Vegetable Gardening in Hot Zones 9–11 (USA)

Florida, the Gulf Coast, south Texas, the Arizona low desert and coastal southern California: freezes are rare or absent, and the hard season for vegetables is summer, not winter.

Frost dates and temperatures are NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals; zones are from the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Growing advice is checked against university Cooperative Extension services.

Frost dates and climate in this band

The table gives the median (50%) date of the last 32°F freeze in spring and the first in fall, and the number of freeze-free days between them, for a spread of cities in this band. Half of all years have a later last freeze than the date shown, so treat it as the middle of the risk, not the end of it. Zones describe winter cold, not summer heat.

What grows well here, and what struggles

In Florida, the Gulf Coast and the Arizona low desert, fall is when the main cool-season garden starts; see the September to February month guides below for what goes in.

Tomatoes set less fruit when days stay above about 90°F and nights stay above about 70–75°F, so they are grown in spring and fall here rather than through the summer. Okra, southern peas and sweet potatoes are the warm-season crops for summer.

Month by month

What our month guides recommend for this band. Each month links to the full guide.

• January: Zones 9–10: outdoors: Brassicas, lettuce, chard, carrots , radishes, peas, onions and more (see below), indoors: Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the Arizona desert
• February: Zones 9–10: indoors: Tomato and pepper starts hardening off (Central Texas), outdoors: Brassicas, greens, roots, peas ; warm-season crops in Central and South Florida
• March: Zones 9–10: indoors: Little, outdoors: Beans, corn, cucumbers, squash , tomato and pepper transplants
• April: Zones 9–10: outdoors now: Warm-season crops; okra, sweet potatoes, melons, wait: Cool-season crops are finishing
• May: Zones 9–10: plant now: Okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes , yard-long beans, notes: Shade cloth once it's regularly 95°F or more (Arizona)
• June: Zones 9–10: plant now: Okra, southern peas, long beans, sweet potatoes, also: Shade cloth; cover crops in empty beds
• July: Zones 9–10: sow or plant now: Pumpkins, southern peas, okra; beans, corn, melons, squash (Arizona), notes: Shade cloth and mulch; no cool-season crops yet
• August: Zones 9–10: sow or plant now: Fall tomatoes and peppers (FL); beans, corn, radish, beets, turnips (AZ); last beans, cucumbers, squash (TX), notes: Start fall brassicas in trays or under lights
• September: Zones 9–10: sow or plant now: The main cool-season list, notes: Arizona: sow roots and greens by mid-month
• October: Zones 9–10: plant or sow now: Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, lettuce, carrots, beets, spinach, strawberries, harvest or protect: Keep frost cloth ready in case of a late-month cold snap
• November: Zones 9–10: plant or sow: Beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, kale, lettuce, peas, spinach, chard, turnips, main jobs: Frost cloth ready; collar transplants against cutworms
• December: Zones 9–10: sow or plant: Lettuce, peas, radishes, carrots, chard, kale, parsnips, beets; cabbage and cauliflower, main jobs: Protect tender plants on cold nights

Crop guides to start with

Guides for the crops that appear most in this band’s month-by-month plantings:

• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Onions
• Kale
• Collard greens
• Tomatoes
• Eggplant
• Okra
• Sweet potatoes
• Watermelons
• Cucumbers
• Green beans

Weather notes

This band covers very different summers. Phoenix averages a 106°F July high with about 7 inches of precipitation a year; Houston, Orlando, Tampa and Miami are humid, with about 50–67 inches; Los Angeles and San Diego are in zones 10b–11a yet average only about 75°F in July. Zones describe winter cold, not summer heat, so follow your own local climate as well as the zone.

Back to regional gardening in the USA, or see the USA vegetable planting calendar.

References

• NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information: U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (freeze dates, temperature, precipitation)
• USDA Agricultural Research Service and Oregon State University PRISM: 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP code listing
• USDA Agricultural Research Service: How to use the maps (USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map)
• Iowa State University Extension: New plant hardiness zone map released from the USDA
• University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension: Hardiness zone maps
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Vegetable gardens by season
• University of Arizona Cooperative Extension: Fall vegetable gardening
• LSU AgCenter: Vegetable gardening in the fall
• UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (Placer County Master Gardeners): Tomato fruit set
• NC State Extension (Hoke County): Tired summer tomatoes
• Purdue University Vegetable Crops Hotline: Understanding high temperature effects on fruit set of tomatoes
• UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: Vegetable gardens by season
• University of Georgia Extension: Vegetable garden calendar (C943)
• University of Maryland Extension: Vegetable planting calendar

Figures in the tables are the official averages named above. Every other statement is supported by at least three of these sources. The month-by-month notes summarise our own month guides, each of which lists its sources. All sources were checked on 24 October 2026.

Last reviewed: 24 October 2026