What to Plant in March in Zone 9
Here is what you can sow in March if you garden in USDA zone 9. Dates use typical zone 9 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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| Crop | Window | Sow between |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicingBig Beef | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Tomato, cherrySun Gold | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Tomato, pasteAmish Paste | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, bellAce | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, hotJalapeño | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| EggplantNadia | spring | Mar 13 – Apr 29 |
| Cucumber, slicingMarketmore 76 | spring | Feb 27 – May 29 |
| Cucumber, picklingExcelsior | spring | Feb 27 – May 29 |
| Squash, summerZucchini Dunja | spring | Feb 27 – Jun 12 |
| Squash, winterWaltham Butternut | spring | Mar 29 – May 13 |
| WatermelonCrimson Sweet | spring | Mar 13 – Apr 29 |
| CantaloupeHale's Best | spring | Mar 13 – Apr 29 |
| OkraClemson Spineless | spring | Mar 13 – May 13 |
| Sweet CornInspiration | spring | Feb 27 – May 29 |
| Bush BeanProvider | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 12 |
| Pole BeanKentucky Wonder | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Sweet PotatoBeauregard | spring | Mar 29 – May 13 |
| BasilGenovese | spring | Mar 13 – May 29 |
| Swiss ChardBright Lights | spring | Jan 27 – Mar 13 |
| Lima Bean (Bush)Henderson | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 21 |
| Edamame (Soybean)Envy | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 26 |
| Southern Pea (Black-Eyed Pea)California Blackeye No. 5 | spring | Mar 6 – May 6 |
| Garbanzo Bean (Chickpea)Sierra | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 13 |
| Bean, dryPinto | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 21 |
| Corn, dent (grinding)Reid's Yellow Dent | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 6 |
| Amaranth, grainGolden Giant | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 11 |
| Sorghum, grainMennonite | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 11 |
| Pigeon peaGeorgia-2 (early dwarf) | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 1 |
| Amaranth LeafRed Garnet | spring | Feb 20 – Mar 13 |
| New Zealand SpinachCommon | spring | Feb 20 – Mar 6 |
| TomatilloToma Verde | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Ground CherryAunt Molly's | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Honeydew MelonEarli-Dew | spring | Mar 13 – Apr 29 |
| Spaghetti SquashTivoli | spring | Mar 13 – May 6 |
| Acorn SquashTable Queen | spring | Mar 13 – May 6 |
| Luffa GourdSmooth Luffa | spring | Mar 13 – May 6 |
| Sunflower, confectionMammoth Grey Stripe | spring | Mar 6 – May 6 |
| Strawberry, day-neutralAlbion | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 13 |
| Pepper, bananaSweet Banana | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, poblanoPoblano | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, serranoSerrano Tampiqueno | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, cayenneLong Slim | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, shishitoShishito | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, habaneroOrange Habanero | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| DillFernleaf | spring | Feb 13 – Apr 3 |
| OreganoGreek | spring | Feb 13 – Apr 3 |
| ThymeEnglish | spring | Feb 13 – Apr 3 |
| RosemaryTuscan Blue | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 3 |
| SageBroadleaf | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 3 |
| MintSpearmint | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 17 |
| ChivesCommon | spring | Feb 6 – Apr 3 |
| TarragonFrench | spring | Mar 13 – May 1 |
| MarjoramSweet Marjoram | spring | Mar 6 – May 15 |
| ChervilCurled | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
| Lemon BalmCommon | spring | Mar 6 – May 1 |
| Summer SavoryCommon | spring | Mar 6 – May 15 |
| BlueberryBluecrop (northern highbush) | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 22 |
| Raspberry, redHeritage (everbearing) | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
| BlackberryTriple Crown (thornless) | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 13 |
| Strawberry, June-bearingHoneoye | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 13 |
| GooseberryHinnonmaki Red | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
