What to plant in May
A month-by-month guide to what goes in the ground in May — 93 crops to start indoors, direct sow, or transplant. Timings below are for a representative mid-US climate (Cisco, UT (zone 6b)); your exact dates depend on your hardiness zone and frost dates.
Want May dates for your own ZIP? Enter it for frost dates from your nearest weather station and a month-by-month calendar:
Direct sow outside
Sow these straight into the garden bed this month.
Transplant outdoors
Move these hardened-off seedlings into the garden.
- Aji Pepper
- Alpine Strawberry
- Amaranth
- Amaranthus
- Armenian Cucumber
- Basil
- Black Cumin / Nigella
- Cape Gooseberry
- Chamomile
- Chiltepin Pepper
- Chinese Toon
- Creeping Thyme
- Cucamelon
- Cucumber
- Eggplant
- Epazote
- Ethiopian Eggplant
- Feverfew
- Gourd (Angled Luffa)
- Gourd (Bitter)
- Gourd (Bottle)
- Gourd (Luffa)
- Gourd (Ornamental)
- Gourd (Turban)
- Gourd (Wax)
- Grain Amaranth
- Ground Cherry
- Holy Basil
- Hybrid Coneflower
- Japanese Mugwort
- Korean Mint
- Korean Summer Squash
- Lavender
- Lemon Basil
- Lime Basil
- Malabar Spinach
- Marjoram
- Melon
- Melon (Pickling)
- Mexican Tarragon
- Nasturtium
- Okra
- Oregano
- Paracress
- Pennyroyal Mint
- Pepper (Habanero)
- Pepper (Hot)
- Pepper (Sweet & Hot)
- Pepper (Tabasco)
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin (Maxima)
- Pumpkin (Moschata)
- Roselle
- Russian Sage
- Savory
- Shiso
- Stevia
- Summer Savory
- Summer Squash
- Sweet Annie
- Thai Basil
- Tomatillo
- Tomato
- Vietnamese Culantro
- Water Pepper
- Watermelon
- West Indian Gherkin
- Wild Arugula
- Winged Bean
- Winter Squash (Acorn)
- Winter Squash (Banana)
- Winter Squash (Buttercup)
- Winter Squash (Butternut)
- Winter Squash (Cushaw)
- Winter Squash (Delicata)
- Winter Squash (Hubbard)
- Winter Squash (Spaghetti)
- Yarrow
Plant out
Set out these crops (sets, tubers, or starts) now.
What to plant in May by hardiness zone
The list above is for a representative mid-US climate — pick your USDA zone for a May list tuned to your frost dates.
Keep going
Timings are computed from NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals for a representative mid-US location (Cisco, UT (zone 6b)) using the same engine as GardenDraft’s in-app schedule. They are guidance, not guarantees — your exact dates depend on your address.