A planting calendar built for Greene County's climate, and an honest look at the challenges that come with it. Not a generic zone chart. What we actually plan around.
People have been growing food in this valley, between the Bays Mountains and the Nolichucky, for a very long time. This historical county map shows Greeneville, the Nolichucky River, early routes, and surrounding settlements prior to 1800, the same valley and watersheds we’re working with today.
Each row shows the next occurrence of that planting window. Add it straight to Google Calendar, or download an .ics file that works with Apple Calendar, Outlook, and most other calendar apps on iOS and Android. Reminders repeat every year.
Dates are averages for Zone 7a in Greeneville, TN. Always check the current forecast before planting frost-sensitive crops. A 30% chance of frost still means a real chance.
Everything below is realistic for a Zone 6b/7a garden in this part of the state, whether or not it's in our own beds yet. Filter by season to see what should be going in the ground right now, or browse the whole list by category.
Showing 136 of 136 crops.
East Tennessee is a good place to grow, but it's not an easy one. Here's what we plan around, prevent where we can, and rebuild from when we can't.
Raccoons, opossums, and foxes are relentless once they find a weak point in a coop or hutch, and they'll test fencing and latches repeatedly. We learned this one the hard way this season.
Greene County has heavy deer traffic, and they'll browse fruit tree leaders, berry canes, and garden beds right down to the ground overnight.
East Tennessee's red clay compacts easily, drains slowly, and runs acidic, which is hard on root vegetables and anything that hates wet feet.
Tomato blight and powdery mildew move fast in a humid East Tennessee summer, especially once plants get crowded and airflow drops.
A warm stretch in early April can trick you into planting too early. Clear, calm nights right after can still radiate enough heat to frost tender starts even when the forecast low looks safe.
July and August heat can stall fruit set on tomatoes and peppers and push cool-season greens to bolt fast.
Groundhogs can flatten a row of beans or greens in a single evening, and rabbits go straight for tender new transplants before they've had a chance to establish.
Japanese beetles show up by the hundreds in midsummer and skeletonize leaves fast, while squash bugs can take out a whole zucchini or squash planting from the base up.
Warm, humid summers mean weeds establish fast, and in containers and raised beds they compete hard with young plants for the limited soil volume available.
East Tennessee gets its share of strong summer thunderstorms, and tall crops like tomatoes, okra, and young trees take the brunt of it.
Tomatoes and peppers both get it here, a sunken, dark patch on the bottom of the fruit caused by inconsistent watering interrupting calcium uptake, not usually a soil calcium problem itself.