When can you plant those seeds?

One of the most important steps of planning a vegetable garden is knowing when to put the seeds in the ground. Can you sow directly, or do you need to start seeds inside? Do they need a greenhouse or a cold frame? And, depending on where you live, what’s the best date for taking your tender seedlings and committing them to the less forgiving garden bed? Here are a few resources your might find helpful.

Albright College Garden
Albright College Garden / Albright Garden / CC BY 2.0

The Vegetable Garden Planting Schedule

An absolute essential, this tool lets you look up your hardiness zone using your zip code and gives and extensive table organized by vegetable to tell you not only when to plant (spring and fall dates alike!), but also how to space the plants and when you can expect them to mature.

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Sprout Robot

This freemium-model service uses your zip code to give you a planting calendar based on plants that will grow well where you live. It also has a fun set of tools to help you keep your garden planning on track and lets you purchase the seeds directly from the planning tools.

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Mother Earth News – When to Plant App

If you want a vast load of data-based, helpful information preloaded at your fingertips, this app might just be worth your $1.99. Drawing data from weather centers, it puts together current information to help you decide which seeds or plants to buy while you’re out browsing the local nursery.

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