A Garden Calendar

# San Diego Planting Calendar: Your Month-by-Month Guide to an Edible Garden

If you've ever tried to follow a gardening calendar designed for, say, Chicago — or even Northern California — you already know how confusing it gets down here. Frost dates? Mostly irrelevant. "Summer gardening"? We've got two of them. "Winter dormancy"? Tell that to our citrus trees.

San Diego breaks almost every standard gardening rule, and once you understand why, the whole year opens up. You can grow food 12 months straight. The challenge isn't the cold — it's the heat, the marine layer, the microclimates, and knowing when to hand off from cool-season crops to warm-season ones and back again.

This is that calendar. Every month. Exactly what to plant, what to harvest, and what to do — with coastal and inland notes throughout, because growing in Del Mar is genuinely different from growing in El Cajon.

---

## Understanding San Diego's Growing Zones

Before we go month by month, a few things to know about our climate that change everything.

We're in USDA Zones 10a–11 (Coastal) and 9b–10b (Inland). San Diego's coastal zone rarely dips below 30°F and almost never freezes. Inland areas (Escondido, Lakeside, Ramona) get occasional frost — usually just a few nights per year, typically December through February. For zone data specific to your address, the UCCE San Diego Master Gardener program (https://ucanr.edu/sites/sandiego/) is the best local resource.

The Marine Layer Changes Everything on the Coast. If you're within a few miles of the coast, you know the drill: June Gloom, May Gray, and sometimes July... Blah. That persistent marine layer suppresses heat and limits the sun hours tomatoes and peppers need to thrive. Coastal gardeners can grow tomatoes, but they need heat-reflective mulch, south-facing exposures, and warm-season varieties that set fruit in cooler temperatures.

We Have Two "Summers." The first warm window hits in late March through May — warm enough for warm-season crops, low humidity, ideal conditions. Then June–July often cools and clouds over. Things heat back up August through October, often our hottest stretch. Plan your tomato and pepper timing around this second summer.

Our Real "Winter" Is October Through February. Cool-season crops — broccoli, kale, lettuce, chard, peas — love this window. They'll bolt (go to seed) in the heat of late spring, so use your cool months wisely.

---

## San Diego Planting Calendar: Month by Month

JANUARY

What to plant: spinach, arugula, radishes, turnips, beets (direct sow); broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, chard, lettuce, onion starts (transplants); bare-root strawberries, artichokes; deciduous stone fruits — peaches, plums, nectarines, apples (low-chill varieties like Anna, Dorsett Golden, Tropic Snow)

What to harvest: Kale, chard, collards, broccoli side shoots, citrus (navel oranges peak now), avocados, radishes

Key tasks: Apply dormant spray (copper + oil) to peach and nectarine trees before buds break. Prune deciduous fruit trees while dormant. Top-dress beds with compost.

Coastal vs. inland: Inland gardeners may see a frost night or two — cover tender transplants with frost cloth.

FEBRUARY

What to plant: peas (last good window), carrots, beets, lettuce, cilantro (direct sow); broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, fennel, chard, kale (transplants); start tomatoes/peppers/eggplant indoors for April transplanting

What to harvest: Chard, kale, broccoli, peas (if planted Nov), citrus (Cara Cara, blood oranges), early avocados

Key tasks: Finish dormant pruning by mid-February. Begin fertilizing citrus. Check drip irrigation emitters.

Coastal vs. inland: Inland — hold warm-season transplants until mid-March. Coastal — can safely plant tomato starts in late February in a warm, south-facing microclimate.

MARCH

What to plant: beans, summer squash, cucumbers, basil, dill (direct sow); tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (transplants — coastal now, inland late March/early April); fruit trees (container-grown citrus, avocado go in well now); basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram

What to harvest: Last broccoli and cauliflower, snap peas, lettuce, arugula, chard

Key tasks: Mulch everything 3 inches deep. Begin gopher trapping in earnest — Macabee traps in fresh mounds, check daily. Apply compost or balanced fertilizer to vegetable beds.

APRIL

What to plant: beans, corn, Armenian cucumbers, melons (direct sow); sweet potatoes, okra, peppers, squash, more tomatoes (transplants); lemongrass, Vietnamese coriander, Thai basil

What to harvest: Snap peas, chard, early lettuces, kale, artichokes (peak), asparagus (established beds), last blood oranges

Key tasks: Set up drip irrigation. Thin seedlings. Watch for aphids and whiteflies on tomatoes.

MAY

What to plant: Basil (succession-sow every 3–4 weeks), heat-tolerant lettuce (Jericho, Muir, Nevada), sweet potato slips, more cucumbers; tropical edibles: banana pups, pineapple guava, Surinam cherry

What to harvest: Artichokes, early tomatoes, snap beans, garlic planted in fall

Key tasks: Monitor soil moisture. Tie and train tomatoes. Begin foliar feeding tomatoes/peppers every 2 weeks.

