What to plant in November in the Mountain West

Worked out for 15 cities from their own weather and frost dates, by zone.

What to sow and plant in November in the Mountain West, by zone: frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F (St. George): garlic, broad bean, peas, onion, spinach and 22 more; frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F (Denver, Salt Lake City and 6 more): garlic, broad bean, peas, spinach, radish and 5 more; frost possible, highs below 50 °F (Billings, Cheyenne and 4 more): garlic and flower bulbs.

In the Mountain West, November is fall.

Frost possible, highs of 61–72 °F: St. George

In November, on average, St. George has highs of 63 °F and lows of 40 °F, 0.9 in of rain on 3 days; the day lasts 10 h 12 min (on the 15th). A dry month: whatever is sown needs watering.

November falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average first frost: St. George (November 20).

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	St. George
sow direct	Broad bean, peas, spinach, lettuce, radish, carrot, cabbage, broccoli, Swiss chard, beet, parsley, cilantro, arugula, chamomile, daikon, dill, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens, parsnip, turnip	St. George
plant sets	Onion, shallot	St. George
start indoors, plant out in December	Cauliflower	St. George
start indoors, plant out in January	Leek, Brussels sprouts	St. George

Compared with October: new — radish, carrot, leek, daikon, parsnip and turnip; no longer sown — chickpea and chicory.

Not starting in November: tomato (no month outdoors by these rules), bell pepper (no month outdoors by these rules), zucchini (March, started indoors) and green beans (April, sown direct) — dates for St. George.

Ready to harvest in November in St. George, if sown in the right month: zucchini (September), green beans (September), basil (September), arugula (October), bok choy (September), borage (September), dill (October) and mustard greens (October).

Frost dates in St. George

Frost possible, highs of 50–61 °F: Denver, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs, Reno and 4 more

In November, on average, these cities have highs of 50 to 58 °F and lows of 28 to 36 °F, 0.5 to 1.9 in of rain on 3 to 7 days; the day lasts 9 h 56 min to 10 h 07 min (on the 15th).

November falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait.

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	all
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in December	Broad bean	Denver, Colorado Springs, Reno and 1 more
sow direct	Peas, radish	all
plant sets	Onion	Denver, Reno and Pueblo
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in December	Spinach	Denver, Salt Lake City, Colorado Springs and 4 more
sow direct	Lettuce, Swiss chard, beet, chamomile, daikon, dill, mustard greens	Pueblo
sow direct or start indoors, plant out in January	Cabbage	Denver, Colorado Springs, Reno and 1 more
start indoors, plant out in January or sow direct	Broccoli	Denver, Colorado Springs, Reno and 1 more
sow direct	Arugula, turnip	Denver, Salt Lake City, Reno and 3 more
start indoors, plant out in December	Kohlrabi	Pueblo
plant bulbs	Crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, tulip	all

Compared with October: no longer sown — carrot, parsley, cilantro, chickpea, kale, parsnip and shallot.

Not starting in November: tomato (no month outdoors by these rules), bell pepper (no month outdoors by these rules), zucchini (April, started indoors) and green beans (May, sown direct) — dates for Grand Junction.

Ready to harvest in November in Grand Junction, if sown in the right month: radish (October), arugula (October), dill (October) and mustard greens (October).

Frost possible, highs below 50 °F: Billings, Cheyenne, Helena, Missoula and 2 more

In November, on average, these cities have highs of 42 to 50 °F and lows of 24 to 37 °F, 0.7 to 1.9 in of rain on 4 to 11 days; the day lasts 9 h 24 min to 9 h 59 min (on the 15th).

November falls in the frost season: frost-tender crops wait. Average first frost: Provo (November 7).

How	What	Where
plant cloves	Garlic	all
sow direct	Peas	Cheyenne
sow direct	Radish	Cheyenne and Provo
plant bulbs	Crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, tulip	all

Compared with October: no longer sown — broad bean, onion, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, arugula, turnip and 1 more.

Not starting in November: tomato (April, started indoors), bell pepper (April, started indoors), zucchini (May, started indoors), green beans (June, sown direct), lettuce (February, started indoors) and spinach (February, started indoors) — dates for Elko.

Ready to harvest in November in Elko, if sown in the right month: peas (September), radish (October), beet (September), pumpkin (July), parsley (September), cilantro (September), arugula (October) and chamomile (September).

How we work it out

For each city we use its average weather in November and the months after (highs, lows and rain for 2016–2025, ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo) and its average frost dates. A crop starts in November if the month's mean temperature reaches the minimum soil temperature for germination on its card (we use the mean air temperature as a stand-in for the soil's) and if, over its first months (up to three), the average highs stay within its group's range, with no frost for crops that cannot take it. Crops started indoors count from the month they are planted out.

Temperature groups from Colorado State University Extension: cool-season crops prefer 60–80 °F and lose quality in heat; hardy ones grow in days as cool as 40 °F, semi-hardy ones from 40–50 °F (we use 50 °F); warm-season crops need days above 55 °F, and the most tender (tomato, pepper, eggplant, melon, watermelon, squash) above 60 °F, up to 95 °F. Crops the guide does not name go into the stricter group by their frost hardiness. Fava (broad) beans, which the guide does not name, count as hardy: hardy varieties are sown in fall and overwinter (RHS). Garlic and bulbs: a month before the first frost, and later only while the ground is not frozen (as on each city's page).

This is a general rule from averages: your garden can be a week or two earlier or later, and a greenhouse or a cold frame brings the season forward. Greenly works out the dates for your location.