One of the biggest challenges I face with a large garden is keeping track of when to start my seeds indoors and when to plant the seedlings outside. If I start them too early, then the plants can become huge and root bound weeks before it is time to move the plants outdoors. If I start them too late, then I end up with smaller plants than I had intended for planting outside, or even missing the optimum sowing dates completely.

This seed starting chart is for Plant Hardiness Zone 6B and assumes good weather for the “start outdoors” options. It also assumes planting out from mid-April to mid-May, as the “last frost” in my area is at the 50% chance there are no late frosts in May. (Hah). I adjust as needed for warmer or colder than usual spring weather and am updating it regularly.

For my area:

  • The average last frost in Spring is by April 30th, but there is still a small chance of frost between May 1st and May 10th.
  • The average first frost in Autumn is between October 20th and November 1st.
  • The frost-free growing season is around 170 days.

With this timetable, I start plants that need a longer growing season indoors and under lights, as this gives me a head start.

I move my more cold-tolerant varieties to the garden in mid to late April and plant out the heat lovers like tomatoes and peppers by mid to late May, after the ground has warmed up.

It’s a good idea to keep a journal of your seed starting dates, along with when the plants germinate and how they grow. This will make it easier to find and adjust your schedule to the dates that work best for your area and setup. I’ve moved some of my own start dates a little later because the plants were getting too big too soon for the space and pot sizes I have.

Treat the charts as a general guideline: the time for germination and growth rates can vary widely depending on your individual seed-starting setup and growing conditions. For example, using a heating mat will speed up the number of days to germination, and the temperatures in your seed-starting area can impact the growth rate of seedlings. Good lighting is important for getting your plants off to a healthy start.

This is the evolving schedule I use for starting seeds and transplanting seedlings. It is a work in progress and will be updated regularly to include more vegetable and flower varieties and occasionally to tweak the start and transplant dates.

Winter and Spring Seed Starting Schedule for Zone 6

Weeks before last frost
(April 30th)
Approximate DateStart Seeds IndoorsStart Seeds OutdoorsTransplant Outdoors
12Feb 5thcelery  
11Feb 12thcelery
leeks
  
10Feb 17thcelery, celeriac
leeks
  
9Feb 26thleeks
broccoli
eggplant
ground cherries
  
8March 5thleeks
Hot Peppers
broccoli
Sweet Potato slips
eggplant
ground cherries
  
7March 12thPeppers
Sweet Potato slips
eggplant
ground cherries
  
6March 19thsweet potato slips
onions
Peppers
Tomatoes
Potato seeds
cotton
collards
  
5March 26thonions
Tomatoes
lettuce
sunflower
Potato Seeds
cotton
collards
chard – Soak overnight first 
4April 2ndonions
bunching onions
Tomatoes
lettuce
sunflower
Potato Seeds
cotton
collards
chard – winter sow or in ground 
3April 9thbunching onionsbeets
chard – winter sow or in ground
 
2April 16thokrabeets
chard – winter sow or in ground
 
1April 23rdokrabeets
lettuce
chard – winter sow or in ground
lettuce
0April 30thokrabeets
lettuce
Swiss Chard
lettuce
onions
Broccoli

Summer and Autumn Seed Starting and Planting Schedule for Zone 6

Weeks before first frost
(Nov. 1st)
Approximate DateStart Seeds IndoorsStart Seeds OutdoorsTransplant Outdoors
26May 3rdBrussel Sprouts onions
Broccoli
sunflower
25May 10thBrussel Sprouts onions
Broccoli
sunflower
24May17th Peppers
Okra
sunflower
23May 24th OkraPeppers
Tomatoes
Okra
eggplant
22May 31st OkraPeppers
Tomatoes
Okra
eggplant
21June 7th OkraTomatoes
Okra
20June 14th  Okra
19June 21st  Brussel Sprouts
18June 28th  Brussel Sprouts
17July 5th  Brussel Sprouts
16July 12th   
15July 19th   
14July 26th   
13August 2nd   
12August 9th beets 
11August 16th beets 
10August 23rd beets 
9August 30th beets 
8Sept 6th beets 
7Sept 13th   
6Sept 20th   
5Sept 27th   
4Oct 4th garlic 
3Oct 11th garlic 
2Oct 18nd garlic 
1Oct 25th garlic 
0Nov 1st garlic 

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