Seed starting

Indoors

Lavender

Jan 21 – Feb 18

Slow, cold-stratify if it sulks. Drainage is the whole crop. Set out after frost.

Indoors

Onion

Jan 21 – Feb 4

A long indoor run, or sets in the same cool window. They want the early bed.

Indoors

Sweet violet

Jan 21 – Feb 4

Seed is slow and dark-germinating. Divisions in early spring are the honest path.

Indoors

Artichoke

Feb 4–18

A long indoor start. In cold counties treat it as an annual, or mulch the crown hard.

Indoors

Cayenne

Feb 4–18

Pepper wants a long indoor run and truly warm nights. Same bench as eggplant.

Indoors

Chives

Feb 4–18

A windowsill in January is honest. Divide a clump in early spring thereafter.

Indoors

Clove pink

Feb 4–18

Pinks like a cool start and drainage. A pinch after the first flush buys a second.

Indoors

Purple coneflower

Feb 4–18

Cold-stratify four weeks. A first-year plant is roots; bloom is year two.

Indoors

Eggplant

Feb 4–18

A long indoor run and truly warm nights. A cold week after set-out is a lost month.

Indoors

Kiwi

Feb 4–18

Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta) for cold counties; fuzzy kiwi wants 7+. A male and a female.

Indoors

Parsley

Feb 4–18

Slow to germinate — soak overnight. A biennial: leaf this year, seed the next.

Indoors

Rosemary

Feb 4 – Mar 4

Cuttings beat seed. A pot you can shelter where winters bite. Dry feet.

Indoors

Snapdragon

Feb 4–18

Cool-season spike. Start in winter light; set out with the peas.

Indoors

Strawberry

Feb 4–18

Crowns in early spring, or seed started in winter light. Pinch the first flowers on a new plant.

Indoors

Thyme

Feb 4–18

Dust-fine seed on the surface. Light to germinate. A gravelly, dry crown.

Indoors

Heartsease

Feb 4–18

Heartsease with the lettuce, not with the zinnias. A fall sowing winters in mild counties.

Indoors

Avocado

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A pit is a houseplant. Fruit wants two trees and a county that does not freeze.

Indoors

Banana

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A summer patio in a temperate yard. The first cold night blackens the leaf.

Indoors

Bee balm

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Monarda from surface-sown seed. Divide a named clump if you want a true color.

Indoors

Cabbage

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Spring crop goes in with the peas. Fall crop starts in a July tray in light shade.

Indoors

Cassava

Feb 18 – Mar 18

Stem cuttings in tropical heat. Bitter types must be prepared correctly — not a casual root.

Indoors

Garland chrysanthemum

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Spring start for a fall bloom. Pinch until July so it does not flop.

Indoors

Dragon fruit

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A cactus on a post. Summer patio, winter glass. Fruit wants long heat.

Indoors

Evening primrose

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Biennial. A summer or fall sowing blooms the next year.

Indoors

Feverfew

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Surface-sow, light to germinate. It self-sows if you let a head ripen.

Indoors

Fig

Feb 18 – Mar 18

A pot you can wheel inside below zone 8. Root a cutting in winter light.

Indoors

Guava

Feb 18 – Mar 18

A patio shrub you wheel inside. Seed is easy; named cuttings keep the fruit true.

Indoors

Hollyhock

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Biennial habit: a summer sowing blooms next year. Stake the old-fashioned singles.

Indoors

Holy basil

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Tulsi wants more heat than sweet basil. Start early; do not rush the set-out.

Indoors

Hyssop

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Hyssopus. A dry, sunny start. Slow from seed; cuttings of a named plant are faster.

Indoors

Arabian jasmine

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A pot you bring in. Cuttings in late winter light, not a packet in cold soil.

Indoors

Lemon

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A named pot plant, not a grocery seed. Out for summer, in before the first cold night.

Indoors

Lemon balm

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Mint-family thug. Start in a pot so you choose where it lives.

Indoors

Lemon verbena

Feb 18 – Mar 18

Cuttings, not seed. A patio shrub that must come in before the first frost.

Indoors

Lemongrass

Feb 18 – Mar 18

Root a kitchen stalk in water, then a warm pot. Not a packet plant in the north.

Indoors

Lovage

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Celery on a shrub. One plant. Cold-stratify the seed if it is stubborn.

