Crop Farming Guides for Growers Who Want Specifics
Planting dates, seeding depths, fertilizer rates, and harvest signals, worked out crop by crop for US growing conditions. We name the research behind each figure, so you can check it against your own region.
Compiled from Kansas State Research and Extension, Iowa State University Extension, UF/IFAS, Penn State Extension, and USDA NASS.
Minimum soil temperature to plant
Measured at seeding depth, early morning, three days running
| Crop | Soil temp |
|---|---|
| Lettuce | 40°F |
| Carrots | 45°F |
| Potatoes | 45°F |
| Corn | 50°F |
| Onions | 50°F |
| Wheat | 54°F |
| Soybeans | 55°F |
| Peppers (transplant) | 60°F |
| Tomatoes (transplant) | 60°F |
| Melons | 65°F |
These are minimums for germination, not targets. Warmer soil gives faster, more even emergence.
What is crop farming?
Crop farming is growing plants on purpose for food, feed, fiber, or fuel. It covers field corn on a thousand acres and a bed of lettuce behind the house. The scale changes. The decisions do not.
Every crop asks the same six questions. When do you plant it. How deep. How far apart. What does it need to eat and drink. What will try to eat it first. How do you know it is ready. This site answers those six questions crop by crop, and points to where each number came from.
Why the source matters
Planting dates, fertilizer rates, and spray cutoffs change by state, soil type, and season. A number that works in Georgia can fail in North Dakota.
Extension services publish this research for their own growing regions. Our job is to gather it and organize it by crop. We name which service published what.
When a figure varies by region, we say so instead of picking one and hoping.
Types of crops
Crops are grouped here by the part you harvest, because that is what decides how you plant, feed, and store them.
Grains
Corn, wheat, rice, oats, sorghum, barley, rye. Planted in rows or drilled, harvested dry, stored by moisture content.
14 cropsBeans and pulses
Soybeans, peanuts, dry beans, lentils, chickpeas. Fix their own nitrogen, so fertilizer plans work differently.
12 cropsRoots and bulbs
Potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, beets. Soil texture and depth decide shape more than anything you add later.
17 cropsLeafy greens
Lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli. Cool season crops that bolt when heat arrives early.
13 cropsFruiting crops
Tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, cucumbers. Need warm soil, steady water, and support once they set fruit.
13 cropsStalks and cane
Asparagus, celery, rhubarb, sugarcane. Several are perennial, so the first year is about establishment.
8 cropsWhen did agriculture start?
Farming began roughly 12,000 years ago, in several parts of the world independently. Knowing the order helps explain why some crops tolerate cold and others do not.
How to start a farm
Establishing a farm is a sequence. Each step depends on the one before it, so the order matters more than the speed.
Test the soil before anything else
A soil test gives pH, phosphorus, potassium, and organic matter. Without it, every fertilizer decision is a guess. Most state extension labs charge under $25.
Match crops to your climate and soil
Check your USDA hardiness zone and your frost dates. Then pick crops that finish inside that window, on the soil you actually have.
Work out water before you plant
Know your source, your flow rate, and your delivery method. Most crops need about an inch a week. Rainfall rarely arrives on schedule.
Plan the rotation, not just the season
Rotation breaks pest and disease cycles and balances nutrient draw. Plan three years ahead, even on a small plot.
Buy equipment as the acreage demands it
Hand tools carry a quarter acre. Past two acres, seeding and spraying become the bottleneck. Buy for the job in front of you today.
Sort the paperwork early
Farm registration, water rights, and applicator licensing vary by state. Your county extension office knows which ones apply.
Crop farming methods
How you manage the ground between plantings matters as much as what you plant. These are the systems most US growers work within, alone or in combination.
Crop rotation
Planting a different crop each season on the same ground. Breaks pest and disease cycles and balances what each crop draws from the soil.
Cover cropping
Growing something over winter that you do not harvest. Holds soil in place, feeds soil life, and captures nitrogen that would otherwise leach away.
No-till and reduced tillage
Planting into last year’s residue instead of plowing. Keeps soil structure intact and cuts erosion, though weed pressure needs a different answer.
