Missoula, MT · zone 5a · ~144 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Missoula.
In Missoula, the typical last spring frost lands around May 10 and the first fall frost around Oct 1, giving you about 144 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 Missoula, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Apr 5 to Jun 5 | May 17 to Jul 17 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Apr 2 to May 17 | Jul 18 to Sep 16 |
| Carrot | — | Apr 2 to May 5 | Jul 6 to Aug 1 |
| Bush Bean | — | May 10 to Jun 30 | Jun 17 to Jul 20 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | May 17 to Aug 16 | May 31 to Jul 1 |
| Pepper, bell | Apr 14 to Jun 5 | May 26 to Jul 17 | — |
| Kale | Feb 19 to Mar 19 | Apr 2 to Apr 30 | Jul 1 to Aug 16 |
| Spinach | — | Mar 19 to Apr 30 | Jul 18 to Sep 5 |
Missoula sits in Zone 5a, 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 Missoula 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 59801 in about 60 seconds.