🌱 Seed Starting Calendar

Heirloom Varieties — What to Plant & When
Start Indoors
Direct Sow
Transplant Out
Seed Variety Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
🍅 Fruiting Vegetables
Roma Tomatoes
🏠
🏠
🔄
Jalapeño Peppers
🏠
🏠
🔄
California Wonder Peppers
🏠
🏠
🔄
Crimson Sweet Watermelon
🏠
🏠+🌍
🌍
Pickling Cucumbers
🏠
🌍
Dark Green Zucchini
🏠
🌍
Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin
🌍
Luffa Sponge Gourd
🌍
🌿 Herbs
Large Leaf Basil
🏠
🔄
Coriander (Cilantro)
🏠
🌍
🌍
Parsley
🏠
🌍
🌍
Catnip
🌍
🥕 Root Vegetables
Sugar Beets
🌍
🔄🔄
🌍
Bulls Blood Beets
🌍
🔄🔄
🌍
Snowball Turnips
🌍
🌍
🌍
Scarlett Nantes Carrots
🌍
🌍
🌍
🫘 Legumes & Corn
Provider Green Bush Beans
🌍
🔄🔄
🌍
Sugar Lace Snap Peas
🌍
Yellow Dent Corn
🌍
🥬 Leafy Greens & Brassicas
Utah Celery
🏠
🏠
🔄
Butter Crunch Lettuce
🏠
🌍
🌍
🌍
Red Russian Kale
🌍
🌍
🌍
Long Island Brussels Sprouts
🏠
🏠
🔄
White Bunching Onion
🌍
🌍
📅 February
  • 🏠Jalapeño Peppers
    Start indoors, keep warm 78–85°F
  • 🏠California Wonder Peppers
    Same as jalapeño — use heat mat
  • 🏠Roma Tomatoes
    8–10 weeks before last frost
  • 🏠Utah Celery
    Long season — start early
  • 🏠Long Island Brussels Sprouts
    Need full season, 90–100 days
📅 March
  • 🏠Roma Tomatoes
    Last call for indoor starts
  • 🏠Large Leaf Basil
    Wait until soil warms to transplant
  • 🏠Butter Crunch Lettuce
    Or direct sow in mild climates
  • 🏠Crimson Sweet Watermelon
    Use peat pots for transplanting
  • 🏠Pickling Cucumbers
    Last indoor start or direct sow
  • 🏠Dark Green Zucchini
    Big seeds, 1–2 per cell
📅 April
  • 🌍Sugar Beets / Bulls Blood Beets
    Sow 1" deep, thin to 3"
  • 🌍Snowball Turnips
    Fast grower — 50–60 days
  • 🌍Scarlett Nantes Carrots
    ¼" deep in loose soil
  • 🌍Green Bush Beans
    Soil 60°F+, direct sow only
  • 🌍Sugar Lace Snap Peas
    Can sow before frost in Zone 5+
  • 🌍Yellow Dent Corn
    Plant in blocks for pollination
📅 May
  • 🔄Transplant: Tomatoes, Peppers
    Harden off 1 week first
  • 🔄Transplant: Celery, Brassicas
    When 4–6" tall, after frost
  • 🌍Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin
    Space 6' apart
  • 🌍Luffa Sponge Gourd
    Needs trellis, long season
  • 🌍Catnip
    One plant is enough — self-seeds
  • 🌍White Bunching Onion
    Harvest fall or overwinter
📅 June — Succession Planting
  • 🔄Green Bush Beans
    Sow every 2 weeks for continuous harvest
  • 🌍Sugar Beets / Bulls Blood Beets
    Fall beets are sweeter
  • 🌍Scarlett Nantes Carrots
    August–September harvest
  • 🌍Coriander (Cilantro)
    Spring plants bolted — new crop
  • 🌍Butter Crunch Lettuce
    Shade-tolerant summer plant
📅 July–August — Fall Garden
  • 🌍Red Russian Kale
    Overwinters in Zone 5+, sweetens after frost
  • 🌍Butter Crunch Lettuce
    Fall crop tastes better
  • 🌍Sugar Beets / Bulls Blood Beets
    Harvest before hard freeze
  • 🌍Snowball Turnips
    Fast — ready before freeze
  • 🌍White Bunching Onion
    Overwinters, harvest early spring
💡 Succession planting: Sow beans, beets, carrots, and cilantro every 2–3 weeks from June through August. Each planting matures later, giving you a steady harvest all season.

🌳 Tree Seeds — Year-Round Planning

Japanese Maple
  • 📅Spring or Fall
    Fall preferred. Needs summer shade when young.
Red Cedar
  • 📅Fall
    Plant bare-root in dormant season.
Southern Yew
  • 📅Spring
    Slow grower. Excellent hedge plant.
Chinese Elm
  • 📅Spring
    Hardy, drought-tolerant once established.
⚠️ Plant tree seeds where they'll stay permanently. Most don't transplant well once roots establish. Dig deep, water well the first year.

⚡ Quick Reference — At a Glance

🏠 Start Indoors
  • Roma Tomatoes
  • Jalapeño Peppers
  • California Wonder Peppers
  • Large Leaf Basil
  • Utah Celery
  • Long Island Brussels Sprouts
  • Butter Crunch Lettuce
🌍 Direct Sow
  • Sugar Beets
  • Bulls Blood Beets
  • Snowball Turnips
  • Scarlett Nantes Carrots
  • Green Bush Beans
  • Sugar Lace Snap Peas
  • Yellow Dent Corn
  • White Bunching Onion
  • Catnip, Cilantro, Parsley
  • Red Russian Kale
  • Pickling Cucumbers
  • Dark Green Zucchini
  • Jack-o-Lantern Pumpkin
  • Crimson Sweet Watermelon
  • Luffa Sponge Gourd
🌳 Trees
  • Japanese Maple
  • Red Cedar
  • Southern Yew
  • Chinese Elm

💡 Key Growing Tips

  • 🫘Beans & Peas
    Never transplant — sow directly. They hate root disturbance.
  • 🌽Corn
    Plant in blocks (3+ rows), not single rows, for wind pollination.
  • 🌶️Peppers
    Need 78–85°F to germinate. Heat mat is worth it.
  • 🥕Carrots & Beets
    Thin seedlings aggressively — crowding = tiny harvest.
  • 🥒Cucumbers & Squash
    Direct sow is easiest. If transplanting, use peat pots.
  • 🌿Cilantro
    Bolts in heat. Succession sow every 3 weeks.
  • 🥬Kale
    Fall-harvested kale is sweeter. Frost improves flavor.
  • 🥦Brussels Sprouts
    Long season (90–100 days). Start early, harvest late.