Planting planner: Lafayette, Louisiana
Typical last spring frost February 13 (1 spring in 10 later than March 10). Typical first fall frost December 4 (1 fall in 10 earlier than November 13). Growing season about 299 days.
Or use your browser's Print command.
Frost doesn't come every year here: about 99 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 2 to 16: Peppers (start seeds indoors)
- January 9 to 23: Tomatoes (start seeds indoors)
- January 16 to 30: Peas, spinach, lettuce, radishes, onion sets, turnips (sow outdoors)
- January 16 to 30: Broccoli and cabbage (plant out)
- January 30 to February 13: Beets, carrots, potatoes, Swiss chard (plant outdoors)
- January 30 to February 13: Cauliflower (plant out)
February
- February 13: Snap beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, summer squash (sow outdoors)
- February 27: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (plant out)
- February 27: 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 9 to 23: Cabbage for fall (start seeds)
- July 29 to August 12: Broccoli for fall (start seeds)
August
Nothing to start this month.
September
- September 7: Snap beans for fall (last date to sow)
- September 11: Carrots for fall (last date to sow)
- September 12: Cucumbers for fall (last date to sow)
- September 16: Peas for fall (last date to sow)
- September 17: Summer squash for fall (last date to sow)
- September 21: Leaf lettuce and beets for fall (last date to sow)
October
- October 1: Turnips and kohlrabi for fall (last date to sow)
- October 11: Spinach for fall (last date to sow)
- October 21: Radishes for fall (last date to sow)
November
- November 13: Tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers (watch the forecast)
- November 28 to December 26: Broccoli and cabbage (start seeds indoors)
December
- December 12 to January 9: Cauliflower (start seeds indoors)
- December 26 to January 16: Eggplant (start seeds indoors)
Dates from NOAA's 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Lafayette Regional Airport (station USW00013976), 2 miles from the center of Lafayette. 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/louisiana/lafayette/