What to Plant in November: Cold-Hardy Crops & Winter Strategies (2026)

November feels like the garden is shutting down — but experienced organic growers know better. November planting is the secret to spring’s earliest harvests and the freshest winter greens. In mild climates, November is actually one of the most productive planting months of the year.

Here’s everything you need to know about what to plant in November, zone by zone.

What to Plant in November by Zone

Zones 9–11 (Southern California, Florida, Gulf Coast, Arizona)

You’re in peak growing season. November is your equivalent of April — warm enough for nearly everything, cool enough to avoid summer heat stress.

Sow directly:

• All cool-season vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts
• Root vegetables: carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, kohlrabi, parsnips
• Salad greens: lettuce (all types), spinach, arugula, mâche, endive, radicchio
• Peas: sugar snap, snow peas, shelling peas — direct sow now for February harvest
• Herbs: cilantro, dill, parsley, fennel, chervil

Transplant:

• Broccoli and cauliflower starts
• Onion sets and leek transplants
• Strawberry bare-root plants (November = best planting time in zones 9+)

Flowers:

• Wildflower seed mixes (scatter now for spring wildflower meadows)
• Sweet peas: soak seeds 24 hours before sowing; they’ll bloom in March
• Snapdragons, stock, bachelor’s buttons, larkspur

Key advantage: No row covers, no cold frames — just open-ground planting in November.

Zones 7–8 (Pacific Northwest, Mid-Atlantic, Upper South, Coastal CA)

Your window for outdoor planting is closing but not closed. Focus on the hardiest crops.

Still time to plant outdoors:

• Garlic: If you haven’t planted yet, do it NOW. Even mid-November garlic planted in zone 7–8 will produce a good harvest.
• Mâche (corn salad): Scatter seed over prepared beds. It germinates slowly in cold but overwinters beautifully and produces in late winter when nothing else does.
• Spinach: Broadcast sow and mulch lightly. Seed will sit dormant in very cold periods and germinate when temperatures allow.
• Spring bulbs: Last chance for tulips, daffodils, hyacinths before ground freezes

Under protection (cold frames, row covers, hoop tunnels):

• Lettuce, arugula, Asian greens — plant now under cover for winter harvest
• Chard and kale (already established plants survive better)
• Claytonia: remarkably frost-tolerant, grows in near-freezing temperatures

📖 Read Also: Raised Bed Gardening — The Complete Guide — Raised beds are essential for November planting: they drain better, warm faster, and are easier to cover.

Indoor start (for December–February transplant):

• Onion seeds: start indoors now for March–April transplant
• Leeks: slow-growing; start in November for May planting

Zones 5–6 (Midwest, Northeast, Mountain States)

Hard frosts are regular by November. Outdoor planting is limited to the most cold-hardy crops.

Outdoor planting:

• Garlic: Plant cloves up until ground freezes. Mulch 6″ deep with straw. This is your top November priority.
• Spring bulbs: Tulips, daffodils, alliums — plant until ground freezes
• Cover crops: Winter rye can germinate in 40°F soil — last chance to sow

Under protection:

• Mâche under cold frames — will germinate slowly and produce in February
• Spinach in cold frames — overwintered plants will resume growth in March
• Kale already established in hoop tunnels

Indoors:

• Microgreens: the November indoor garden
• Herb seedlings on sunny windowsill: chives, parsley, thyme
• Begin planning seed orders for spring (best catalog selection is in November)

Zones 3–4 (Northern States, Canada, High Mountain)

By November, the ground may be frozen or freezing. Your November garden activities shift largely indoors.

Outdoors (if ground not yet frozen):

• Garlic: plant as late as possible before freeze
• Spring bulbs: last opportunity
• Overseeding: scatter spring wildflower seeds over frozen/snow-covered ground (they stratify over winter and germinate in spring)

Indoors:

• Microgreens production: full setup
• Start perennial seeds requiring cold stratification: lavender, echinacea, columbine, native wildflowers (start in cold garage or fridge)
• Plan next year’s garden: draw bed maps, calculate square footage, build seed lists

The Best Crops to Plant in November

Garlic: Your Most Important November Task (Zones 4–9)

If there’s one thing to plant in November, it’s garlic. Garlic planted before the ground freezes develops a strong root system that produces dramatically larger bulbs than spring-planted garlic.

November garlic planting:

1. Choose the largest cloves from each bulb
2. Plant 3–4″ deep (deeper in cold zones), 6″ apart
3. Mulch 4–6″ with straw or shredded leaves immediately after planting
4. Expect roots to develop underground even if no green shows above ground
5. Green shoots appear in spring; harvest in late June–July

Cold protection: Garlic in zones 4–6 doesn’t need special protection beyond heavy mulch. The clove itself is cold-hardy to well below 0°F; it’s the emerging shoot that needs protection, and that won’t show until spring.

For a complete garlic planting guide including variety selection, see: How to Plant Garlic in Fall

Mâche / Corn Salad (Zones 4–9)

If you’ve never grown mâche, November is your invitation to start. This ultra-cold-hardy green:

• Germinates at near-freezing temperatures (even in November)
• Overwinters as tiny rosettes
• Produces full-sized leaves in February and March when the garden is otherwise bare
• Has a mild, almost nutty flavor far superior to supermarket lettuce
• Self-seeds prolifically — one sowing often perpetuates itself for years

How to grow: Broadcast seed over a prepared bed at 1–2 seeds per square inch. Cover lightly, 1/8″. Mulch around (not over) seedlings once germinated.

