- Write your frost-free date in the blank space at the top of the chart.
- Get a calendar and add or subtract the number of weeks in the “Safe to Set Out Time” column. This is the “Setting Out Date” when you can safely plant the crop to the garden. Write it in the last column.
- Take each date from Column 5 (“Setting Out Date”), subtract the number of weeks shown for that crop in column 3 (“Weeks from Sowing”) and record that date in column 2 (“When to Start Inside”).
| YOUR SEED-STARTING PLAN | ||||
| The Spring Frost-Free Date in My Garden is_______________ | ||||
| CROP | WHEN TO START INSIDE | WEEKS FROM SOWING | SAFE TO SET OUT TIME (RELATIVE TO FROST-FREE DATE) | SETTING OUT DATE |
| Basil | 6 | 1 week after | ||
| Beets* | 4-6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| Broccoli | 4-6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| Cabbage | 4-6 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Cauliflower | 4-6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| Collards | 4-6 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Corn* | 2-4 | 0 to 2 weeks after | ||
| Cucumber | 3-4 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| Eggplant | 8-10 | 2 to 3 weeks after | ||
| Kale | 4-6 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Kohlrabi* | 4-6 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Lettuce | 4-5 | 3 to 4 weeks before | ||
| Melons | 3-4 | 2 weeks after | ||
| Mustard* | 4-6 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Okra* | 4-6 | 2 to 4 weeks after | ||
| Onions | 6-8 | 4 weeks before | ||
| Parsley | 9-10 | 2 to 3 weeks before | ||
| Peas* | 3-4 | 6 to 8 weeks before | ||
| Peppers | 6-14 | 2 weeks after | ||
| Pumpkins | 3-4 | 2 weeks after | ||
| Spinach | 4-6 | 3 to 6 weeks before | ||
| Squash | 3-4 | 2 weeks after | ||
| Swiss chard | 4-6 | 2 weeks before | ||
| Tomatoes | 6-8 | 1 to 2 weeks after | ||
| * These crops are usually direct-seeded outdoors, but they can be started inside. | ||||