Most garden problems come from doing the right job at the wrong time. This calendar lists the main tasks for each month in a temperate Northern Hemisphere climate, with a simple way to adjust it to where you live.
First, find your frost dates
Your whole schedule hangs on two dates: the average last frost in spring and the average first frost in fall. Search for “frost dates” with your zip code, or ask a local garden center or extension office.
This calendar assumes a last frost in mid-May and a first frost in early October. If your last frost is a month earlier, move every spring task a month earlier. In warm climates with mild winters, the main growing seasons are fall, winter and spring, and midsummer is the slow period.
The calendar
| Month | Main tasks |
|---|---|
| January | Review last year’s notes. Plan the beds. Order seeds. |
| February | Start onions and peppers indoors. Clean and sharpen tools. |
| March | Start tomatoes indoors. Sow peas and spinach outside once the soil can be worked. Add compost to beds. |
| April | Sow lettuce, radishes, carrots and beets. Begin hardening off seedlings on mild days. |
| May | After the last frost, transplant tomatoes and peppers. Sow beans, squash and cucumbers. |
| June | Mulch the beds. Stake and tie tall plants. Sow more lettuce and beans. |
| July | Harvest often. Water deeply. Sow carrots and beets for fall. |
| August | Sow kale, spinach and lettuce for fall. Start preserving the harvest. |
| September | Harvest storage crops. Save seeds. Sow cover crops in empty beds. |
| October | Plant garlic. Collect fallen leaves for compost and mulch. |
| November | Clear spent plants. Mulch the beds. Drain hoses and rain barrels. |
| December | Rest. Note what worked, what failed and what to change. |
Three timing rules worth remembering
- Count back from the last frost. Start tomatoes indoors six to eight weeks before it, and peppers eight to ten weeks before it.
- Cool crops go first. Peas, spinach, lettuce and kale tolerate light frost and can be sown early in spring and again in late summer.
- Warm crops wait. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash and cucumbers go outside only after the danger of frost has passed.
Keep a garden notebook
Write down planting dates, varieties, weather surprises and harvest amounts. After one year you will have a calendar built for your own yard, which is more reliable than any general guide.
Related guides
- 10 easiest vegetables to grow for beginners
- 5 ways to preserve your harvest without a freezer
- Rainwater harvesting basics for home gardens
A beginner’s plan for a self-sufficient backyard: where to start, what to grow first, and how to add compost, water and food storage step by step.