Continuous cropping
The same crop year after year. Simple to manage and equip for, but pest pressure and nutrient draw both build over time.
Intercropping
Two crops in the same field at once, in alternating rows or mixed stands. Uses space and light better, but harvest gets more complicated.
Organic production
Working without synthetic fertilizers and most synthetic pesticides. Certification has its own rules and a transition period before a crop can be sold as organic.
Most operations run a mix. A field can be no-till, in a three-year rotation, and under cover through the winter at the same time.
How to become a farmer
There is no single license or degree. Most growers arrive through one of three routes, and each has a different first year.
Start small and scale
Begin with a garden plot or a quarter acre. Learn one crop well, then add a second. Slow, but the mistakes stay cheap.
Work for a farm first
Paid work teaches equipment, timing, and labor rhythms that reading cannot. Many state programs place apprentices.
Take over existing ground
Inheriting or leasing established land skips setup but inherits its problems. Start with a soil test and a field history.
USDA runs a Beginning Farmer and Rancher program. It offers loan and training support during a grower’s first ten years. Your county extension office knows the local version.
Growing practices that cross every crop
Some decisions repeat no matter what you plant. These guides cover the reasoning once, so the crop pages can stay specific.
Common questions about crop farming
How much land do you need to start crop farming?
Less than people expect. A quarter acre in vegetables can supply a household and a small market stand. Grain crops need scale to pay for equipment, so most new growers start in vegetables and add acreage as the market grows.
What is the difference between crop farming and agriculture?
Agriculture covers everything grown or raised, including livestock, dairy, forestry, and aquaculture. Crop farming is the plant side of it: growing crops for food, feed, fiber, or fuel.
What is the easiest crop to start with?
Radishes, lettuce, and bush beans forgive most beginner mistakes and finish fast, so you learn a full cycle in weeks rather than months. Start with something quick before committing a season to a crop you have never grown.
How long does it take to grow a crop?
Radishes go from seed to harvest in about 25 days. Sweet corn takes 60 to 100. Winter wheat sits in the ground through winter and comes off the following summer. Days to maturity on the seed packet is the number to plan from.
When should you start planning a season?
The winter before. Soil tests take a few weeks to come back, seed for popular varieties sells out, and rotation decisions depend on what came off the same ground last year. Planning in spring is already late.
Do you need a licence to farm?
Not to grow for yourself. Selling produce, applying restricted pesticides, and using certain water sources all have rules that vary by state and often by county. Your county extension office can tell you which apply to you.
Latest guides
When to sidedress nitrogen on corn
Growth stage beats calendar date. What V6 looks like and why the window closes fast.
How to prevent blossom end rot
It is a calcium delivery problem, not a calcium shortage. Watering fixes more of it than fertilizer.
How to cut and cure seed potatoes
Piece size, eye count, and the curing days that decide whether they rot or sprout.
How to read a soil test report
What each number means, which ones to act on first, and what the lab is not telling you.
How to keep lettuce from bolting
Heat and day length both trigger it. Variety choice and shade timing do most of the work.
How to calculate crop water needs
Turning the inch-a-week rule into gallons for your actual row length and spacing.
How we work
CropFarming.net is an independent reference. We are not a farm and we do not sell seed, inputs, or equipment.
Every guide is built from published research, then checked line by line against the sources it cites. Nothing goes live until each figure has been traced back to the service that published it.
Where a figure varies by region, we give the range and name the service that published it. Where the research is thin, we say that instead of filling the gap.
Meet the team and read our editorial policy.
Sources we rely on
- K-State Research and Extension
- Iowa State University Extension
- Penn State Extension
- UF/IFAS Extension
- NDSU Extension
- UGA Extension
- Texas A&M AgriLife
- UC ANR
- USDA NASS statistics
- USDA NRCS soil data
- USDA ARS research
- EPA pesticide labels
Found something wrong? Tell us
Does a figure here not match what your extension service publishes? We want to know. Corrections get checked and updated, and we name the source.
- Corrections and editorialeditor@cropfarming.net
- Everything elsecontact@cropfarming.net
We aim to answer within three business days. Corrections move faster.