When to Start Seeds for Your Garden

Knowing when to start seeds for your garden doesn’t have to be complicated. Learn how to plan your seed starting calendar and be more prepared for your gardening season.

One of the things that I love about gardening is that I am always learning new things. I remember when I first started gardening, I was pretty clueless about when and how to get started.

Even after I thought I had figured out how to plan for planting, it was difficult to keep everything organized.

I now know that all aspects of gardening get easier as you work through more seasons. Rather than finding impatience with what I still don’t know, I now look forward to each new season wondering what new things I will learn.

I hope by sharing a little about what I have learned about starting seeds, that you will also learn a bit more on your gardening journey and enjoy the season.

Succession Planting

Before planning, it may be helpful to understand succession planting. Rather than planting a crop once, succession planting is the process of planting the same crop at various times throughout the season for an endless harvest.

When To Start Your Seeds

Knowing when to start your seeds doesn’t have to be confusing. I have used a few tools that have really helped me stay on track.

Calendar Planning

Using a calendar to plan your dates is a bit more time consuming, but it is very helpful. Even if you choose to use some of the garden planning tools that are out there, it is helpful to create a calendar garden plan to keep it all organized. This is especially true when succession planting.

Steps for creating your own calendar garden plan:

Do a quick internet search to find the first and last frost dates in your area.
Get a blank calendar or find and print out a blank calendar template.
Create a list of what you want to plant and purchase your seeds. This is helpful because most seed packets will tell you how many weeks before the last frost date to start your seeds indoors and when to plant them in the garden.
Separate your seeds into two groups. Seeds that need to be started indoors and seeds that will be directly sown into the garden.
Starting with the group that will be started indoors, read each seed packet or use a garden planting tool to determine how many weeks before the last frost to start your seeds. Then count backwards from your last frost date the correct number of weeks for each plant. If my last frost date is May 8th and I need to plant my peppers 10 weeks prior to that, then I will count back ten weeks and write peppers on February 27th. Repeat this process for all seeds that need to be started indoors.
Next, use the same method to determine the planting dates for all plants that will be directly sown in the garden. Write the names of these on the calendar and write DIG next to the name. This tells you that you will be planting those seeds directly in the garden.
Determine which plants you would like to succession plant and add those dates to the calendar as well. Let’s say that I plant my cucumbers right after the last frost, which is May 8th in my area. I can plant succession crops about every three weeks until mid July. So I would add cucumbers to my calendar on May 29th, June 19th, and July 10th. I would also add DIG next to each of those because I almost always plant my succession crops right in the garden.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

I also like using The Old Farmer’s Almanac as a quick reference for dates. Just put your zip code in and it will print a quick planting calendar.

Clyde’s Vegetable Planting Chart

Clyde’s Vegetable Planting Chart allows you to slide the chart to your frost date. From there it will let you know when to start seeds indoors, when to direct sow in the garden, and when to expect to harvest. It also provides the same information for fall planting as well. This is a great and inexpensive tool that is very helpful, especially when planting a large garden.

Starting Plants Indoors

There are lots of benefits to starting seeds indoors. Starting seeds indoors allows you to get a head start on the growing season which is especially helpful for plants that have a longer growing season.

Some plants have a much better germination rate when started indoors, especially in the spring when temperatures can still be a bit too cold.

There are also some plants that do equally well when started indoors or are directly sown in the garden.

Although some of the plants listed in the table below can also be direct seeded, some plants tend to benefit more from being started indoors.

Vegetable	Weeks Before The Last Frost To Start Seeds Indoors	Additional Information
Cucumbers	4 weeks	Can also direct seed after the last frost. Succession plant every three weeks until midsummer.
Summer Squash	4 weeks	Direct seed a succession crop about 4 weeks after your first planting.
Winter Squash	4 weeks	Can also direct seed after the last frost.
Melons	4 weeks
Broccoli	8 weeks	Can also be direct seeded. Direct seed 85-100 days before the first frost for a fall crop.
Cauliflower	10 weeks	Start seeds indoors 10 weeks before the first frost for a fall crop.
Cabbage	8-10 weeks	Can also be direct seeded. Direct seed a fall crop about 12 weeks before your first frost.
Kale	7-10 weeks	Start seeds indoors for a fall planting about 10 weeks before the first frost in your area.
Kohlrabi	8 weeks	Can direct seed succession crops every 3 weeks through the end of summer.
Celery	12-14	Start seeds indoors about 6 weeks later for a succession crop.
Peppers	8-10
Tomatoes	6-8
Eggplant	8-10
Lettuce	4-6	Direct seed succession crops every 3 weeks through early fall.

Plant Directly In The Garden

Vegetable	Weeks Before The Last Frost To Direct Sow	Additional Information
Peas	5-6	Succession plant every 3 weeks until early summer.
Radishes	4-6	Succession plant every 2 weeks through the spring. Plant a fall crop 8 weeks before the first frost.
Beans (bush and pole)	1 week after the last frost	Succession every 2-3 weeks until midsummer.
Beets	3-4	Succession plant every 2-3 weeks until midsummer.
Swiss Chard	3	Can plant a fall crop in late summer.
Spinach	6-8	Succession plant every 3 weeks through the spring. Plant a fall crop 6 weeks before your first frost.
Carrots	3-4	Succession plant every 4 weeks through mid summer.
Potatoes	3	Succession plant seed potatoes every 3 weeks through midsummer.