall garden transplant in late July:

• Fall broccoli, cabbage
• Fall cauliflower
• Brussels sprouts

Zones 9–10 (last frost January–February)

Your spring planting window has been open since February. May is when northern crops start struggling with heat — pivot to truly heat-loving warm-season crops.

Plant in May for summer harvest:

• Okra (loves heat)
• Southern peas / cowpeas / black-eyed peas
• Sweet potatoes
• Watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew
• Hot peppers (sweet peppers may struggle in extreme heat)
• Eggplant
• Cherry tomatoes (heat-tolerant varieties only — Sun Gold, Sweet 100; large slicers will drop blossoms in 90°F+ heat)
• Yard-long beans
• Malabar spinach (heat-tolerant spinach substitute)

Don’t plant in May (heat-sensitive):

• Lettuce, spinach (will bolt within days)
• Standard peas
• Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
• Standard tomatoes (consider replacing with heat-set varieties like Heatmaster or Solar Fire)

Already plan for the fall garden — in zones 9–10, fall is actually your second spring. By August, you’ll be starting cool-weather crops indoors for September transplant.

“I started late — what’s a fast crop that’ll still produce?”

If May is your first thought of gardening this year, here’s what still produces a full harvest with a late start in most zones:

The Planter App’s What to Plant This Week page shows exactly which crops are still in their planting window for your zone today, and which ones have already missed it. If you’re starting late, that page does the “what’s still possible” math for you in one click.

A note about “succession planting”

If you plant lettuce, radishes, or beans all at once, they all mature at once — meaning you’ll have 30 lettuce heads in one week, then nothing. Succession planting (planting small batches every 2–3 weeks) gives you a continuous supply.

May is the ideal month to start succession planting:

• Lettuce, arugula, radishes: every 2 weeks, May through July (cool zones) or May only (warm zones)
• Bush beans: every 3 weeks, May through July
• Carrots: May, June, then again in late July for fall harvest
• Basil: plant once, but pinch flowers to extend the harvest

Don’t forget the calendar tasks

Beyond planting, May is also when established crops need attention:

• Side-dress tomatoes and peppers with compost or balanced fertilizer 2 weeks after transplant
• Stake or cage tomatoes the day you plant them (waiting weakens roots)
• Mulch all beds with 2–3 inches of straw, leaves, or wood chips
• Thin seedlings of carrots, beets, lettuce — overcrowded seedlings produce no usable harvest
• Watch for late frost in zones 4–5; have row cover ready

Use a planting calendar that knows your zone

The hardest part of May planting isn’t memorizing this list — it’s tracking what to plant when, in your specific zone, with your specific bed setup. The Planter App generates a complete planting calendar from your zone and crop choices, including exact transplant dates, succession-planting reminders, and which crops are no longer worth planting this season.

Plan your May garden →

Related guides

• When to plant tomatoes by zone — specific to the most popular crop
• Did I miss my planting window? — what to do when you’re late
• Frost dates explained — find your exact last frost date