Overwintering Onions (Zones 5–9)

November-planted overwintering onion varieties produce the earliest spring green onions — often weeks before any other onion crop. Varieties to try:

• Egyptian Walking Onion: Produces small bulbs at the top of the stalk that fall over and replant themselves; remarkable cold hardiness
• White Lisbon Bunching Onion: Extremely cold-hardy; produces scallions all winter in zones 7+
• Walla Walla Sweet: Sow seeds in late October–November in zones 7–9 for sweet summer bulbs

Spring Bulbs (Zones 3–8)

November is the final call for spring bulbs — many need 12–16 weeks of cold to bloom properly.

November bulb planting guide:

Organic tip: Add bone meal to each planting hole (1 tablespoon per bulb) to encourage robust root development over winter.

Affiliate picks: Spring bulb assortment on Amazon | Bone meal for bulbs

November Indoor Garden: Microgreens and Windowsill Herbs

When outdoor planting winds down, the indoor garden comes alive. November is the best time to set up a microgreen operation — they’re ready to harvest in 7–14 days and add fresh, nutrient-dense greens to your winter diet.

Best Microgreens for November

Setup needed:

• Shallow trays (10″×20″ nursery flats work perfectly)
• Potting mix or specialized microgreen medium
• Seeds: higher density than normal growing
• Light: a sunny south window, or a basic LED grow light 12–16 hours/day

Affiliate picks: Microgreen growing kit | Organic microgreen seed variety pack | LED grow light for seedlings

Windowsill Herb Garden

Herbs that thrive indoors in November with 4+ hours of sun:

• Chives: Start from division or transplant outdoors plants before frost
• Parsley: Slow growing but rewarding; needs 6 hours of light
• Thyme: Tolerates lower light; woody herb that grows slowly
• Mint: Fast growing, needs consistent moisture

📖 Read Also: Composting 101 — The Complete Guide — November is ideal for setting up an indoor worm bin to compost kitchen scraps through winter.

November Garden Prep: Setting Up Spring Success

Beyond planting, November is the most important soil-prep month of the year.

Cover Cropping: The Most Valuable November Investment

A winter cover crop:

• Prevents soil erosion from winter rain and freeze-thaw cycles
• Adds organic matter when tilled in spring
• (With legumes) fixes nitrogen from the air — free fertilizer
• Suppresses winter weeds
• Improves soil structure

Best cover crops to sow in November:

How to sow: Rake bed lightly, broadcast seed, rake again to cover to 1/2″ depth, water in.

Fall Compost Application

November is the best time to apply compost to vegetable beds:

• Apply 2–4″ over empty beds
• Don’t till in — let earthworms do the work over winter
• By spring, compost will be fully integrated into the top 6″ of soil
• Plant directly into top-dressed beds in spring

Vermicompost bonus: If you have a worm bin, November vermicompost is particularly rich (worms have been active all summer). Spread 1/2–1″ over beds before mulching.

Mulching Perennials and Fruit Plants

Before temperatures drop below 15°F, mulch:

• Garlic beds: 4–6″ straw or shredded leaves
• Strawberry beds: 3–4″ straw after first hard frost (protects crowns from frost heave)
• Blueberries: 3–4″ wood chips or pine needles
• Roses: Pile 10–12″ of compost over the crown in zones 5–6
• Perennial herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme): Cover with 3″ of straw in zone 5–6

November Planting FAQ

Q: Is it too late to plant garlic in November?

A: In zones 5–8, no — plant garlic as late as the ground allows. In zones 3–4, mid-November may be your last opportunity before the ground freezes solid. In zones 9–11, garlic can be planted through December.

Q: Can anything germinate in November in cold climates?

A: Yes! Spinach germinates at 35°F, mâche germinates at near-freezing temperatures, and garlic roots actively grow at 40°F. Cold doesn’t stop everything.

Q: What should I do with my garden beds in November?

A: (1) Remove frost-killed annuals, (2) cut back perennials to 4–6″, (3) spread compost 2–4″ deep, (4) sow winter cover crops, (5) mulch garlic and perennials, (6) plant spring bulbs.

Q: Can I plant vegetables in November in zone 6?

A: Yes, with protection. Garlic, spinach, mâche, and kale can be planted in November in zone 6. Add a cold frame or floating row cover to extend productivity significantly.

Q: What’s the easiest thing to grow in winter indoors?

A: Microgreens. Radish microgreens are ready in 7 days, require no special equipment beyond a shallow tray, and are more nutritious than most full-grown vegetables.

Q: When should I stop watering my garden in November?

A: Continue watering until the ground freezes. Perennials, garlic, and spring bulbs need moisture to establish roots. Stop when nighttime temperatures consistently stay below 25°F.

November Planting Quick-Reference Chart

The November Mindset: Growing Never Stops

The gardener’s year doesn’t pause in November. It transforms. The visible, above-ground production slows down — but underground, the most important work happens: garlic roots extend, bulbs set anchors for spring blooms, cover crops build soil, and worm populations peak in mild-enough beds.

November gardeners harvest in February when stores sell tasteless greenhouse lettuce. They harvest garlic in July while neighbors buy bulbs at $4 each. They cut tulips in April that cost them 50 cents per bulb in November.

Plant in November. It’s never wasted.

Last updated: November 2026 | Zone data based on USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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