Planting Calendar from the Farmers’ Almanac
Welcome to the Farmers’ Almanac Planting Calendar, also known as Gardening by the Moon calendar. This planting calendar helps you pick the best dates for popular garden tasks—starting seeds, pruning shrubs, harvesting, weeding, and much more—according to our 200-year-old formula that relies on phases and position of the Moon. Our readers swear they “won’t plant without it.”
Learn why we “Garden by the Moon.”
The dates listed below are consistent across all growing zones. This means you must consider your weather and climate before following our suggestions. For best results, talk with your local greenhouse or agricultural extension office for the optimal window of time within which to use these dates.
Note, you can find a glossary of our gardening terms below the calendar.
Happy gardening!
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10th – 11th
Poor planting days. Break ground or cultivate.
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12th – 14th
Favorable for planting beans, corn, cotton, tomatoes, peppers, and other aboveground crops.
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15th – 16th
Poor days for planting, seeds tend to rot in ground.
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17th – 19th
Plant seedbeds and start flower gardens. Plant tomatoes, beans, peppers, corn, cotton, and other aboveground crops on these most fruitful days.
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20th – 23rd
Grub out weeds, briars, and other plant pests.
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24th – 25th
A favorable time for sowing grains, hay, and fodder crops. Plant flowers. Plant corn, melons, squash, tomatoes, and other aboveground crops.
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26th – 27th
Start seedbeds. Good days for transplanting. Good days for planting beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, peanuts, and other root crops. Also good for leafy vegetables.
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28th – 29th
Neither plant nor sow on these barren days.
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30th – 30th
Favorable day for planting beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, onions, and other root crops.
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1st – 1st
Plant late beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, and other root crops.
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2nd – 3rd
Kill plant pests on these barren days.
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4th – 6th
Fine for vine crops. Set strawberry plants. Good days for transplanting. Favorable time for planting late root crops.
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7th – 8th
Poor planting. Fine for cultivating or spraying.
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9th – 11th
First two days are good days for transplanting. First two days are also when planted root crops will yield well. Last day is favorable for planting beans, corn, cotton, tomatoes, peppers, and other aboveground crops.
Official Gardening Term Cheat Sheet From the Farmers’ Almanac:
Above ground crops — this term is used to describe crops that produce their yield above the soil, such as corn, peppers, squash, etc.
Root Crops — crops that produce their yield below the soil, such as potatoes, radishes, carrots, etc.
Seedbeds — a bed of soil cultivated for planting seeds or seedlings before being transplanted.
Seedlings — young plants, especially ones that grow from a seeds rather than from a cutting.
Transplanting — to uproot and replant a growing plant or an already well-established plant.
“Favorable,” “Good,” and “Best” are all considered beneficial days for planting seeds. “Good” and “Favorable” both pretty much mean the same. However, “Best” is considered the prime, optimal days for planting seeds.
