When to Plant Cucumbers in Georgia: Spring and Late-Season Dates

One Georgia calendar, one crop: cucumbers, with the source’s dates left as printed and NOAA frost dates for Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, and Augusta Bush Field Airport.

By Paul Gunder · How we check our sources

Updated November 11, 2026

Figures checked against their sources on November 11, 2026; next check May 8, 2027.

The cucumber entry in Georgia’s calendar is read across 3 parts of the state. The source gives months or relative shifts rather than calendar days; in order, Middle Georgia (April, with the other frost-tender crops), South Georgia (Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier), and North Georgia (Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties). The row carries no seed or transplant marking, so the packet or plant tag settles which one the dates fit.

What University of Georgia Cooperative Extension prints for cucumbers

UGA names cucumbers in its July entry as a crop that can also go in then, ahead of its August cutoff.

In June it says to harvest beans, peas, squash, cucumbers and okra regularly to prolong production.

Cucumber planting dates in Georgia, as printed by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (one row per part of the state, none averaged)
Part of the state	Spring planting	Late-season planting
Middle Georgia	April, with the other frost-tender crops	By August 31; plant varieties resistant to downy mildew
South Georgia	Spring planting dates as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier	Fall planting dates as much as 2 weeks later
North Georgia	Spring planting dates 1 to 3 weeks later, moving north through the mountain counties	Fall planting dates about 2 weeks earlier

How the Georgia calendar is built

UGA says the two major planting periods are spring, March to May, and fall, mid-July to September. South of that belt, spring planting dates can be as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier and fall dates as much as 2 weeks later; in the mountain counties of north Georgia spring dates run 1 to 3 weeks later and fall dates about 2 weeks earlier.

Starting cucumbers indoors

Indoor sowing is the one part of the job no state table above settles. The University of New Hampshire gives 3 to 4 weeks between sowing and transplanting.

Of the saved sources, one gives weeks for cucumbers (UNH) and one gives a handling tip (Minnesota).

In the garden itself, UNH sows cucumbers once the soil reaches 70 °F, which a soil thermometer answers better than any calendar.

Indoor start for cucumbers: what each saved source says (one row per source, none averaged)
Source	What it says
University of New Hampshire	3 to 4 weeks from seed to transplant; 1 to 2 weeks after the last frost is safe to set out
University of Minnesota	Cucumbers and squash transplant poorly, so raise them in fiber or paper pots that break down in the soil

Where the frost dates fall in Georgia

A 50% frost date is a coin flip, not a promise. In half of the years the last spring freeze comes later than the date shown, and in half of them the first fall freeze comes earlier.

The last column maps a station to a region only where University of Georgia Cooperative Extension or its county list settles it.

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Georgia stations: 50% last spring and first fall 32°F dates
Station	Last spring 32°F	First fall 32°F	Region in Georgia’s calendar
Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, Georgia	March 15	November 20	Not stated by the source
Macon Middle Ga Regional Airport, Georgia	March 21	November 10	Middle Georgia
Augusta Bush Field Airport, Georgia	March 23	November 9	Middle Georgia
Columbus Metro Airport, Georgia	March 5	November 23	Middle Georgia
Savannah International Airport, Georgia	March 2	November 30	Not stated by the source

Worked example

Pick Columbus Metro Airport, Georgia as the garden. Half of recent years saw their last spring 32°F night by March 5, and half saw their first fall one by November 23.

The Middle Georgia entry runs April. Place March 5 on it and the date falls before the window opens.

On the fall side, Middle Georgia’s last planting date of August 31 leaves 84 days before the November 23 median first freeze.

The offsets will shift by a few days with every revision of the normals, so use them as a rough guide to which row to trust and not as a deadline.

Before you rely on these dates

The circular gives the last planting dates for fall crops, not a window, so the second column is a deadline.

A late cold snap after a mild March is the usual way these windows go wrong; keep a sheet or row cover on hand.

Sources (4)