Seed starting dates by ZIP or postcode
When to start seeds indoors, when to plant them out and when to sow straight into the ground, worked out from the average last spring frost where you live. Free, no account.
When to start each crop, counted from your last frost
Every date on this page is a distance from a frost, so these timings hold for any place. Find your average last spring frost and first fall frost with the frost dates tool, then count from them. Or enter your ZIP above and we do the counting.
| Crop | Indoors | Outdoors | Last sowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basil | Start indoors 4 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 30 days before first fall frost |
| Beet | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 55 days before first fall frost |
| Borage | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 50 days before first fall frost |
| Broccoli | Start indoors 8 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 10 weeks before first fall frost |
| Buckwheat | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 5 weeks before first fall frost |
| Bush bean | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 55 days before first fall frost |
| Cabbage | Start indoors 8 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 75 days before first fall frost |
| Calendula (pot marigold) | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 55 days before first fall frost |
| Carrot | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 10 weeks before first fall frost |
| Chives | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Cilantro (coriander) | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 45 days before first fall frost |
| Cucumber | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 60 days before first fall frost |
| Dill | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 45 days before first fall frost |
| Fennel | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Garlic | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 4 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 240 days before first fall frost |
| Kale | Start indoors 9 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 55 days before first fall frost |
| Lavender (English) | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Lemon balm | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Lettuce | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 55 days before first fall frost |
| Marigold (French) | Start indoors 4 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 50 days before first fall frost |
| Marjoram (sweet) | Start indoors 4 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks after last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Mint | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Nasturtium | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Onion | Start indoors 12 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 100 days before first fall frost |
| Oregano | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Parsley | Start indoors 10 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 50 days before first fall frost |
| Pea | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 4 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 60 days before first fall frost |
| Pepper | Start indoors 6 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 75 days before first fall frost |
| Pole bean | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 65 days before first fall frost |
| Potato | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 90 days before first fall frost |
| Rosemary | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 2 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Sage | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Spinach | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 4 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 45 days before first fall frost |
| Summer squash | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 50 days before first fall frost |
| Sweet alyssum | Start indoors 8 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks before last spring frost | Sow by 50 days before first fall frost |
| Sweet corn | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 80 days before first fall frost |
| Tarragon (French) | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Thyme | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Tomato | Start indoors 4 weeks before last spring frost | Transplant 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 75 days before first fall frost |
| Winter squash | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 95 days before first fall frost |
| Yarrow | No indoor start rule: usually bought as plants | Transplant 4 weeks before last spring frost | No last sowing date: it comes back each year |
| Zinnia | No indoor start: sown straight into the ground | Direct sow 2 weeks after last spring frost | Sow by 75 days before first fall frost |
How these dates are worked out
- We estimate your average last spring frost and first fall frost from the nearest NOAA climate station to your ZIP.
- Each crop is cold-hardy, half-hardy or frost-tender. Cold-hardy crops can go outside 4 weeks before last spring frost. Half-hardy crops can go outside 2 weeks before last spring frost. Frost-tender crops can go outside 2 weeks after last spring frost. These are conventional extension service rules of thumb.
- A crop that is usually started indoors is sown a set number of weeks before it goes out, so the tray is ready when the ground is. A crop that is not usually started indoors has no indoor date, and the table says so.
- A frost-tender crop is counted from after the last frost, not from the day you sow, so a tray started early is held until the frost has passed. If that date would land after your first fall frost, the dates table says the crop would not survive outside.
- The last sowing is the first fall frost minus the crop's days to maturity, so the crop can finish before the cold. A perennial has no last sowing date, because it has to survive winter rather than ripen before it.
These are the same rules the Farmstead Helper season calendar uses, so the dates here match what the app shows for the same place and crops. They are estimates from averages. A cold spring, a sheltered bed or a hoop house can move the real dates by weeks.