Indoors

Mango

Feb 18 – Apr 15

A tropical tree. In a temperate house it is a handsome pot, not an orchard.

Indoors

Sweet marjoram

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Treat as an annual north of 8. Sweeter than oregano, same indoor start.

Indoors

Orange

Feb 18 – Apr 15

Patio pot in temperate counties. Seed from a fruit is a long, sour experiment.

Indoors

Oregano

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Greek oregano from a named plant is stronger than a random packet. Easy from seed anyway.

Indoors

Passion fruit

Feb 18 – Mar 4

A fast vine in heat. Treat it as an annual or a glasshouse pot north of 9.

Indoors

Pineapple

Feb 18 – Apr 15

Twist the crown off a ripe fruit, dry a day, pot. Years, not weeks, to a second fruit.

Indoors

Pomegranate

Feb 18 – Mar 18

Root a cutting. Hardy in the warm 8s; a pot you can shelter everywhere else.

Indoors

Garden sage

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Start in late winter. One plant is a decade if you do not drown it.

Indoors

Rose geranium

Feb 18 – Apr 15

Cuttings over seed. A windowsill plant that summers outside and comes in before frost.

Indoors

Stevia

Feb 18 – Mar 4

A pot you bring in. Surface-sow, light to germinate. Not a temperate perennial.

Indoors

Sweet alyssum

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Hoverfly skirt under brassicas. Sow with the kale, not with the zinnias.

Indoors

Sweet potato

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Slips from a jar of water, then warm soil. A cold May week stalls them.

Indoors

Taro

Feb 18 – Mar 4

A wet, hot summer crop. Start the corm in a tub. Poisonous raw — cook it.

Indoors

French tarragon

Feb 18 – Mar 18

French tarragon is sterile — cuttings only. Russian from seed is a different, coarser plant.

Indoors

Tomato

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Nightshade. Start in heat. Set out after nights stay above 50°F. Cage.

Indoors

Yarrow

Feb 18 – Mar 4

Surface-sow. A tough, dry-ground perennial once it is up.

Indoors

Broccoli

Feb 25 – Mar 11

Heads in cool air. A hot week after set-out makes a button, not a supper.

Indoors

Anise hyssop

Mar 4–18

Agastache. Easy from seed, a bee plant, a tea leaf. It will self-sow.

Outdoors

Apple

Mar 4 – Apr 1 · soil ~40°F

Dormant whip in late winter. Two varieties for pollen. Seed is a lottery, not a cultivar.

Indoors

Sweet basil

Mar 4–18

With the tomato, in the same water. A cold night blackens it — wait.

Indoors

Beet

Mar 4–18

Soak the corky seed overnight. A cluster is several plants; thin for roots.

Indoors

Calendula

Mar 4–18

Pot marigold, not Tagetes. Cool-season. Deadhead or it goes to seed and quits.

Indoors

Catnip

Mar 4–18

Easy to the point of weedy. A first-year plant is enough for the house cats.

Indoors

Chamomile

Mar 4–18

German chamomile from seed; Roman is a perennial division. Surface-sow.

Indoors

Cornflower

Mar 4–18

Bachelor’s button with the lettuce. A fall sowing winters in zone 7 and warmer.

Indoors

Dahlia

Mar 4–18

Wake tubers indoors, or seed for unnamed singles. Lift after the first black frost.

Indoors

French marigold

Mar 4–18

Tagetes at the tomato drip line. Four weeks of indoor light, then after frost.

Indoors

Kale

Mar 4–18

A kiss of frost sweetens it. July heat is a tray, not a bed.

Indoors

Milk thistle

Mar 4–18

A taproot. Direct in cool soil. Gloves — the leaf is honest about its name.

Outdoors

Pea

Mar 4–25 · soil ~40°F

Sow as soon as a handful of dirt crumbles. A trellis now, a bowl in May.

Indoors

Peppermint

Mar 4 – Apr 1

A sterile hybrid — cuttings, not seed. A pot, or it will own the damp ground.

Indoors

Sesame

Mar 4–18

A long hot summer to fill the pods. Direct in warm soil, or a short indoor start.

Indoors

Shiso

Mar 4–18

Perilla. Light to germinate. It will self-sow if you let a spike ripen.

