NEED HELP remembering when it’s safe and smart to start your first spring sowings of vegetable, flower and herb seeds indoors and out? This tool calculates when. Begin by entering your final spring frost date on the top right of the chart below. (Don’t know? Search by ZIP Code with the tool at this link.)
The chart dates below suggest earliest springtime sowings, but there is no hard-and-fast rule whether lettuce needs 4 or 6 weeks indoors—or if you never give it a headstart, but simply direct-sow. This is my best guidance, not doctrine; that’s why my website is “A Way to Garden,” not “The Way to Garden.”
Note: Reemay or other protective row covers can “cheat” the earliest transplant dates by as much as 2 weeks, especially helpful with tender things like melons (or insect-prone brassicas and cucurbits).
Many crops (salads, carrots, beets, bush beans, cilantro…) are best sown in succession, a small amount every 2 weeks, starting at the chart date. In some climates, a later sowing timed for fall or winter harvest (e.g., Brussels sprouts) may do better than a spring one, or you can get a second sowing in of peas that you sowed in spring, then pulled.
I’ve added a list of how-to story links below, including some on stashing your harvest. Again: Start by entering your final spring frost date below (mine’s about mid-May). You can print your results using the button under the chart (it will be about 5 pages).
a spring garden calculator
|
crop name
|
weeks indoors before transplant | transplant (or sow) date, relative to final frost | sow indoors from-to |
transplant (or sow) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vegetables | ||||
| arugula | direct sow only | 4 weeks before | ||
| beans (bush or pole) |
direct sow only | at frost date | ||
| beets* | 5 to 6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| broccoli | 4 to 6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| cabbage | 4 to 6 | 2 to 4 weeks before | ||
| carrot | direct sow only | 2 to 3 weeks before | ||
| cauliflower | 4 to 6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| chard* | 4 | 2 weeks before | ||
| celery, celeriac | 10 to 12 | 1 week after | ||
| corn* | 2 to 4 | 0 to 2 weeks after | ||
| cucumber* | 3 to 4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| eggplant | 6 to 8 | 2 weeks after | ||
| kale*, collards* | 4 to 6 | 2 to 4 weeks before | ||
| kohlrabi* | 4 to 6 | 2 to 4 weeks before | ||
| leeks | 8 to 10 | 2 weeks before | ||
| lettuce* | 4 | 2 to 4 weeks before | ||
| melons (muskmelons)* |
3 to 4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| melons (watermelons)* |
3 to 4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| mustard* | 4 | 2 to 4 weeks before | ||
| onions | 8 to 10 | 3 to 4 weeks before | ||
| pak choi* | 4 | 2 weeks before | ||
| parsnip | direct sow only | 3 to 4 weeks before | ||
| peas | direct sow only | 6 weeks before | ||
| peppers | 6 to 8 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| radish | direct sow only | 3 to 4 weeks before | ||
| spinach | direct sow only | 4 to 6 weeks before | ||
| squash (summer)* |
3 to 4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| squash (winter)* |
3 to 4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| tomatoes | 6 to 8 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| turnip | direct sow only | 2 to 3 weeks before | ||
| herbs | ||||
| basil* | 4 to 6 | 1 week after | ||
| cilantro | direct sow only | 0 to 3 weeks before | ||
| dill | direct sow only | 0 to 3 weeks before | ||
| parsley | 8 to 10 | 2 weeks before | ||
| annual flowers | ||||
| calendula* | 6 | 1 week before | ||
| cosmos* | 6 | at frost date | ||
| hyacinth bean* | 4 to 6 | 0 to 1 weeks after | ||
| impatiens | 8 to 10 | 1 week after | ||
| marigold* | 6 | 1 week after | ||
| morning glory, moonflower |
4 | 2 weeks after | ||
| sunflower* | 3 to 4 | at frost date | ||
| sweet peas | 4 to 6 | 1 to 2 weeks before | ||
| viola, pansies | 8 to 10 | 2 weeks before | ||
| zinnia* | 4 | 1 week after | ||
| *Chard, collards, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, plus many familiar herbs and annual flowers, are probably easiest direct-sown. In short-season Northern areas, starting heat-loving melons, cucumbers, and squash indoors (though all easy to direct sow) may offer a headstart. | ||||
how to sow, harvest and store vegetables
- why seedlings stretch and get spindly
- seed-starting FAQ page: all my seed how-to’s
- vegetable-garden tuneup: make room for more (succession sowing)
- when to plant what for a fall vegetable garden
- how to grow carrots, with dr. john navazio
- how to grow melons
- cucumber-growing q&a, and the best pickles ever
- growing and storing a year of parsley
- how to grow beets
- how to grow kale
- How to grow onions
- How to grow peppers
- growing the best-tasting tomato
- tomato-growing faq’s
- how to grow spinach
- growing potatoes organically: when and how to plant, hill and harvest
- growing and storing a year of garlic
- 9 things i needed to learn about sweet potatoes
- how to freeze and store green herbs
- how to store garden vegetables for winter
seed-starting gear i use for best results
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