San Antonio, TX · zone 9a · ~278 frost-free days
When to plant in San Antonio: frost dates and zone 9a.
In San Antonio, the typical last spring frost lands around Feb 24 and the first fall frost around Nov 29, giving you about 278 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 San Antonio, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Jan 20 to Mar 22 | Mar 3 to May 3 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Jan 17 to Mar 3 | Sep 15 to Nov 14 |
| Carrot | — | Jan 17 to Feb 19 | Sep 3 to Sep 29 |
| Bush Bean | — | Feb 24 to Apr 16 | Aug 15 to Sep 17 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Mar 3 to Jun 2 | Jul 29 to Aug 29 |
| Pepper, bell | Jan 29 to Mar 22 | Mar 12 to May 3 | — |
| Kale | Dec 6 to Jan 3 | Jan 17 to Feb 14 | Aug 29 to Oct 14 |
| Spinach | — | Jan 3 to Feb 14 | Sep 15 to Nov 3 |
San Antonio sits in Zone 9a, 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 San Antonio 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 78205 in about 60 seconds.
San Antonio planting questions
What planting zone is San Antonio, TX?+
San Antonio is in USDA hardiness zone 9a. Growing zone, gardening zone, and planting zone all mean the same thing: the USDA number, 9a here. It tells you what survives winter, not when to plant. Frost dates set your planting time, and the free planner uses your exact ZIP code's frost dates, which can differ by weeks across one metro.
When is the last frost date in San Antonio?+
The typical last spring frost in San Antonio, TX is around Feb 24. That is an average from local history, not a guarantee, so tender crops like tomatoes and peppers are safer with a week of buffer after it.
When is the first frost date in San Antonio?+
The typical first fall frost in San Antonio, TX arrives around Nov 29, closing a growing season of roughly 278 frost-free days. Count backward from it to find the last date a fall crop can still finish.
What can I plant now in San Antonio?+
It depends on the date. Cool-season crops like lettuce, kale, and spinach go out weeks before the last frost; warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers wait until after Feb 24. The table above shows each crop's window; the free planner turns your ZIP into an exact, dated calendar.