Indoors

Sorrel

Mar 4–18

French sorrel from seed. A clump for years. Cut it back when it wants to bolt.

Indoors

Spearmint

Mar 4 – Apr 1

A cutting or a named pot, never a free-range bed. Seed is a mutt mint.

Outdoors

Spinach

Mar 4–25 · soil ~40°F

Sow as soon as the soil works. Pull it before a hot week bolts the row.

Indoors

Summer savory

Mar 4–18

The bean herb. A short annual — sow again in June if the first flush yellows.

Indoors

Sweet pea

Mar 4–18

Nick the seed. A cold trench now, a perfume screen in May. Not the soup pea.

Outdoors

Sweet pea

Mar 4–25 · soil ~40°F

Nick the seed. A cold trench now, a perfume screen in May. Not the soup pea.

Indoors

Watercress

Mar 4–18

A wet tray or a clean running edge. Start indoors in a saucer, then a damp bed.

Indoors

Okra

Mar 11–25

Soak or nick the hard seed. It wants July heat, not April manners.

Indoors

Anise

Mar 18 – Apr 1

Taproot — peat pots or direct. A still, warm summer to ripen seed.

Outdoors

Asparagus

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~50°F

One-year crowns in a trench. Do not cut a spear the first spring — let the fern feed the root.

Indoors

Bitter melon

Mar 18–25

Treat it as a cucumber that wants more heat. Nick the seed. Trellis.

Outdoors

Blueberry

Mar 18 – Apr 15 · soil ~40°F

Not a seed start. Acid soil, two named varieties, planted while dormant.

Indoors

Borage

Mar 18–25

Taproot. Direct is kinder. Bees first, cucumber-cool leaf second. It self-sows.

Set out

Cabbage

Mar 18 – Apr 1 · soil ~45°F

Spring crop goes in with the peas. Fall crop starts in a July tray in light shade.

Outdoors

Cabbage

Mar 18 – Apr 1 · soil ~45°F

Spring crop goes in with the peas. Fall crop starts in a July tray in light shade.

Outdoors

Caraway

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

Biennial. Sow in fall or very early spring; seed comes the second summer.

Outdoors

Chives

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

A windowsill in January is honest. Divide a clump in early spring thereafter.

Outdoors

Cornflower

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Bachelor’s button with the lettuce. A fall sowing winters in zone 7 and warmer.

Indoors

Cosmos

Mar 18 – Apr 1

Poor soil, full sun. A late packet is a gamble; a transplant is not.

Indoors

Cucumber

Mar 18–25

Peat pots if you start them — the root does not like a move. Warm soil, not a cold May.

Outdoors

Orange daylily

Mar 18 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Divisions, not a seed packet, if you want the named color. Edible buds of Hemerocallis only.

Indoors

Fennel

Mar 18 – Apr 1

A taproot — peat pots or direct. Keep it away from dill if you want true seed.

Indoors

Fenugreek

Mar 18–25

A short, dry-ish annual. Direct after frost. Seed is the harvest.

Outdoors

Grape

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

Dormant cuttings or a named vine. A first-year plant is a root, not a harvest.

Outdoors

Horseradish

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Root cuttings in early spring. Give it a corner you will never want back.

Set out

Kale

Mar 18 – Apr 1 · soil ~45°F

A kiss of frost sweetens it. July heat is a tray, not a bed.

Outdoors

Kale

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

A kiss of frost sweetens it. July heat is a tray, not a bed.

Outdoors

Milk thistle

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

A taproot. Direct in cool soil. Gloves — the leaf is honest about its name.

Outdoors

Brown mustard

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Greens in the pea window; seed if you let it bolt. A fast catch crop.

Outdoors

Nigella

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Black seed and love-in-a-mist are the same genus-cousin habit: sow cool, do not transplant.

Set out

Onion

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

A long indoor run, or sets in the same cool window. They want the early bed.

Outdoors

Onion

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

A long indoor run, or sets in the same cool window. They want the early bed.

Outdoors

Peach

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Plant dormant. A late frost takes the bloom — site it high, not in a hollow.

Outdoors

Persimmon

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

American persimmon is the cold-county tree. Plant dormant. Seed is slow and variable.

Outdoors

Potato

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~50°F

Seed potatoes, not grocery sprouts. When the redbud thinks about it, not in a February bog.

