What to Plant in Tucson in November

Wondering what you should plant in November if you live in Tucson? This seasonal planting guide is your manual for November gardening!

Weather

November is a great month in the low desert as temperatures cool off and plants which don't tolerate much heat begin to thrive.

Days are shorter and frosts are coming, if they aren't here already.

There's still plenty of sunlight and enough warmth for all your cool season plants to take off, though!

Do Warm Season Crops Grow in Tucson in November?

In the Sonoran desert, you may still have warm season crops such as tomatoes, summer squash, and peppers in early November.

The first frost will soon be the end for those. The good news is that the frost will free up more space for more winter plantings like lettuce and cole crops (brassicas).

Timing the frost can be tricky, but you can always chop down warm season crops whenever you need the space.

You'll probably end up just planting around any lingering warm season veggies until you're ready to cut them down. That works great, especially if you're starting seedlings indoors all winter and are ready with transplants to go out as warm season crops succumb to the cold.

Succession Planting as Frost Approaches

Often I like to start a second full round of planting in November of the same crops that I seeded in October - with more focus on the spaces beneath my lingering warm season crops. As squash comes out, broccoli can be popping up.

As tomatoes blacken and are chopped down, kale seedlings can be growing beneath. Lettuce can germinate in the shade under your basil as it flowers and finally dies. Onions can grow beneath your pepper plants which will soon be leaving this realm.

November feels like it's all about timing and spacing - the transition season when warm crops linger but cool crops must be planted. There's fun to the challenge, like a game of Tetris to fit all the plants in.

I focus on my indoor seed-starting through November and into the winter, so I always have something ready to go out. As one crop finished or dies, another seedling is hardened off and ready to transplant into the field.

Planting

Cover Crops & Forage

Herbs

Fruits & Vegetables

In November you can continue planting any and all cool season crops, except that the window for garlic now closes (and possibly onions).

Grains, Seeds, & Cereals

Flowers

Harvesting

November is the month when you'll likely pull in the last of your warm season harvests, freeing up space for cool season crops to take off.

Keep an eye on the overnight lows, and be ready to harvest (or cover plants in frost cloth) when you see the first freeze on the forecast.

Produce

Seed Saving

Cut Flowers

More Tucson Planting Calendars

Know any plants I missed for November in Tucson? W'd love to hear from you over on the forum!