📅 Planting Date Calculator (from Last Frost)
Pick a vegetable and enter your average last spring frost date to get the dates to start seeds indoors, transplant and direct-sow.
Pick a crop and enter your local last-frost date (from your regional extension service or a frost-date lookup).
Dates are offsets from your average last spring frost — the single most useful date for planning. These are general guidelines that vary by region and variety; check your local extension service and the seed packet. 🔒 In your browser.
How the planting date calculator (from last frost) works
Almost all vegetable timing is anchored to your average last spring frost. The tool holds a guideline offset for each crop — for example tomatoes started indoors about 7 weeks before the frost and transplanted a week or two after — and adds those offsets to the frost date you enter to give real calendar dates.
These are general guidelines that vary by region, variety and the season's weather. Find your local average last-frost date from a regional extension service or a frost-date lookup, and always check the seed packet — warm-season transplant dates in particular depend on soil warmth, not just the calendar.
Frequently asked questions
When should I start my seeds indoors?
It depends on the crop and your last frost date. Tomatoes are typically started about 6–8 weeks before the last frost, peppers 8 weeks, brassicas 4–6 weeks. Enter your frost date and the tool gives the calendar date for each.
What is a last frost date and why does it matter?
It's the average date of the last spring frost in your area — the key reference for planting. Cool-season crops go out before it; tender warm-season crops go out after it, once frost risk has passed.
When can I transplant tomatoes outside?
Usually about 1–2 weeks after your last frost date, once nights are reliably above about 10 °C (50 °F) and the soil has warmed. Transplanting too early stunts warm-season crops even without a frost.
Which vegetables can I plant before the last frost?
Cool-season crops such as peas, spinach, lettuce, kale, broccoli, cabbage and onions tolerate light frost and can be sown or transplanted several weeks before the last frost. The tool shows their earlier dates.
Where do I find my last frost date?
Look it up from your national or regional extension/meteorological service, or a frost-date tool that uses your postcode or nearest weather station. Enter that date here and the calculator does the rest.