Type your average last spring frost date, your average first autumn frost date and the crops you want to grow, and get real dates: when to start each one indoors, when to plant it out or sow it straight into the ground, and roughly when to expect the first picking — with the frost-relative rule each date came from, so you can see the reasoning rather than trust a number. There are no hardiness zones and no assumptions about where you live: your own two frost dates are the input, which is what makes the same table work anywhere, in either hemisphere. Everything runs in your browser — no account, no location uploaded anywhere.
Try it now
Worked example
Garden planting calendar
Your last spring frost: 2026-04-15
Your first autumn frost: 2026-10-20
Frost-free season between them: 188 days
Method: whatever suits each crop
Tomato — tender
Start seed indoors 2026-03-04 (6 weeks before your last frost)
Plant out 2026-04-22 (1 week after your last frost)
First harvest around 2026-06-21 (about 60 days from planting out)
Note one of the last things to go out — cold nights check it badly
Lettuce — half-hardy
Start seed indoors 2026-03-18 (4 weeks before your last frost)
Plant out 2026-04-01 (2 weeks before your last frost)
First harvest around 2026-05-26 (about 55 days from planting out)
Note sow a few every fortnight instead of all at once
Pea — hardy
Direct sow outdoors 2026-03-04 (6 weeks before your last frost)
First harvest around 2026-05-08 (about 65 days from sowing)
Note sow early — peas hate a hot summer
Carrot — hardy
Direct sow outdoors 2026-03-25 (3 weeks before your last frost)
First harvest around 2026-06-08 (about 75 days from sowing)
Note sow where it is to grow; carrots resent being moved
Basil — tender
Start seed indoors 2026-03-04 (6 weeks before your last frost)
Plant out 2026-04-29 (2 weeks after your last frost)
First harvest around 2026-06-28 (about 60 days from planting out)
Note hates cold nights more than it hates drought
HOW TO FIND YOUR OWN FROST DATES
Your two frost dates are the whole basis of the calendar above, so it is worth getting them from a local source rather than a guess. Your national meteorological service or agricultural extension service publishes average first and last frost dates by location; a nearby allotment site, garden club or neighbour who has grown there for years is often more accurate still. They are averages, not promises — roughly half of years are later than the average last frost.
The offsets used above are conventional horticultural rules of thumb, rounded to whole weeks, and the days-to-harvest figures are approximate. They are not authoritative for your garden: timings vary by variety, microclimate, soil, aspect and season, and no calendar can promise a crop. Check your local agricultural extension service or national growing guide, and above all read the seed packet — it is written for that variety and it is the most reliable source you already own.
Starting method Whatever suits each crop / Direct sow only / Start indoors where possible
Frequently asked
Where do the timings come from?
They are conventional horticultural rules of thumb — the sort of guidance printed on seed packets and in national growing guides — rounded to whole weeks. They are not authoritative for your garden and they are not a promise of a crop. Timings vary by variety, microclimate, soil, aspect and season.
What should I check them against?
Your local agricultural extension service or national growing guide, and the seed packet itself. The packet is written for that specific variety and it is the most reliable source you already own; where it disagrees with this calendar, follow the packet.
How do I find my frost dates?
Your national meteorological service or agricultural extension service publishes average first and last frost dates by location, and a nearby allotment, garden club or long-standing neighbour is often more accurate still. Remember they are averages — about half of years have a later last frost than the average.
Why are the days-to-harvest figures so round?
Because a precise-looking number would be false precision. Days to a first picking depend on the variety and the weather, so the figures here are rounded, and each line says whether it is counting from sowing or from planting out.