Planting guide

What to plant in Zone 9 in March

USDA Zone 9 · US Northern Hemisphere March

By March the frost has passed across most of zone 9, and the warm-season garden goes in all at once. This is the month that decides the spring harvest: summer heat arrives in May, and crops planted late spend their fruiting weeks in temperatures that stop them setting fruit.

Plant now

Tomato transplants (early in the month)Solanum lycopersicum

Get the last ones in by mid-March. Early and heat-setting varieties give the most fruit before nights stay above about 75°F (24°C).

Pepper and eggplant transplants

They like the warmer soil now and keep producing through the heat better than tomatoes do.

Bush and pole beansPhaseolus vulgaris

Direct-sow into soil of about 60°F (16°C); sow a second round three weeks later.

Cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini

Direct-sow or transplant now. Covering young plants with row cover until they flower keeps squash vine borers and cucumber beetles off.

Sweet cornZea mays

Sow in blocks of at least four short rows, not one long row, so the plants pollinate each other.

BasilOcimum basilicum

Plant out now; it thrives in the heat that follows.

Timing notes

  • Melons and okra want warmer soil, about 70°F (21°C). Sow them at the end of the month or in April.
  • Mulch every bed once the soil has warmed: it holds moisture through the first hot spells and keeps fruit off the ground.
  • Cool-season crops still in the ground will bolt as the days heat up. Harvest them now rather than waiting for a bigger crop.
Frost dates and a seed-starting schedule for your ZIP code Free calculator from NOAA station records: last spring frost, first fall frost, and what to start each week. ← All planting guides