Arizona · Maricopa County

What to plant in Phoenix in fall

The University of Arizona's calendar for Maricopa County says: We have two optimal growing and planting seasons: one in the spring, the other in the fall. This is the fall one: it lists 37 crops with a planting window inside August 1 – December 31 . Some windows run most of the season — kale, for one, August 15 – December 31; others are short — garlic only October 1–31.

Every fall window, as published

Earliest window first. A crop with two lines changes method partway through the season.

Crop	Plant	Harvest, as published
Snap beans	seeds: August 1 – September 14	60-90 days
Black-eyed peas	seeds: August 1–31	90-120 days
Carrots	seeds: August 1 – December 31	60-100 days
Sweet corn	seeds: August 1–31	70-90 days
Green onions	seeds: August 1 – December 31	T90-100 days
Pumpkin	seeds: August 1–14	90-120 days
Winter squash	seeds: August 1–14	90-120 days
Tomatoes	transplants: August 1–14	50-120 days
Bok choy	seeds: August 15 – December 31	45 days
Broccoli	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	T=90-100 S=120-130 days
Brussels sprouts	seeds: August 15–31 seeds or transplants: September 1 – November 30	T=100-120 S=130-150 days
Cabbage	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	T=80-90 S=120-130 days
Chinese cabbage	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	T=45 S=70-80 days
Cauliflower	seeds: August 15–31 seeds or transplants: September 1 – December 31	T=90-100 S=120-130 days
Celery	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	120-150 days
Chard	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	60-90 days
Collard greens	seeds: August 15–31 seeds: September 15 – December 31	80 days
Cucumbers	seeds: August 15 – September 30	60-90 days
Kale	seeds: August 15 – December 31	60-90 days
Kohlrabi	seeds: August 15 – October 14 seeds or transplants: October 15 – November 30 transplants: December 1–31	T=45-60 S=50-60 days
Leeks	seeds: August 15 – October 14	180-200 days
Head lettuce	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	50-100 days
Leaf lettuce	seeds: August 15 – September 14 seeds or transplants: September 15 – December 31	30-90 days
Mustard	seeds: August 15 – December 31	35-45 days
Summer squash	seeds: August 15 – September 14	60-90 days
Turnips	seeds: August 15 – December 31	75-120 days
Endive	seeds: September 1 – December 31	80-120 days
Parsnips	seeds: September 1 – November 30	100-120 days
Radishes	seeds: September 1 – December 31	30-60 days
Rutabagas	seeds: September 1 – December 31	100-120 days
Spinach	seeds: September 1 – December 31	30-90 days
Beets	seeds: September 15 – December 31	60-80 days
Peas	seeds: September 15 – December 14	Sept=60-120 Nov=120-150 days
Garlic	sets or cloves: October 1–31	5-7 months
Bulb onions	seeds: October 1 – November 30 sets or cloves: December 1–31	Sets=4-5 months S=7-8 months
Globe artichokes	seeds: November 1 – December 14	4-6 months
Asparagus	transplants: November 1 – December 31	2-3 years

When the first freeze comes

The later windows run toward the first freeze. NOAA's median first fall freeze at each station Maricopa County ZIP codes cite:

First fall freeze — the 23 NOAA stations Maricopa County ZIP codes cite, 1991–2020 normals (median dates)
Station	NOAA ID	First fall freeze
Aguila, AZ	USC00020060	November 19
Carefree, AZ	USC00021282	December 16
Castle Hot Springs, AZ	USC00021353	December 22
Chandler Heights, AZ	USC00021514	December 11
Dateland Whitewing Rch, AZ	USC00022434	December 13
E Mesa, AZ	USC00022782	December 10
Fountain Hills, AZ	USC00023190	December 28
Gila Bend 2Se, AZ	USC00023393	December 11
Laveen 3 Sse, AZ	USC00024829	December 22
Litchfield Park, AZ	USC00024977	December 24
Painted Rock Dam, AZ	USC00026194	December 15
Phoenix Deer Valley Muni AP, AZ	USW00003184	December 25
Phoenix Sky Harbor INTL AP, AZ	USW00023183	January 3 (next year)
Pinnacle Peak, AZ	USC00026603	December 21
Punkin Ctr, AZ	USC00026840	November 20
Roosevelt 1 S, AZ	USC00027281	December 25
Scottsdale Muni AP, AZ	USW00003192	December 26
South Phoenix, AZ	USC00028112	December 16
Stewart Mtn Dam, AZ	USC00028214	December 5
Tempe Asu, AZ	USC00028499	December 5
Wickenburg, AZ	USC00029287	November 20
Wittmann 1Se, AZ	USC00029464	December 11
Youngtown, AZ	USC00029634	December 15

Where these dates come from

Every planting window on this page is from the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County (az1005), by Kai Umeda, revised September 2018, peer reviewed. It lists 53 crops in 24 half-month planting windows; S means seeds, T transplants, X sets or cloves.

Publication: https://extension.arizona.edu/publication/vegetable-planting-calendar-maricopa-county
PDF: https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1005-2018.pdf

⚠️ It is written for Maricopa County, which holds 135 of the 164 ZIP codes in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metro area. It is not written for the other 29 — Pinal County (29) — nor for Tucson, Yuma or anywhere else in Arizona, and this site does not stretch it to cover them. Freeze dates, summer highs and rainfall are NOAA 1991–2020 normals from the stations named on this page.