What to Plant in North Texas

May 1, 2026 | ,

North Texas Food Bank’s garden specialist shares tips and tricks during Growing Together: A Lunch and Learn Garden Tour.

If you’ve ever struggled to grow sliceable tomatoes in the Texas summer heat, North Texas Food Bank Garden Specialist Jessica Boerner says you’re not doing anything wrong.

“Tomatoes need 75 degrees or below at night to set fruit,” said Jessica, speaking during NTFB’s recent Growing Together: A Lunch and Learn Garden Tour event.

Still, she said, that doesn’t mean you can’t grow tomatoes. Instead, try planting them earlier in the year and covering them during cold weather if it occurs in the spring. Green beans, squash, cucumbers and melon also do well in the spring while peppers, basil, sweet potatoes and amaranth can thrive during the summer.

During the winter, lettuce, Swiss chard, kale, collards, peas, radishes and onions grow well. Fall is a great time for beets, carrots, squash, leeks, spinach and garlic.

The biggest thing gardeners can do to support growth in any season is to focus on their soil health, Jessica said. Ideally, soil should be dark, crumbly and moist—but not soggy. Jessica said composting is one way to create healthy soil, whether you’re creating your own compost or purchasing compost from a company like Texas Pure. Mulch and cover crops also support soil health.

As garden specialist, Jessica manages Jan’s Garden at North Texas Food Bank’s Perot Family Campus in Plano. The garden is a small-scale learning and production garden that grows produce provided to neighbors facing hunger through Seven Loaves Pantry at The Storehouse Community Center in Plano.

She also works with the food bank’s 16 partner gardens that operate throughout the 12 counties North Texas Food Bank serves. Together, those gardens grew and donated over 54,000 pounds of produce to partner pantries during the last year, Jessica said.

“They do this as a labor of love and act of service for their community,” she said.

Jessica said the gardens work together to share growing practices and to harvest greens, herbs, fruits and vegetables throughout the year, with each planting items based on what the neighbors they serve will use and eat.

“It’s very life-affirming to be able to share that,” she said. “People experience hunger in our community year-round; it’s not just a seasonal issue.”

Seasonal Gardening Guide for North Texas

Winter crops

  • Lettuce
  • Kale, collards, mustard
  • Mixed greens
  • Radishes
  • Green onions
  • Bulb onions (mid-January)
  • Potatoes (early- to mid-February)
  • Peas (mid-December to mid-January)

Seasonal tip: Protect crops with row cover if temperatures drop into the 20s.

Spring crops

  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Green beans
  • Squash
  • Cucumbers
  • Melons
  • Basil

Seasonal tip: Plant frost sensitive crops gradually in case of a late freeze. It’s easier to replace a few plants than your whole garden.

Summer crops

  • Okra
  • Blackeye peas, long beans and other cowpeas
  • Amaranth
  • Sweet potatoes (the greens from these plants are great when cooked)
  • Basil
  • Melons
  • Summer and winter squash

Seasonal tip: Mulch deeply (4-12 inches) with straw or leaves. This reduces weeds and improves a garden’s heat and drought tolerance.

Fall crops

  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Summer and winter squash
  • Green beans
  • Basil
  • Swiss chard
  • Spinach
  • Kale, collards
  • Green onion, leeks
  • Garlic

Seasonal tip: Interplant tender winter plants in the shade of tall heat-loving summer plants

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