What Can I Plant in October in Santa Cruz?
Short answer: a lot. October is one of the best planting months in Santa Cruz County, and if you are only gardening in spring and summer, you are missing half the growing season.
Cool-season crops thrive when planted now because soil is still warm from summer, rain is on the way, and pest pressure drops off sharply. Direct-seed peas, fava beans, lettuce, spinach, radishes, and arugula straight into the garden. Transplant kale, chard, broccoli, and cabbage starts if you did not get seeds going in August. Garlic and onion sets also go in this month.
The UC Master Gardeners of Santa Cruz County recommend October as the ideal time for cool-season planting in our coastal climate. Unlike much of the country, our mild winters let these crops grow steadily through December and January. Westside and Aptos gardeners may see slower germination as fog lingers into fall, but Scotts Valley and Watsonville gardens warm up faster and can get lettuce to harvest size before Thanksgiving.
One thing to skip: do not plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, or beans now. They need warmth and long days, and they will not make it. Save those for April and May.
This week: Direct-seed one row of sugar snap peas and one row of radishes. Peas will climb through winter and produce in early spring; radishes will be ready in about 30 days.
For a complete month-by-month breakdown of what to plant and when, our free Planting Calendar for Santa Cruz covers every season. You can also dig deeper into cool-season options in our guide to fall vegetable gardening in Santa Cruz.
