FALL GROWING GUIDE · REGION III
When to plant
spinach
in Central & East Texas.
Spinach follows a cool-season schedule. A northern planting reminder can arrive months too early for gardeners following the southern reference table.
AVERAGE FALL PLANTING DATE
November 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 spinach, the regional reference is November 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.
Save the regional reference date as a prompt to inspect conditions, then record the actual sowing date separately in your garden.
- Give the plant a good first week.
Read the variety guidance for germination conditions. If a hot seedbed gives poor emergence, reassess the conditions before sowing the entire packet again.
- 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 1592 days earlierWest TexasSeptember 175 days earlierCoastal South TexasDecember 116 days laterRio Grande ValleyDecember 1530 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 →