Plan your vegetable garden in Tennessee

All the statistical weather information you need to prepare a bulletproof plan for your garden in Tennessee

Temperature range in Tennessee

Tennessee has temperatures ranging from 6°F to 96°F, with approximately 213 frost free days.

Tennessee has 195 days with average temperature range from 50°F to 90°F that are suitable for growing warm season vegetables and 147 days with average temperature range from 40°F to 80°F that are suitable for growing cool season vegetables

Chart displaying weekly air temperature in Tennessee — Tennessee air temperature chart based on weather statistics from 2019 to 2023

Total frost free days (after last frost and before first frost)	213
Total days suitable to grow warm season vegetables	195
Total days suitable to grow cool season vegetables	147
Day with highest recorded temperature in past 4 years	June 22: 96°F
Day with lowest recorded temperature in past 4 years	December 23: 6°F
First expected frost date	November 01
Last expected frost date	April 02

Notable temperature facts for gardening in Tennessee

Warm season vegetables you can grow in Tennessee

Chart displaying days suitable for growing warm season vegetables in Tennessee — Days suitable for growing warm season vegetables in Tennessee

Warm season vegetables can be planted in Tennessee after April 28 when air temperatures are consistently above 50°F (10°C) and soil temperature is above 50°F (10°C)

Good temperature range for warm season vegetables is between 50°F and 90°F. With warm season vegetables it is important to wait until all conditions are optimal, because sudden temperature drop can stun new vegetable growth, this way delaying overall harvest.

Warm season vegetables that can be planted directly into soil in Tennessee

Cucumber

Summer squash

Winter squash

Sweet corn

Eggplant

Bell Pepper

Chilli Pepper

Okra

Tomato

Tomatillo

True Melon

Watermelon

Warm season vegetables that need to be started indoors before transplanting outdoors in Tennessee

Sweet potatoes

Chayote

Cool season vegetables you can grow in Tennessee

Chart displaying days suitable for growing cool season vegetables in Tennessee — Days suitable for growing cool season vegetables in Tennessee

Cool season vegetables can be planted in Tennessee after April 04 when average air temperature is consistently above 40°F (4°C) and soil temperature is above 45°F (7°C)

Good temperature range for cool season vegetables is between 40°F and 80°F. With cool season vegetables it is important to avoid high air temperatures because exposure to high temperatures is most likely to stun growth, cause bitterness and encourage premature bolting in some plants. Plan your cool vegetable planting so they are harvested before hot weather stretch, provide them with additional shading.

Cool season vegetables that can be planted directly into soil in Tennessee

Arugula

Beets

Radish

Turnip

Chives

Coriander

Kohlrabi

Cool season vegetables that need to be started indoors before transplanting outdoors in Tennessee

