FALL GROWING GUIDE · REGION III
When to plant
beets
in Central & East Texas.
Beets bridge the root and leafy sides of a fall garden. The guide places them well after early fruiting-crop starts in several regions.
AVERAGE FALL PLANTING DATE
October 15
Direct sow · Frost tolerant
A recurring regional reference from the 2014 Extension guide. This is not a forecast; the source does not specify a closing date for this crop.
What this means for your garden.
Austin, Dallas, Waco and Houston appear within Region III on the historical source map. That grouping is a broad planning reference, not a claim that these cities share identical weather.
For beets, the regional reference is October 15. The source provides no last optimum date for this crop. The calendar separates July tomato starts from much later root and leaf crops. Do not treat a pleasant September weekend as a reason to start every vegetable at once.
Your next three steps
- Choose the right start.
Use the calendar to reserve a sowing session. The reference date is a planning anchor; it does not predict when your particular variety will be ready.
- Give the plant a good first week.
Label the row and check seedling spacing as plants emerge. Follow the packet for thinning, and avoid treating a dense clump of seedlings as a finished stand.
- Keep a record you can use next season.
Save your planned date, then change it to the day you actually plant. Record completion in My Garden; the reference calendar stays separate from your own history.
WHY LOCATION MATTERS
One crop. Five different calendars.
How the same crop’s average date compares with Central & East Texas.
Texas PanhandleAugust 1561 days earlierWest TexasSeptember 144 days earlierCoastal South TexasNovember 117 days laterRio Grande ValleyDecember 1561 days laterSource, scope & a little context.
Table 1 supplies average fall planting dates. Table 2 supplies last optimum dates only for the crops it lists. Figure 1 defines the five historical gardening regions; these are not current USDA hardiness zones.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension · Fall Vegetable Gardening Guide (EHT-056) ↗Dates: Table 1, p. 2. Region: Figure 1, p. 3. Source checked 2026-09-27. Editorial care notes are general planning advice; your county Extension office can refine them.
Read our methodology →