St. Louis, MO · zone 7a · ~208 frost-free days
When to plant in St. Louis: frost dates and zone 7a.
In St. Louis, the typical last spring frost lands around Apr 5 and the first fall frost around Oct 30, giving you about 208 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 St. Louis, keyed to your frost.
| Crop | Start indoors | Spring sow / set out | Fall sow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomato, slicing | Mar 1 to May 1 | Apr 12 to Jun 12 | — |
| Lettuce, leaf | — | Feb 26 to Apr 12 | Aug 16 to Oct 15 |
| Carrot | — | Feb 26 to Mar 31 | Aug 4 to Aug 30 |
| Bush Bean | — | Apr 5 to May 26 | Jul 16 to Aug 18 |
| Cucumber, slicing | — | Apr 12 to Jul 12 | — |
| Pepper, bell | Mar 10 to May 1 | Apr 21 to Jun 12 | — |
| Kale | Jan 15 to Feb 12 | Feb 26 to Mar 26 | Jul 30 to Sep 14 |
| Spinach | — | Feb 12 to Mar 26 | Aug 16 to Oct 4 |
St. Louis sits in Zone 7a, 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 St. Louis 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 63101 in about 60 seconds.
St. Louis planting questions
What planting zone is St. Louis, MO?+
St. Louis is in USDA hardiness zone 7a. Growing zone, gardening zone, and planting zone all mean the same thing: the USDA number, 7a 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 St. Louis?+
The typical last spring frost in St. Louis, MO is around Apr 5. 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 St. Louis?+
The typical first fall frost in St. Louis, MO arrives around Oct 30, closing a growing season of roughly 208 frost-free days. Count backward from it to find the last date a fall crop can still finish.
What can I plant now in St. Louis?+
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 Apr 5. The table above shows each crop's window; the free planner turns your ZIP into an exact, dated calendar.