Indoors

Pumpkin

Mar 18–25

Hills after frost. Count back from Halloween if you want a curing window.

Outdoors

Sorrel

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

French sorrel from seed. A clump for years. Cut it back when it wants to bolt.

Indoors

Spinach

Mar 18 – Apr 1

Sow as soon as the soil works. Pull it before a hot week bolts the row.

Set out

Spinach

Mar 18 – Apr 1 · soil ~40°F

Sow as soon as the soil works. Pull it before a hot week bolts the row.

Outdoors

Strawberry

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Crowns in early spring, or seed started in winter light. Pinch the first flowers on a new plant.

Outdoors

Sweet violet

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Seed is slow and dark-germinating. Divisions in early spring are the honest path.

Outdoors

Heartsease

Mar 18 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Heartsease with the lettuce, not with the zinnias. A fall sowing winters in mild counties.

Indoors

Watermelon

Mar 18–25

Peat pots. Set out into black plastic or a warm hill. Nights below 55°F stall the vine.

Indoors

Zinnia

Mar 18 – Apr 1

Direct after frost is plenty. Keep cutting or it retires into seed.

Indoors

Zucchini

Mar 18–25

Two plants feed a house. Direct sow once the soil is a bath, not a cellar.

Set out

Beet

Mar 25 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

Soak the corky seed overnight. A cluster is several plants; thin for roots.

Outdoors

Beet

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Soak the corky seed overnight. A cluster is several plants; thin for roots.

Set out

Broccoli

Mar 25 – Apr 8 · soil ~45°F

Heads in cool air. A hot week after set-out makes a button, not a supper.

Outdoors

Calendula

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Pot marigold, not Tagetes. Cool-season. Deadhead or it goes to seed and quits.

Outdoors

Carrot

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Direct only — a taproot hates a pot. Keep the seedbed evenly damp until it winks.

Outdoors

Cilantro

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Direct, succession, and a cool week. Heat is coriander seed, not a taco leaf.

Indoors

Nasturtium

Mar 25 – Apr 1

Soak the pea-like seed. Poor soil for more flower. A trap crop at the brassica edge.

Outdoors

Parsley

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~45°F

Slow to germinate — soak overnight. A biennial: leaf this year, seed the next.

Set out

Strawberry

Mar 25 – Apr 15 · soil ~40°F

Crowns in early spring, or seed started in winter light. Pinch the first flowers on a new plant.

Indoors

Sunflower

Mar 25 – Apr 1

Direct is kinder — a taproot. Leave a few heads for finches and next year’s seed.

Set out

Heartsease

Mar 25 – Apr 8 · soil ~40°F

Heartsease with the lettuce, not with the zinnias. A fall sowing winters in mild counties.

Outdoors

Catnip

Apr 1–22 · soil ~50°F

Easy to the point of weedy. A first-year plant is enough for the house cats.

Outdoors

Chamomile

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

German chamomile from seed; Roman is a perennial division. Surface-sow.

Set out

Chives

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

A windowsill in January is honest. Divide a clump in early spring thereafter.

Set out

Cornflower

Apr 1–15 · soil ~40°F

Bachelor’s button with the lettuce. A fall sowing winters in zone 7 and warmer.

Set out

Clove pink

Apr 1–15 · soil ~45°F

Pinks like a cool start and drainage. A pinch after the first flush buys a second.

Outdoors

Clove pink

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

Pinks like a cool start and drainage. A pinch after the first flush buys a second.

Outdoors

Dill

Apr 1–22 · soil ~50°F

A taproot. Sow where it will stand. Leave a plant for swallowtails and next year’s volunteers.

Outdoors

Purple coneflower

Apr 1–29 · soil ~50°F

Cold-stratify four weeks. A first-year plant is roots; bloom is year two.

Outdoors

Evening primrose

Apr 1–29 · soil ~45°F

Biennial. A summer or fall sowing blooms the next year.

Outdoors

Flax

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

A cool broadcast. Do not transplant. Blue flowers, then the oil seed.

Outdoors

Lemon balm

Apr 1–22 · soil ~50°F

Mint-family thug. Start in a pot so you choose where it lives.

Set out

Milk thistle

Apr 1–15 · soil ~45°F

A taproot. Direct in cool soil. Gloves — the leaf is honest about its name.

