The 2026
planting calendar
The whole year, month by month: what to sow, what to plant, and what should be coming out of the ground.
The fall frost countdown
Pick the date and the almanac counts backwards for you: what still has time to mature before frost, and what should wait for spring. Frost dates explained.
The garden rests and the gardener plans. Order seed while the good varieties are still in stock, sketch this year's beds, and give the longest-season crops their head start under lights.
Sow
- Onions (indoors) 100 days
- Leeks (indoors) 110 days
Plant
- Bare-root fruit trees (mild spells)
Harvest
- Kale
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Stored squash
From the almanac: How to read a seed packetCrop rotation for small gardensSeed starting under lights
Still winter, but the light is coming back. The slow growers get started indoors now, and seed potatoes wake up on a bright windowsill.
Sow
- Peppers (indoors) 80 days
- Celery (indoors) 100 days
- Onions (indoors) 100 days
- Broccoli (indoors, late) 65 days
Plant
- Chit seed potatoes
- Garlic (last call, mild areas)
Harvest
- Overwintered spinach
- Kale
- Forced rhubarb
From the almanac: Seed starting under lightsSeeds or seedlings
The season cracks open. Tomatoes go under lights, and the first hardy seeds go into any bed whose soil crumbles in your hand instead of smearing.
Sow
- Tomatoes (indoors) 70 days
- Peas 60 days
- Radishes 30 days
- Spinach 40 days
- Lettuce (under cover) 45 days
Plant
- Onion sets
- Early potatoes (late month)
- Bare-root everything
Harvest
- Sprouting broccoli
- Spring greens
- Last leeks
From the almanac: When soil is ready to workSeeds or seedlings
Soil warms and direct sowing begins in earnest. Keep the fleece handy; April flatters, and then it frosts.
Sow
- Carrots 70 days
- Beets 55 days
- Chard 55 days
- Lettuce 45 days
- Kohlrabi 45 days
Plant
- Maincrop potatoes
- Onion sets
- Asparagus crowns
Harvest
- Asparagus (late)
- Rhubarb
- Overwintered greens
From the almanac: Frost dates explainedHardening off done right
The frost gate swings open and the tender crops pour through. Harden everything off first; a week of patience saves a season of sulking.
Sow
- Bush beans 55 days
- Squash 55 days
- Cucumbers 60 days
- Sweet corn 75 days
- Basil 60 days
Plant
- Tomato starts
- Pepper starts
- Squash starts (late)
Harvest
- Asparagus
- Radishes
- Salad greens
- Peas (late)
From the almanac: Hardening off done rightTransplant shock first aid
Peak growth. Keep the salad coming with small repeat sowings, and start fall broccoli and cabbage in a corner seedbed while summer has you distracted.
Sow
- Lettuce (succession) 45 days
- Bush beans 55 days
- Carrots 70 days
- Fall broccoli (seedbed) 65 days
Plant
- Leek seedlings
- Sweet potato slips
- Late squash
Harvest
- Strawberries
- Peas
- Garlic scapes
- Early potatoes
From the almanac: Pinching and pruning basicsDeep or often, how to water
The hinge of the year. Garlic and onions come out of the ground just as the first fall sowings go in; the two seasons pass each other in the rows.
Sow
- Carrots (fall crop) 70 days
- Beets 55 days
- Kohlrabi 45 days
- Bush beans (last call) 55 days
Plant
- Leeks
- Fall brassica starts
Harvest
- Garlic
- Onions
- Zucchini
- First tomatoes
From the almanac: Harvest signalsFirst tomato troubles
The fall sowing window opens. Warm soil sprouts seeds in days; count backwards from your frost date and tuck in the cool-season crops.
Sow
- Spinach 40 days
- Kale 55 days
- Lettuce 45 days
- Arugula 35 days
- Radishes 30 days
- Carrots 70 days
Plant
- Broccoli starts
- Cabbage starts
- Fall herbs
Harvest
- Tomatoes
- Squash
- Beans
- Basil
From the almanac: The fall sowing windowHarvest signals
Cooler days and warm soil make September ideal for establishing hardy crops and setting the stage for a strong season ahead.
Sow
- Spinach 40 days
- Mache 50 days
- Cover crops
- Cilantro 50 days
Plant
- Garlic (late month)
- Shallots
- Pansies
Harvest
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Herbs
- Early apples
From the almanac: When to plant garlic
The quiet month that pays off in July. Garlic and spring bulbs go down before the ground firms up, and cover crops blanket resting beds.
Sow
- Cover crops
- Wildflower seed
Plant
- Garlic
- Tulips
- Daffodils
Harvest
- Broccoli
- Chard
- Root crops
- Cover greens
From the almanac: When to plant garlicMulch, the quiet multiplier
The door closes gently. Garlic still goes in while the ground works, the beds get their winter blanket, and the parsnips wait for a frost to sweeten them.
Sow
- Broad beans 90 days
- Cover crops (mild areas)
Plant
- Garlic (early month)
- Tulips
- Bare-root trees and roses
Harvest
- Leeks
- Parsnips (after frost)
- Brussels sprouts
- Last roots
From the almanac: Mulch, the quiet multiplierCompost basics
Nothing needs sowing and that is the point. Clean the tools, turn the compost, read the catalogs, and let the beds sleep under their mulch.
Sow
Nothing. The beds rest, and so do we.
Plant
- Bare-root trees (mild spells)
Harvest
- Kale
- Leeks
- Parsnips
- Stored squash and onions
From the almanac: Compost basicsCrops worth growing, on price
Timings assume a broadly temperate garden. Count from your own frost dates and adjust by a week or two either way. Days to maturity are from sowing, and honest averages, not promises.
Want the whole countdown on paper? The Fall Planting Planner is the printable version, with working pages to write in.