| ElderberryAdams | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 22 |
| AsparagusJersey Knight | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
| RhubarbVictoria | spring | Jan 21 – Mar 6 |
| HorseradishBig Top | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 22 |
| Sunchoke (Jerusalem Artichoke)Stampede | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 13 |
| GingerBaby Ginger (Hawaiian) | spring | Mar 22 – Apr 18 |
| TurmericHawaiian Red | spring | Mar 22 – Apr 21 |
| PeanutValencia | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 6 |
| LavenderMunstead (English) | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 3 |
| LemongrassWest Indian | spring | Mar 13 – Apr 21 |
| Bay LaurelSweet Bay | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 21 |
| BorageCommon | spring | Feb 20 – May 1 |
| SteviaSweet Leaf | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 6 |
| Catmint (Catnip)Nepeta cataria | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 21 |
| Shiso (Perilla)Britton | spring | Mar 13 – May 1 |
| Scarlet Runner BeanScarlet Emperor | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 21 |
| PopcornRobust Pop | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 21 |
| Cucamelon (Mouse Melon)Melothria scabra | spring | Mar 6 – Apr 21 |
| Malabar SpinachRed Stem | spring | Mar 13 – May 1 |
| Tomato | spring | Feb 27 – Apr 29 |
| Pepper, sweet | spring | Mar 8 – Apr 29 |
| Cucumber | spring | Feb 27 – May 29 |
| Bean | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 12 |
| NasturtiumJewel Mix | spring | Feb 20 – Apr 3 |
| Calendula (Pot Marigold)Resina | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
| Chamomile, GermanCommon | spring | Feb 6 – Mar 20 |
| Cress, gardenCurled | spring | Jan 13 – Mar 6 |
| Currant, redRed Lake | spring | Jan 30 – Mar 6 |
Zone 9 in March
Zone 9 in March: peppers and melons arrive as bare root season closes
Heat lovers get their turn
Pepper and eggplant transplants want soil past 60 degrees measured 4 to 6 inches down, the transplant depth rather than a seed reading, which most zone 9 beds clear by now. Watermelon and cantaloupe run warmer still, needing a shallower 2-inch check to hold 65 before their seed is worth trusting to the ground, and okra tracks close behind that same mark. Push a soil thermometer into the bed before transplanting pepper; a reading still short of that 60-degree mark is reason enough to wait another week rather than shock young roots into stalling.
Ginger and turmeric also start now and need close to 9 months of frost free growth to bulk up rhizomes worth digging, so tuck them into a spot with afternoon shade once summer highs climb past 90, and keep the soil moist but never soggy.
Bare root planting closes out
Blueberry, raspberry, gooseberry, currant, and elderberry are best planted while still dormant, and March is the last realistic month before rising heat stresses new bare root stock before roots establish. Soak roots in a bucket of water for an hour before planting and trim off anything that looks black or mushy rather than leaving damaged tissue in the hole.
Asparagus and rhubarb crowns fall into the same window, though rhubarb is worth treating as an experiment here rather than a sure thing, since it wants a real stretch of chilling, generally cited as 32 to 45 degrees, to break dormancy well, and it often sulks through a mild zone 9 winter that never delivers enough hours in that range.
A few greens make their final entry
Swiss chard, garbanzo beans, amaranth leaf, and New Zealand spinach are all planting their last round before summer heat turns them bitter or stalls germination, so treat any of these still on your list as a now or never job, and give amaranth leaf a spot with light afternoon shade so it holds quality a few extra weeks.
Calendula, garden cress, and chamomile round out the closing list; sow them thickly since germination rates on older seed packets drop after a year in storage, and a quick test, 10 seeds on a damp paper towel checked after 7 days, tells you whether a packet is worth planting or better composted.
March in zone 9: common questions
What can I plant in March in zone 9?+
In March, USDA zone 9 gardeners can sow Tomato, slicing, Tomato, cherry, Tomato, paste, Pepper, bell, Pepper, hot, Eggplant, and more. Dates use typical zone 9 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 9 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 March planting dates exact?+
They are typical zone 9 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.