What to Plant Right Now in Chattanooga
(Zone 7b)
Written with the help of Debbie Sue Przybysz, our resident homegrown garden expert.
May is one of the most exciting months for gardening in Chattanooga. Our Zone 7b growing season is officially in full swing, the soil is warming up, and it’s finally time to plant many of those heat-loving summer favorites.
Right now is a great time to plant:
- Tomatoes
- Watermelon
- Beans
- Okra
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Radishes
- Beets
- Carrots
- Kale
- Artichokes
Warm-weather crops like tomatoes, watermelon, beans, squash, zucchini, and okra thrive once the danger of frost has passed, while crops like kale, carrots, beets, and radishes can still do well with succession planting for continued harvests later into the season.
Companion planting can help naturally deter pests, attract beneficial pollinators, improve plant health, and make better use of garden space by pairing plants that grow well together instead of competing for nutrients, sunlight, and water.
- Watermelon (corn, radishes, nasturtiums, beans, marigolds)
- Beans (corn, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, marigolds)
- Okra (peppers, cucumbers, basil, lettuce, melons)
- Squash (nasturtiums, radishes, beans, marigolds, corn)
- Zucchini (borage, nasturtiums, beans, radishes, marigolds)
- Radishes (carrots, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, beans)
- Beets (onions, lettuce, cabbage, bush beans, radishes)
- Carrots (tomatoes, onions, radishes, lettuce, chives)
- Kale (beets, onions, dill, lettuce, nasturtiums)
- Artichokes (peas, tarragon, sunflowers, cabbage, marigolds)
- Flowers (zinnias pair well with tomatoes and squash, marigolds with almost everything, nasturtiums with cucumbers and squash, cosmos with pollinators, sunflowers with beans and cucumbers)
This is also a perfect time to add flowers to the garden. Zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, salvia, and pollinator-friendly native flowers all do especially well in Chattanooga’s warm summers..
- Cucumbers
- Peppers
- Basil
- Swiss chard
- Corn
- Green onions
- Sweet potatoes
- Eggplant
- Pumpkins
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Collards
- Turnips
- More carrots, kale, and radishes for fall harvests
Late summer in Chattanooga is actually one of the best times to start cool-season vegetables for a productive fall garden.
Whether you’re growing vegetables, flowers, or a little bit of everything, May is one of the best times to get outside and start planting in Chattanooga.