Peas

Carrot

Kale

Lettuce

Spinach

Swiss chard

Rhubarb

Rutabaga

Parsley

Endive

Artichoke

Parsnip

Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Tennessee

Tolerable temperature range for cool season vegetables: 40°F to 80°F

Tolerable temperature range for warm season vegetables: 50°F to 90°F

	Week	Average temperature	Possible min and max temperature	Suitable for cool season vegetables	Suitable for warm season vegetables
1	January 01 - January 03	44°F to 57°F	28°F to 71°F	TRUE
2	January 04 - January 10	36°F to 50°F	17°F to 63°F
3	January 11 - January 17	36°F to 49°F	26°F to 67°F
4	January 18 - January 24	32°F to 47°F	18°F to 64°F
5	January 25 - January 31	32°F to 47°F	19°F to 63°F
6	February 01 - February 07	37°F to 52°F	24°F to 72°F
7	February 08 - February 14	35°F to 52°F	23°F to 66°F
8	February 15 - February 21	35°F to 52°F	14°F to 67°F
9	February 22 - February 28	42°F to 58°F	26°F to 75°F	TRUE
10	March 01 - March 07	41°F to 60°F	22°F to 74°F	TRUE
11	March 08 - March 14	42°F to 60°F	20°F to 71°F	TRUE
12	March 15 - March 21	42°F to 60°F	25°F to 75°F	TRUE
13	March 22 - March 28	47°F to 65°F	34°F to 80°F	TRUE
14	March 29 - April 04	44°F to 65°F	30°F to 79°F	TRUE
15	April 05 - April 11	51°F to 69°F	35°F to 80°F	TRUE	TRUE
16	April 12 - April 18	49°F to 68°F	34°F to 79°F	TRUE
17	April 19 - April 25	48°F to 68°F	35°F to 80°F	TRUE
18	April 26 - May 02	53°F to 71°F	42°F to 82°F	TRUE	TRUE
19	May 03 - May 09	57°F to 73°F	43°F to 83°F	TRUE	TRUE
20	May 10 - May 16	56°F to 74°F	39°F to 84°F	TRUE	TRUE
21	May 17 - May 23	62°F to 79°F	54°F to 88°F	TRUE	TRUE
22	May 24 - May 30	63°F to 80°F	52°F to 90°F	TRUE	TRUE
23	May 31 - June 06	64°F to 83°F	51°F to 89°F		TRUE
24	June 07 - June 13	66°F to 82°F	57°F to 92°F		TRUE
25	June 14 - June 20	66°F to 84°F	54°F to 95°F		TRUE
26	June 21 - June 27	68°F to 85°F	58°F to 96°F		TRUE
27	June 28 - July 04	70°F to 87°F	62°F to 92°F		TRUE
28	July 05 - July 11	72°F to 88°F	64°F to 95°F		TRUE
29	July 12 - July 18	71°F to 87°F	67°F to 94°F		TRUE
30	July 19 - July 25	71°F to 87°F	61°F to 95°F		TRUE
31	July 26 - August 01	72°F to 88°F	65°F to 95°F		TRUE
32	August 02 - August 08	70°F to 85°F	65°F to 90°F		TRUE
33	August 09 - August 15	71°F to 87°F	64°F to 94°F		TRUE
34	August 16 - August 22	69°F to 85°F	63°F to 94°F		TRUE
35	August 23 - August 29	71°F to 86°F	62°F to 96°F		TRUE
36	August 30 - September 05	69°F to 84°F	61°F to 93°F		TRUE
37	September 06 - September 12	66°F to 84°F	59°F to 94°F		TRUE
38	September 13 - September 19	66°F to 83°F	57°F to 94°F		TRUE
39	September 20 - September 26	62°F to 79°F	51°F to 93°F	TRUE	TRUE
40	September 27 - October 03	61°F to 80°F	48°F to 94°F	TRUE	TRUE
41	October 04 - October 10	57°F to 75°F	44°F to 88°F	TRUE	TRUE
42	October 11 - October 17	55°F to 72°F	44°F to 81°F	TRUE	TRUE
43	October 18 - October 24	51°F to 70°F	36°F to 80°F	TRUE	TRUE
44	October 25 - October 31	53°F to 67°F	38°F to 80°F	TRUE	TRUE
45	November 01 - November 07	44°F to 63°F	32°F to 76°F	TRUE
46	November 08 - November 14	45°F to 63°F	21°F to 79°F	TRUE
47	November 15 - November 21	40°F to 57°F	27°F to 71°F	TRUE
48	November 22 - November 28	40°F to 56°F	29°F to 67°F	TRUE
49	November 29 - December 05	39°F to 55°F	27°F to 70°F	TRUE
50	December 06 - December 12	40°F to 56°F	28°F to 67°F	TRUE
51	December 13 - December 19	38°F to 52°F	26°F to 66°F
52	December 20 - December 26	36°F to 52°F	6°F to 68°F
53	December 27 - December 31	42°F to 56°F	20°F to 68°F	TRUE

Table with days suitable to grow vegetables in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee

For more precise weather statisctics and planting information, please select a County.