What to Plant in November in Zone 8
Here is what you can sow in November if you garden in USDA zone 8. Dates use typical zone 8 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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| Crop | Window | Sow between |
|---|---|---|
| Onion, bulbTexas Legend | fall | Sep 20 – Nov 1 |
| GarlicMusic | fall | Oct 1 – Nov 30 |
| Fava Bean (Broad Bean)Broad Windsor | fall | Oct 15 – Nov 22 |
| ShallotAmbition | fall | Oct 25 – Nov 29 |
| ChervilCurled | fall | Sep 20 – Nov 1 |
| Onion | fall | Sep 20 – Nov 1 |
| Mache (Corn Salad)Vit | fall | Sep 16 – Nov 5 |
Zone 8 in November
Greens Still Going In
A Shorter List, But Not a Bare One
The table narrows to a handful of crops this month, but unlike a harder-frost garden where November means alliums and nothing else, this list still includes chervil and mache alongside onion, garlic, fava bean, and shallot. Both greens tolerate a light frost on their own, and your first frost, typically in the middle of the month, is often mild enough that a young planting can shrug it off outright.
Set out any of them in the first half of the month rather than the second; cutting it closer than that leaves too little time to establish before growth slows for the season.
Onion bulb sets planted this month are a late addition to the overwintering crop. They'll establish more slowly than an October planting, but typically still catch up by the time spring bulbing begins.
Have Row Cover Ready Anyway
Keep a lightweight row cover on hand for anything sown in the back half of the month. A single layer typically buys 2 to 4 degrees of protection, often the difference between a seedling that stalls overnight and one that keeps growing straight through a mild cold snap.
Check any straw mulch laid over October's garlic and shallot planting for wind damage after a storm; bare cloves exposed to open air lose ground faster in a cold snap than mulched ones do.
Garlic cloves should show a few inches of green growth by the middle of this month if they went in on schedule back in October. A bed still bare by now is worth checking, since a rotted clove won't sprout no matter how much longer you wait.
Mache in particular can be sown as late as the third week of this month and still establish before growth slows for winter, one of the last true planting opportunities anywhere on the yearly calendar.
November in zone 8: common questions
What can I plant in November in zone 8?+
In November, USDA zone 8 gardeners can sow Onion, bulb, Garlic, Fava Bean (Broad Bean), Shallot, Chervil, Onion, and more. Dates use typical zone 8 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 8 is one band of the map, but planting time is set by your local frost dates, not the zone number. Enter your ZIP code in the free planner and it uses your actual frost dates, which can differ by weeks within a single zone.
Are these November planting dates exact?+
They are typical zone 8 windows. Two gardens in the same zone can be a week or two apart because of elevation and local climate, so treat these as a starting point and tune them to your ZIP code with the free planner.