Crop timing comparison
Crops That Lose the Most Margin When Planted Late
Some crops forgive a late start. Others quickly lose the heat margin they need before fall frost. A two-week delay does not hurt every crop equally. This comparison shows which crops lose the most heat and maturity margin when planting slips later than planned.
The ranking
Crops rank higher when they lose more heat margin after a two-week planting delay, especially when that delay pushes more locations into negative maturity margin. The score is designed for practical late-season decisions: which crops should be protected, transplanted, started first, switched to faster varieties, or dropped when the planting window gets tight.
| Rank | Crop | Pressure score | Two-week margin loss | Avg. late margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Broccoli 428 modeled locations |
72/100 | 159 GDD | 2460 GDD |
| #2 | Kale 428 modeled locations |
72/100 | 159 GDD | 2660 GDD |
| #3 | Carrots 428 modeled locations |
72/100 | 159 GDD | 2610 GDD |
| #4 | Swiss Chard 428 modeled locations |
72/100 | 159 GDD | 2610 GDD |
| #5 | Cauliflower 428 modeled locations |
72/100 | 159 GDD | 2360 GDD |
| #6 | Watermelons 428 modeled locations |
59/100 | 95 GDD | 463 GDD |
| #7 | Peppers 428 modeled locations |
58/100 | 95 GDD | 513 GDD |
| #8 | Winter Squash 428 modeled locations |
58/100 | 95 GDD | 513 GDD |
| #9 | Pumpkin 428 modeled locations |
58/100 | 95 GDD | 513 GDD |
| #10 | Strawberries 428 modeled locations |
57/100 | 125 GDD | 2848 GDD |
| #11 | Beets 428 modeled locations |
57/100 | 125 GDD | 2798 GDD |
| #12 | Melons 428 modeled locations |
57/100 | 95 GDD | 613 GDD |
| #13 | Basil 428 modeled locations |
53/100 | 95 GDD | 1113 GDD |
| #14 | Tomatoes 428 modeled locations |
51/100 | 84 GDD | 638 GDD |
| #15 | Sweet Corn 428 modeled locations |
51/100 | 84 GDD | 738 GDD |
| #16 | Beans 428 modeled locations |
49/100 | 84 GDD | 938 GDD |
| #17 | Cucumbers 428 modeled locations |
48/100 | 84 GDD | 1038 GDD |
| #18 | Zucchini 428 modeled locations |
48/100 | 84 GDD | 1088 GDD |
| #19 | Spinach 428 modeled locations |
41/100 | 91 GDD | 3069 GDD |
| #20 | Lettuce 428 modeled locations |
41/100 | 91 GDD | 3019 GDD |
| #21 | Cabbage 428 modeled locations |
41/100 | 91 GDD | 2519 GDD |
| #22 | Peas 428 modeled locations |
27/100 | 58 GDD | 2972 GDD |
| #23 | Onions 428 modeled locations |
15/100 | 31 GDD | 1426 GDD |
| #24 | Potatoes 428 modeled locations |
15/100 | 31 GDD | 1626 GDD |
How to read this ranking
This page is not only measuring how many growing degree days disappear from the calendar. It also looks at what that loss does to the crop’s remaining margin. A crop with a high late-planting pressure score is one where a two-week delay can quickly turn a comfortable season into a tight one.
The two-week margin loss column shows the average amount of heat margin removed by a two-week delay. The average late margin column shows how much cushion remains after that delay. A crop can be risky even when the margin loss looks similar to another crop, because the important question is whether enough heat is still left to mature before frost.
Visual chart
For a more visual version of this ranking, see the Late Planting Penalty Chart.
What this ranking means
A high score does not mean the crop is impossible. It means late planting is more expensive: the crop loses more of its available heat window, and the difference between “probably fine” and “too tight” can shrink quickly.
Late planting is usually most punishing when a crop has a long maturity window, a high heat requirement, slow establishment, or very little remaining cushion after the normal planting date. In short-season gardens, those problems can compound. A small delay in spring can become a much larger risk at harvest because cool late-summer weather adds heat more slowly than warm early-summer weather.
What to do when timing is tight
If a crop ranks high on this list, treat timing as part of the crop plan. That can mean using healthy transplants, choosing faster-maturing varieties, planting into the warmest available microclimate, adding temporary protection, or switching to a crop with more timing flexibility.
For a location-specific answer, use the GDD planner or compare the crop against Crop Heat Requirements.
Crop-specific late planting guides
This ranking shows which crops lose the most margin after a two-week delay. If you are deciding whether a specific crop is still worth planting, use the crop guides below.
Sources and methodology
Official source context for this ranking
This ranking is a GrowByDate interpretation of frost, seasonal heat, crop margin, and timing signals. These links show the official source concepts behind the derived metrics.
- NOAA Climate Prediction Center degree day resources — degree-day terminology and reference material.
- NOAA/NCEI U.S. Climate Normals — U.S. climate-normal context for growing degree days, season length, and frost probabilities.
- Environment and Climate Change Canada Climate Normals — Canadian climate-normal context for degree-day and frost-free-period elements.
- GrowByDate data methodology — how base-temperature GDD, frost boundaries, and crop margin are interpreted on this site.
These links support the reference concepts behind the page. GrowByDate values are planning averages, not live forecasts or guarantees for a specific garden bed.
Methodology
This ranking compares the typical on-time GDD margin with the margin remaining two weeks later across published crop-location records. Crops rank higher when they lose more margin, cross below zero more often, or are warm-season crops with tighter timing needs.
This measures modeled timing pressure, not every factor that can affect real gardens, such as microclimate, transplant size, soil warmth, irrigation, or variety choice.
Download: late-planting margin loss JSON.