Charlotte, NC · zone 8a · ~220 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Charlotte.
In Charlotte, the typical last spring frost lands around Mar 29 and the first fall frost around Nov 4, giving you about 220 frost-free days. Cool-season crops go out before the last frost; warm-season crops wait until after it.
The 2026 windows
Sow dates for Charlotte, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Feb 22 to Apr 24 | Apr 5 to Jun 5 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Feb 19 to Apr 5 | Aug 21 to Oct 20 |
| Carrot | — | Feb 19 to Mar 24 | Aug 9 to Sep 4 |
| Bush Bean | — | Mar 29 to May 19 | Jul 21 to Aug 23 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Apr 5 to Jul 5 | Jul 4 to Aug 4 |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 3 to Apr 24 | Apr 14 to Jun 5 | — |
| Kale | Jan 8 to Feb 5 | Feb 19 to Mar 19 | Aug 4 to Sep 19 |
| Spinach | — | Feb 5 to Mar 19 | Aug 21 to Oct 9 |
Charlotte sits in Zone 8a, but two gardens in the same city can be a week or two apart. The planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not the zone, so the dates land right for your block, not the metro average.
Build your Charlotte garden plan.
Tell the free planner what you want to eat and who you're feeding. It returns plant counts, spacing, and frost-safe sow dates for ZIP 28202 in about 60 seconds.