Coastal vs. inland: Coastal may start June Gloom by late May. Inland often has best tomato window right now.

JUNE

What to plant: Beans (for fall harvest), heat-tolerant cucumbers, tropical fruit trees (papaya, cherimoya, guava, loquat), sweet potato slips

What to harvest: Summer squash, cucumbers, early tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onions, basil

Key tasks: Remove lower tomato leaves for airflow. Deep water established fruit trees every 7–10 days. Watch for bacterial canker on stone fruits.

JULY

What to plant: Start fall brassicas from seed indoors (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage — 6 weeks before September transplant). Heat-tolerant greens: Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach.

What to harvest: Peak tomato time for inland gardens, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, summer squash, melons, figs (first crop), early peaches/nectarines

Key tasks: Water deeply and consistently. Side-dress heavy feeders with compost. Harvest summer squash small.

Coastal vs. inland: July is peak tomato month inland. Coastal — focus on eggplant and peppers.

AUGUST

What to plant: Transplant fall brassica starts. More beans and cucumbers (direct sow). Start cool-season crops indoors for September transplant. Plant garlic in late August.

What to harvest: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons (Crenshaw, Casaba), figs (second crop), late peaches, early apples

Key tasks: Water before 7 AM. Watch for spider mites. Wind down struggling summer squash vines.

Sourcing note: Walter Andersen Nursery (https://www.walterandersen.com) typically stocks fall transplants starting in August.

SEPTEMBER

What to plant: Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, chard, lettuce (transplants). Spinach, arugula, beets, carrots (direct sow). Garlic. Strawberries. Container-grown citrus and avocado trees.

What to harvest: Peppers (peak), late tomatoes, eggplant, sweet potatoes, winter squash, figs

Key tasks: Pull spent summer crops. Amend beds with compost. Plant cover crops in resting beds.

OCTOBER

What to plant: This is arguably San Diego's best planting month. Peas (ideal window), carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce, arugula, spinach, chard (direct sow). All cool-season brassicas (transplants). Garlic (best window), shallots, Egyptian walking onions.

What to harvest: Sweet potatoes, winter squash, late peppers and tomatoes, pumpkins, late figs, pomegranates, persimmons beginning

Key tasks: Reduce irrigation as temperatures cool. Apply compost around fruit tree drip lines. Divide and replant woody herbs.

NOVEMBER

What to plant: Fava beans (excellent for SD — plant Nov through Jan), garlic (last call coastal), overwintering onions, peas (for late spring crop). Cool-season greens. Bare-root season starts: strawberries, artichokes.

What to harvest: Persimmons, pomegranates, Satsuma mandarins (peaks in November), kale, chard, broccoli side shoots, carrots

Key tasks: Begin dormant pruning in late November. Plant cover crops in resting beds. Reduce irrigation to fall/winter schedule.

DECEMBER

What to plant: Fava beans, peas, radishes, overwintering spinach (direct sow). Kale, chard, broccoli, cauliflower (transplants). Bare-root season in full swing: strawberries, artichokes, asparagus, fruit trees.

What to harvest: Citrus peaking (navel oranges, Satsuma mandarins wrapping up, Cara Cara starting, Meyer lemons). Kale, chard, collards, broccoli, root vegetables.

Key tasks: Finish dormant pruning. Apply dormant spray to peaches, nectarines, apricots. Prepare bare-root planting beds.

---

## San Diego-Specific Tips

Water Conservation in the Edible Garden:

- Drip over spray: reduces evaporation 30–50%

- Mulch is mandatory: 3 inches of wood chips can cut watering frequency in half during summer

- Water before 7 AM

- Group plants by water need

Gopher Pressure by Season:

- Heaviest in spring (March–May) and fall (September–October)

- Macabee traps in fresh mounds, check twice daily

- Hardware cloth baskets (1/2-inch mesh) for fruit trees and raised beds

- Don't rely on castor oil pellets or ultrasonic repellers — no meaningful field data

Soil Prep Timing:

- Best time to amend: fall, before the rain season

- New beds: 4–6 inches of compost worked into the top 12 inches

- Established beds: 2–3 inches of top-dressing compost each fall

- Most San Diego soils run slightly alkaline (7.2–7.8) — contact UCCE San Diego for soil test resources (https://ucanr.edu/sites/sandiego/)

---

## Ready to Build Your Edible Garden?

At Fresh New Fruit, we've been designing and building edible gardens across San Diego for years. We know which varieties perform in your specific microclimate, where the gopher pressure is worst in your neighborhood, and how to lay out a garden that's productive, water-efficient, and genuinely low-maintenance.

Schedule a free consultation at www.freshnewfruit.com — no pressure, no sales pitch, just an honest conversation about what would work for your yard.