Set out

Parsley

Apr 1–15 · soil ~45°F

Slow to germinate — soak overnight. A biennial: leaf this year, seed the next.

Outdoors

Red clover

Apr 1–29 · soil ~45°F

Broadcast into a nurse crop or a path edge. Inoculant helps a new bed.

Set out

Snapdragon

Apr 1–15 · soil ~45°F

Cool-season spike. Start in winter light; set out with the peas.

Set out

Sorrel

Apr 1–15 · soil ~45°F

French sorrel from seed. A clump for years. Cut it back when it wants to bolt.

Outdoors

Sweet alyssum

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

Hoverfly skirt under brassicas. Sow with the kale, not with the zinnias.

Set out

Sweet pea

Apr 1–15 · soil ~40°F

Nick the seed. A cold trench now, a perfume screen in May. Not the soup pea.

Set out

Sweet violet

Apr 1–22 · soil ~40°F

Seed is slow and dark-germinating. Divisions in early spring are the honest path.

Set out

Watercress

Apr 1–29 · soil ~45°F

A wet tray or a clean running edge. Start indoors in a saucer, then a damp bed.

Outdoors

Yarrow

Apr 1–22 · soil ~45°F

Surface-sow. A tough, dry-ground perennial once it is up.

Set out

Calendula

Apr 8–22 · soil ~45°F

Pot marigold, not Tagetes. Cool-season. Deadhead or it goes to seed and quits.

Set out

Anise hyssop

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Agastache. Easy from seed, a bee plant, a tea leaf. It will self-sow.

Outdoors

Anise hyssop

Apr 15 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Agastache. Easy from seed, a bee plant, a tea leaf. It will self-sow.

Set out

Bee balm

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Monarda from surface-sown seed. Divide a named clump if you want a true color.

Outdoors

Borage

Apr 15 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Taproot. Direct is kinder. Bees first, cucumber-cool leaf second. It self-sows.

Set out

Catnip

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Easy to the point of weedy. A first-year plant is enough for the house cats.

Set out

Chamomile

Apr 15–29 · soil ~45°F

German chamomile from seed; Roman is a perennial division. Surface-sow.

Set out

Purple coneflower

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Cold-stratify four weeks. A first-year plant is roots; bloom is year two.

Set out

Evening primrose

Apr 15–29 · soil ~45°F

Biennial. A summer or fall sowing blooms the next year.

Set out

Feverfew

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Surface-sow, light to germinate. It self-sows if you let a head ripen.

Outdoors

Feverfew

Apr 15 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Surface-sow, light to germinate. It self-sows if you let a head ripen.

Set out

Lemon balm

Apr 15–29 · soil ~50°F

Mint-family thug. Start in a pot so you choose where it lives.

Set out

Lovage

Apr 15–29 · soil ~45°F

Celery on a shrub. One plant. Cold-stratify the seed if it is stubborn.

Set out

Peppermint

Apr 15 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

A sterile hybrid — cuttings, not seed. A pot, or it will own the damp ground.

Set out

Spearmint

Apr 15 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

A cutting or a named pot, never a free-range bed. Seed is a mutt mint.

Set out

Sweet alyssum

Apr 15–29 · soil ~45°F

Hoverfly skirt under brassicas. Sow with the kale, not with the zinnias.

Set out

Yarrow

Apr 15–29 · soil ~45°F

Surface-sow. A tough, dry-ground perennial once it is up.

Set out

Anise

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Taproot — peat pots or direct. A still, warm summer to ripen seed.

Outdoors

Anise

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Taproot — peat pots or direct. A still, warm summer to ripen seed.

Set out

Artichoke

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

A long indoor start. In cold counties treat it as an annual, or mulch the crown hard.

Set out

Sweet basil

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

With the tomato, in the same water. A cold night blackens it — wait.

Set out

Borage

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Taproot. Direct is kinder. Bees first, cucumber-cool leaf second. It self-sows.

Set out

Garland chrysanthemum

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Spring start for a fall bloom. Pinch until July so it does not flop.

Outdoors

Corn

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Blocks, not a single row, so the wind can pollinate. Soil 60°F, not a calendar wish.

Set out

Cosmos

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Poor soil, full sun. A late packet is a gamble; a transplant is not.

