Planting planner: Scottsdale, Arizona
Typical last spring frost January 27 (1 spring in 10 later than March 5). Typical first fall frost December 21 (1 fall in 10 earlier than November 28). Growing season about 330 days.
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Frost doesn't come every year here: about 91 years in 100 have at least one freezing night. The calendar is built on the dates for the years that do.
We don't give a garlic date here. The rule we use, from the University of Minnesota Extension, counts from the first killing frost, and it works where a hard freeze comes every year before the ground freezes. Your county's extension office can tell you when to plant garlic in your climate.
Your typical last frost comes before mid-February. Where winters are this mild, summer heat limits the garden as much as frost does, and most planting happens in fall and late winter. Your county's extension office publishes a calendar made for your climate.
January
- January 13 to 27: Beets, carrots, potatoes, Swiss chard (plant outdoors)
- January 13 to 27: Cauliflower (plant out)
- January 27: Snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, summer squash (sow outdoors)
February
- February 10: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (plant out)
- February 10: Melons, winter squash, pumpkins, lima beans (sow outdoors)
March
Nothing to start this month.
April
Nothing to start this month.
May
Nothing to start this month.
June
Nothing to start this month.
July
- July 26 to August 9: Cabbage for fall (start seeds)
August
- August 15 to 29: Broccoli for fall (start seeds)
September
- September 24: Snap beans for fall (last date to sow)
- September 28: Carrots for fall (last date to sow)
- September 29: Cucumbers for fall (last date to sow)
October
- October 3: Peas for fall (last date to sow)
- October 4: Summer squash for fall (last date to sow)
- October 8: Leaf lettuce and beets for fall (last date to sow)
- October 18: Turnips and kohlrabi for fall (last date to sow)
- October 28: Spinach for fall (last date to sow)
November
- November 7: Radishes for fall (last date to sow)
- November 11 to December 9: Broccoli and cabbage (start seeds indoors)
- November 25 to December 23: Cauliflower (start seeds indoors)
- November 28: Tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers (watch the forecast)
December
- December 9 to 30: Eggplant (start seeds indoors)
- December 16 to 30: Peppers (start seeds indoors)
- December 23 to January 6: Tomatoes (start seeds indoors)
- December 30 to January 13: Peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, onion sets, turnips (sow outdoors)
- December 30 to January 13: Broccoli and cabbage (plant out)
Dates from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Pinnacle Peak (station USC00026603), 3 miles from the center of Scottsdale. Planting rules: Colorado State University Extension GardenNotes #720 (spring), Virginia Cooperative Extension 426-334 (fall crops), University of Minnesota Extension (garlic). Spring bulbs: plant when the soil has cooled to about 50 to 55°F, until a couple of weeks before the ground freezes (University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension). Full details: https://lastfrostdate.com/frost-dates/arizona/scottsdale/