The Planting Calendar
When to sow, plant out, and harvest — counted from your own frost dates, so it works wherever you garden.
Most planting calendars give you months. A month is only right for the one climate it was written in: "sow tomatoes in March" is correct in Austin, a month late in Phoenix, and six weeks early in Minneapolis — and nothing on the page tells you which one you are.
So this calendar counts from your last spring frost instead. That date is different everywhere, but "six weeks before it" means the same thing in every garden in the country.
Before you start: find your frost dates
Find your average last spring frost date from your local extension service or a zip-code lookup, then count backwards. Everything below is relative to that one date.
Ours, for reference, are mid-March and late November — zone 8b, Austin, Texas.
Cool season
These go in while it is still cold and are ruined by heat. Sown too late, they bolt before they crop.
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out | To harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peas Sow as soon as the soil can be worked. Peas stop setting pods once days pass about 80°F, so late sowings simply fail. | — | 6 weeks before | 8–10 weeks |
| Broccoli Heat makes the heads open into flower early. An autumn crop is easier than a spring one in hot climates. | 8 weeks before | 4 weeks before | 8–12 weeks |
| Cabbage Steady water matters more than anything else — irregular watering splits the heads open. | 8 weeks before | 4 weeks before | 10–14 weeks |
| Carrots Direct sow only; transplanting forks the roots. The seedbed must stay damp for the two to three weeks they take to germinate. | — | 3 weeks before | 10–12 weeks |
| Lettuce Bolts bitter in heat. Sow a short row every two weeks rather than one long row once. | 6 weeks before | 3 weeks before | 4–8 weeks |
| Onions Buy the day-length type that matches your latitude — short-day in the South, long-day in the North — or they never bulb. | 12 weeks before | 4 weeks before | 16–20 weeks |
| Potatoes Plant about 4 inches deep into soil around 45-50°F, then hill as they grow. Cold wet ground rots the seed pieces. | — | 3 weeks before | 12–16 weeks |
| Cilantro Bolts within weeks of warm weather no matter what you do. Succession sow, and let the last one go to coriander seed. | — | 3 weeks before | 4–6 weeks |
Warm season
Frost kills these outright, and cold soil stalls them even when the air is mild. Patience beats an early planting every time.
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out | To harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes Wait for night temperatures above 50°F. Planting on the frost date itself buys nothing — cold soil stalls them for weeks. | 6 weeks before | 2 weeks after | 8–12 weeks |
| Peppers Slower and more cold-sensitive than tomatoes. They sulk below 55°F and drop flowers above 90°F. | 8 weeks before | 3 weeks after | 10–14 weeks |
| Cucumbers Resents root disturbance — direct sow, or transplant very young. Soil under 60°F stops germination dead. | 3 weeks before | 2 weeks after | 7–9 weeks |
| Beans Direct sow into warm soil. Seeds sown into cold wet ground rot rather than germinate. | — | 1 week after | 7–10 weeks |
| Watermelon Needs a long hot run. In short-summer areas start indoors and choose an early variety, or it never ripens. | 3 weeks before | 2 weeks after | 11–14 weeks |
| Basil Collapses at about 40°F, well before an actual frost. It is the first thing to bring in at the end of the season. | 6 weeks before | 2 weeks after | 4–6 weeks |
| Sweet potatoes Planted as slips, not seed, into thoroughly warm soil. They want heat the whole way through. | — | 4 weeks after | 14–18 weeks |
| Corn Plant in a block of short rows, not one long row — corn is wind-pollinated and a single row pollinates badly. | — | 2 weeks after | 9–12 weeks |
| Squash and pumpkins Count back from your FIRST autumn frost for pumpkins — they need to be planted early enough to finish. | 3 weeks before | 2 weeks after | 12–16 weeks |
Planted once
Put in the ground on their own schedule and cropping for years afterwards. Garlic is the odd one out — it goes in during autumn.
| Crop | Start indoors | Plant out | To harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic The exception to this whole table: plant in AUTUMN, four to six weeks before the ground freezes. It needs a cold spell to form cloves. | — | on the frost date | 32–36 weeks |
| Strawberries Pinch off the first year's flowers on June-bearers. You lose one crop and gain far stronger plants. | — | 4 weeks before | 52–56 weeks |
| Asparagus Plant crowns and do not harvest for two full years. It then produces for twenty, so the wait is the whole bargain. | — | 4 weeks before | 104–156 weeks |
| Blackberries Bare-root canes go in while dormant. Most varieties fruit on second-year canes, so the first summer is a wait. | — | 6 weeks before | 52–56 weeks |
A worked example: zone 8b
Frost-relative timing is precise but abstract, so here is the same calendar resolved into months for one real garden — ours, in Austin, Texas. If your frost dates are later than mid-March, everything shifts back; earlier, forward.
January
Plant bare-root fruit. Start onions and brassicas indoors. Plan the beds.
February
Sow peas and carrots outdoors. Start tomatoes and peppers indoors under lights.
March
Last frost passes. Plant potatoes, sow beans and corn once soil warms.
April
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash go out. The main planting month.
May
Sow melons and sweet potato slips. Mulch everything before the heat arrives.
June
Harvest heavily. Water deeply. Too hot to start most things from seed.
July
The hard month: shade, water, and pull spent spring crops. Start autumn transplants indoors.
August
Sow the autumn garden — brassicas, carrots, beans — into a hot bed that needs shading.
September
Autumn planting continues. The heat breaks. Sow lettuce and greens.
October
Plant garlic. Sow peas and spinach. Harvest sweet potatoes before cool nights.
November
First frost arrives. Cover tender crops or pull them. Plant trees and shrubs.
December
Quiet. Compost, mulch, sharpen tools, order seed for next year.
Printing it
Use your browser's print command. The navigation, footer and signup box drop away and the tables print clean across two sheets — stick it inside a shed door and stop looking it up.
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