Outdoors

Cosmos

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Poor soil, full sun. A late packet is a gamble; a transplant is not.

Set out

Cucumber

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~65°F

Peat pots if you start them — the root does not like a move. Warm soil, not a cold May.

Outdoors

Cucumber

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~65°F

Peat pots if you start them — the root does not like a move. Warm soil, not a cold May.

Set out

Dahlia

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Wake tubers indoors, or seed for unnamed singles. Lift after the first black frost.

Outdoors

Dahlia

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Wake tubers indoors, or seed for unnamed singles. Lift after the first black frost.

Set out

Fennel

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~55°F

A taproot — peat pots or direct. Keep it away from dill if you want true seed.

Outdoors

Fennel

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~55°F

A taproot — peat pots or direct. Keep it away from dill if you want true seed.

Set out

Fenugreek

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~55°F

A short, dry-ish annual. Direct after frost. Seed is the harvest.

Outdoors

Fenugreek

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~55°F

A short, dry-ish annual. Direct after frost. Seed is the harvest.

Set out

French marigold

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Tagetes at the tomato drip line. Four weeks of indoor light, then after frost.

Outdoors

French marigold

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Tagetes at the tomato drip line. Four weeks of indoor light, then after frost.

Outdoors

Green bean

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Do not transplant. Succession every two weeks until midsummer. A cold May rots a packet.

Set out

Hollyhock

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Biennial habit: a summer sowing blooms next year. Stake the old-fashioned singles.

Set out

Hyssop

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Hyssopus. A dry, sunny start. Slow from seed; cuttings of a named plant are faster.

Set out

Sweet marjoram

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~55°F

Treat as an annual north of 8. Sweeter than oregano, same indoor start.

Set out

Nasturtium

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Soak the pea-like seed. Poor soil for more flower. A trap crop at the brassica edge.

Outdoors

Nasturtium

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Soak the pea-like seed. Poor soil for more flower. A trap crop at the brassica edge.

Set out

Oregano

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Greek oregano from a named plant is stronger than a random packet. Easy from seed anyway.

Set out

Garden sage

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Start in late winter. One plant is a decade if you do not drown it.

Set out

Shiso

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Perilla. Light to germinate. It will self-sow if you let a spike ripen.

Set out

Summer savory

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

The bean herb. A short annual — sow again in June if the first flush yellows.

Outdoors

Summer savory

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

The bean herb. A short annual — sow again in June if the first flush yellows.

Set out

Sunflower

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Direct is kinder — a taproot. Leave a few heads for finches and next year’s seed.

Outdoors

Sunflower

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Direct is kinder — a taproot. Leave a few heads for finches and next year’s seed.

Set out

French tarragon

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

French tarragon is sterile — cuttings only. Russian from seed is a different, coarser plant.

Set out

Thyme

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~50°F

Dust-fine seed on the surface. Light to germinate. A gravelly, dry crown.

Set out

Tomato

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Nightshade. Start in heat. Set out after nights stay above 50°F. Cage.

Set out

Zinnia

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Direct after frost is plenty. Keep cutting or it retires into seed.

Outdoors

Zinnia

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~60°F

Direct after frost is plenty. Keep cutting or it retires into seed.

Set out

Zucchini

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~65°F

Two plants feed a house. Direct sow once the soil is a bath, not a cellar.

Outdoors

Zucchini

Apr 22 – May 6 · soil ~65°F

Two plants feed a house. Direct sow once the soil is a bath, not a cellar.

Outdoors

Sweet basil

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~60°F

With the tomato, in the same water. A cold night blackens it — wait.

Set out

Bitter melon

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Treat it as a cucumber that wants more heat. Nick the seed. Trellis.

Outdoors

Bitter melon

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Treat it as a cucumber that wants more heat. Nick the seed. Trellis.

Set out

Cayenne

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Pepper wants a long indoor run and truly warm nights. Same bench as eggplant.

Set out

Eggplant

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

A long indoor run and truly warm nights. A cold week after set-out is a lost month.

Set out

Fig

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

A pot you can wheel inside below zone 8. Root a cutting in winter light.

Set out

Guava

Apr 29 – May 27 · soil ~60°F

A patio shrub you wheel inside. Seed is easy; named cuttings keep the fruit true.

Set out

Holy basil

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~65°F

Tulsi wants more heat than sweet basil. Start early; do not rush the set-out.

