Seed Starting Chart: Best Times To Start Your Seeds
Ready to get growing? Our handy chart will help you figure out when and where to start your seeds.
Ready to start that spring garden but not sure when you should start your seeds? We can help. Our seed starting chart helps you determine when and where to start your seeds. Some seeds should be started indoors, while others can be directly sown outside. Refer to our Average Frost Dates to determine your last spring frost.
Your seed packets will have most of the information you need but here are our recommendations:
Vegetable Seeds
| Vegetable | Where to Start | When To Start |
| Beans | Outside | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Beets | Outside | 2-4 weeks before last frost |
| Broccoli | Inside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Cabbage | Inside | 6-8 weeks before last frost |
| Carrots | Outside | 2-4 weeks before last frost |
| Celery | Inside | 10-12 weeks before last frost |
| Corn | Outside | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Cucumbers | Outside | 3 weeks after last frost |
| Kale | Inside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Leeks | Inside | 10-12 weeks before last frost |
| Lettuce | Inside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Onions | Inside | 10-12 weeks before last frost |
| Peas | Outside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Peppers | Inside | 8-10 weeks before last frost |
| Pumpkins | Outide | 2-4 weeks after last frost |
| Radishes | Outside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Spinach | Outside | 4-6 weeks before last frost |
| Squash | Outside | 3 weeks after last frost |
| Tomatoes | Inside | 6-8 weeks before last frost |
Find your Average Frost Date.
Planting by the Moon
Be sure to also check our Gardening by the Moon calendar, which will guide you to which garden tasks are best done based on phases of the Moon.
This article was published by the staff at Farmers' Almanac. Do you have a question or an idea for an article? Contact us!
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
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Farmers' Almanac Staffhttps://www.farmersalmanac.com/author/fa-admin
I use a separate Google calendar from my personal calendar. Put in my dates there and set alerts, for the following or preceding weekend, to remind myself to get in the garden!
Is there a link to the place where I can put in my frost dates for my zone along, with the veggies and medicinal herbs I’m planting, to populate and remind me when to seed, transplant and harvest? Any suggestions?