Norfolk, VA · zone 8a · ~243 frost-free days
When to plant a garden in Norfolk.
In Norfolk, the typical last spring frost lands around Mar 21 and the first fall frost around Nov 19, giving you about 243 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 Norfolk, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Feb 14 to Apr 16 | Mar 28 to May 28 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Feb 11 to Mar 28 | Sep 5 to Nov 4 |
| Carrot | — | Feb 11 to Mar 16 | Aug 24 to Sep 19 |
| Bush Bean | — | Mar 21 to May 11 | Aug 5 to Sep 7 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Mar 28 to Jun 27 | Jul 19 to Aug 19 |
| Pepper, bell | Feb 23 to Apr 16 | Apr 6 to May 28 | — |
| Kale | Dec 31 to Jan 28 | Feb 11 to Mar 11 | Aug 19 to Oct 4 |
| Spinach | — | Jan 28 to Mar 11 | Sep 5 to Oct 24 |
Norfolk 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 Norfolk 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 23510 in about 60 seconds.