Set out

Arabian jasmine

Apr 29 – May 27 · soil ~55°F

A pot you bring in. Cuttings in late winter light, not a packet in cold soil.

Set out

Kiwi

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~50°F

Hardy kiwi (Actinidia arguta) for cold counties; fuzzy kiwi wants 7+. A male and a female.

Set out

Lavender

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

Slow, cold-stratify if it sulks. Drainage is the whole crop. Set out after frost.

Set out

Lemon

Apr 29 – May 27 · soil ~55°F

A named pot plant, not a grocery seed. Out for summer, in before the first cold night.

Set out

Lemon verbena

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

Cuttings, not seed. A patio shrub that must come in before the first frost.

Set out

Lemongrass

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~65°F

Root a kitchen stalk in water, then a warm pot. Not a packet plant in the north.

Set out

Okra

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Soak or nick the hard seed. It wants July heat, not April manners.

Outdoors

Okra

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Soak or nick the hard seed. It wants July heat, not April manners.

Set out

Orange

Apr 29 – May 27 · soil ~55°F

Patio pot in temperate counties. Seed from a fruit is a long, sour experiment.

Set out

Passion fruit

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~60°F

A fast vine in heat. Treat it as an annual or a glasshouse pot north of 9.

Set out

Pomegranate

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

Root a cutting. Hardy in the warm 8s; a pot you can shelter everywhere else.

Set out

Pumpkin

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~65°F

Hills after frost. Count back from Halloween if you want a curing window.

Outdoors

Pumpkin

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~65°F

Hills after frost. Count back from Halloween if you want a curing window.

Set out

Rosemary

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

Cuttings beat seed. A pot you can shelter where winters bite. Dry feet.

Set out

Rose geranium

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~55°F

Cuttings over seed. A windowsill plant that summers outside and comes in before frost.

Set out

Sesame

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

A long hot summer to fill the pods. Direct in warm soil, or a short indoor start.

Outdoors

Sesame

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

A long hot summer to fill the pods. Direct in warm soil, or a short indoor start.

Outdoors

Shiso

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~60°F

Perilla. Light to germinate. It will self-sow if you let a spike ripen.

Set out

Stevia

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~60°F

A pot you bring in. Surface-sow, light to germinate. Not a temperate perennial.

Set out

Sweet potato

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~65°F

Slips from a jar of water, then warm soil. A cold May week stalls them.

Set out

Watermelon

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Peat pots. Set out into black plastic or a warm hill. Nights below 55°F stall the vine.

Outdoors

Watermelon

Apr 29 – May 13 · soil ~70°F

Peat pots. Set out into black plastic or a warm hill. Nights below 55°F stall the vine.

Set out

Taro

May 6–20 · soil ~70°F

A wet, hot summer crop. Start the corm in a tub. Poisonous raw — cook it.

Set out

Avocado

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~60°F

A pit is a houseplant. Fruit wants two trees and a county that does not freeze.

Set out

Banana

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~70°F

A summer patio in a temperate yard. The first cold night blackens the leaf.

Set out

Cassava

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~70°F

Stem cuttings in tropical heat. Bitter types must be prepared correctly — not a casual root.

Set out

Dragon fruit

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~65°F

A cactus on a post. Summer patio, winter glass. Fruit wants long heat.

Set out

Mango

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~70°F

A tropical tree. In a temperate house it is a handsome pot, not an orchard.

Set out

Pineapple

May 13 – Jun 10 · soil ~65°F

Twist the crown off a ripe fruit, dry a day, pot. Years, not weeks, to a second fruit.

Outdoors

Hollyhock

Jun 10 – Jul 8 · soil ~50°F

Biennial habit: a summer sowing blooms next year. Stake the old-fashioned singles.

Fall start

Broccoli

Jul 9–23

Heads in cool air. A hot week after set-out makes a button, not a supper.

Fall start

Cabbage

Jul 9–23

Spring crop goes in with the peas. Fall crop starts in a July tray in light shade.

Fall sow

Carrot

Jul 23 – Aug 13 · soil ~45°F

Direct only — a taproot hates a pot. Keep the seedbed evenly damp until it winks.

Fall start

Kale

Jul 23 – Aug 6

A kiss of frost sweetens it. July heat is a tray, not a bed.