PlantingWindowThe American Planting Almanac

When to plant garden cress in Knoxville, Tennessee

April 11 – April 25

Direct-sow outdoors · typical Knoxville year

Climate basis: NOAA station Knoxville Exp Stn, TN (USC00404946), 5 mi (8 km) from downtown Knoxville (ZCTA 37902 centroid), elevation 830 ft, on the 1991–2020 climate normals. Direct-sow garden cress from approximately the dates above, anchored to the median last spring 32°F freeze (April 11). One year in ten still freezes after April 29.

Last spring freezeApril 111-in-10 after Apr 29
First fall freezeOctober 281-in-10 before Oct 13
Frost-free season≈ 198 daysmedian at 32°F
Hard freeze, 28°Mar 31 – Nov 6kills even hardy greens
USDA zone7b5 to 10°F winter low — not frost timing

The Knoxville year

Direct-sow outdoorsApr 11 – Apr 25
  • indoors under lights
  • in the garden
  • frost-free season
  • 1-in-10 years still freeze to Apr 29
Garden Cress in Knoxville · freeze context from Knoxville Exp Stn, TN, 1991–2020 normals.

Every method, with its sources

Direct-sow outdoors

Apr 11 – Apr 25

Utah State University Extension says garden cress "does not tolerate frost so plant near the frost free date", and Arkansas Extension's culture line reads "seed shallow depth after danger of frost"; both open at the last spring frost, and this later interval supersedes Arkansas' looser "as soon as the ground can be worked" sentence, giving last spring frost to plus 14 days. Anchored to the median last spring freeze (Apr 11). Utah State University Extension · University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service

Start seeds indoors

Not calculated

The cited extension guides do not time an indoor seed-starting window for this crop.

Transplant outdoors

Not calculated

The cited extension guides do not time an outdoor transplanting window for this crop.

Fall planting

Not calculated

No source-backed fall planting rule exists for this crop in the registry, so no fall window is calculated.

Variety assumption: Offsets are for garden cress (Lepidium sativum), a 10–40 day cutting green; watercress and upland cress are different species with different requirements and are not covered by this entry.

These windows describe typical years (1991–2020 climate normals), not this year's forecast. Freezes happen outside them — especially in frost pockets, valleys, and urban edges. Watch the forecast before committing tender plants.

This week, not a typical year:
Crop rule sources (2)

Keep exploring

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Local overview