What to Plant in September in Zone 9
Here is what you can sow in September 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.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only point to seeds and gear we would use ourselves. See our full affiliate disclosure.
| Crop | Window | Sow between |
|---|---|---|
| Cucumber, slicingMarketmore 76 | fall | Aug 4 – Sep 4 |
| Cucumber, picklingExcelsior | fall | Aug 4 – Sep 4 |
| Squash, summerZucchini Dunja | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 9 |
| Bush BeanProvider | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 23 |
| Pole BeanKentucky Wonder | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 13 |
| Snap PeaSugar Snap | fall | Sep 12 – Sep 20 |
| CilantroCalypso | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 4 |
| ParsleyItalian Flat-Leaf | fall | Sep 4 – Oct 20 |
| Lettuce, leafSalad Bowl | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 20 |
| Lettuce, romaineChalupa | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 20 |
| Lettuce, headButtercrunch | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 4 |
| SpinachBloomsdale | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 9 |
| ArugulaAstro | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 20 |
| KaleDazzling Blue | fall | Sep 4 – Oct 20 |
| Swiss ChardBright Lights | fall | Sep 4 – Oct 20 |
| CollardsGeorgia Southern | fall | Aug 21 – Oct 20 |
| Mustard GreensFlorida Broadleaf | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 21 |
| CabbageTiara | fall | Aug 21 – Oct 5 |
| BroccoliBelstar | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 30 |
| CauliflowerSnow Crown | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 25 |
| KohlrabiWinner | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 10 |
| CarrotNapoli | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 5 |
| BeetDetroit Dark Red | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 10 |
| RadishCherry Belle | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 4 |
| TurnipPurple Top | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 15 |
| Onion, bunchingEvergreen | fall | Sep 9 – Oct 20 |
| Lima Bean (Bush)Henderson | fall | Sep 6 – Sep 13 |
| English Shelling PeaLittle Marvel | fall | Sep 12 – Sep 19 |
| Brussels SproutsLong Island Improved | fall | Aug 21 – Oct 6 |
| Napa CabbageBlues F1 | fall | Aug 27 – Oct 6 |
| Bok ChoyJoi Choi F1 | fall | Sep 16 – Oct 26 |
| Rapini (Broccoli Raab)Zamboni F1 | fall | Sep 11 – Oct 21 |
| Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)Crispy Blue | fall | Sep 6 – Oct 16 |
| TatsoiTatsoi | fall | Sep 11 – Oct 26 |
| MizunaMizuna Early | fall | Sep 16 – Oct 31 |
| Daikon RadishMiyashige | fall | Sep 16 – Oct 26 |
| EndiveFrisée Fine Maraîchère | fall | Sep 11 – Oct 16 |
| EscaroleBatavian Full Heart | fall | Sep 11 – Oct 16 |
| RadicchioPalla Rossa Mavrik | fall | Sep 1 – Oct 11 |
| SorrelProfusion | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 5 |
| WatercressCommon | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 5 |
| CeleryTango | fall | Aug 27 – Sep 26 |
| ParsnipHollow Crown | fall | Aug 22 – Sep 26 |
| LeekLincoln | fall | Aug 22 – Oct 10 |
| SalsifyMammoth Sandwich Island | fall | Aug 15 – Sep 26 |
| CeleriacPrinz | fall | Aug 29 – Oct 3 |
| RutabagaLaurentian | fall | Aug 22 – Oct 3 |
| Fennel, FlorenceOrion | fall | Sep 5 – Oct 10 |
| Cucumber | fall | Aug 4 – Sep 4 |
| Bean | fall | Aug 21 – Sep 23 |
| Lettuce | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 20 |
| Calendula (Pot Marigold)Resina | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 4 |
| Cress, gardenCurled | fall | Sep 21 – Nov 20 |
Zone 9 in September
Zone 9 in September: the fall greens list opens all at once
A month of firsts
September delivers more new planting options than any other month on zone 9's calendar: snap pea, lima bean, and English shelling pea get their only fall start, joined by a long run of lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale. Hold off on direct-sown greens until nights are reliably dropping into the 60s, usually the back half of the month; sow into the season's lingering warmth instead and bolting starts working against you from day one.
Give snap and English peas their trellis on planting day rather than waiting; add support after the vines are up and you risk tearing roots trying to weave stakes through growth that's already claimed the space. A 4 to 5 foot support handles either type through a full fall run here.
Summer holdovers get one last push
Cucumber, summer squash, and the bean family are on their last call. Get seed in during the first week and shortening November days probably won't catch you before harvest; wait past mid month and you're really just hoping the first frost runs late.
Broccoli and cauliflower transplants also close out their fall window now; look for stocky plants with stems about the width of a pencil rather than tall leggy ones, since a leggy transplant put into September's still warm soil is more likely to bolt before it ever forms a head.
Celery and parsnip are quiet, slow starters
Celery and parsnip are the patient ones this month, often 2 to 3 weeks before a first sprout shows at all, and both germinate best while soil still carries some warmth but the worst heat has broken. A light daily misting keeps the seedbed evenly damp without the waterlogging that rots seed before it ever sprouts, an easy trap in the clay soils common across this zone once you overdo the watering.
Salsify shares that same slow start and is easy to forget in a September bed full of faster growing greens; mark the row clearly, since bare soil with no visible sprout for 3 weeks reads as an empty spot to anyone weeding by eye.
September in zone 9: common questions
What can I plant in September in zone 9?+
In September, USDA zone 9 gardeners can sow Cucumber, slicing, Cucumber, pickling, Squash, summer, Bush Bean, Pole Bean, Snap Pea, 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 September 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.