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Garden Planner: Spring Planting Guide

Vicki/ Healthy Home

Are you thinking about what you will plant this year? Whether itโ€™s early spring or late summer it always helps to have a detailed spring garden planner. Here are some great home and gardening tips for every color thumb.

If itโ€™s late winter, you may not be thinking about a garden planner just yet, but remember โ€“ you want to start seeds indoor 6-8 weeks before your last frost date for the best harvest! March is the perfect time to get those tomato and pepper seeds started indoors ready for an early spring planting! These are the easiest of all vegetables to grow, plus you can take advantage of those warmer days in early spring by spending time outside!

Start seeds indoor 6-8 weeks before your last frost date for the best harvest!

Download the garden planner below!
garden planner spring planting layout

Table of Contents show
1 Step 1: Determine your last spring frost date
2 Step 2: Follow these tips for an instant garden
3 Easiest plants for Beginners to Grow
4 Step 3: Calculate and plan planting dates
4.1 Other posts like garden planner โ€“ spring planting guide

Step 1: Determine your last spring frost date

A frost date is the average date of the last light freeze that occurs in the spring. The possibility of frost occurring after the given spring dates is 50 percent. A frost is defined as a light freeze of temperatures ranging from 29 to 32 degrees farenheit.

According to the Old Farmerโ€™s Almanac, the classification of freeze temperatures is based on their effect on plants:

Light freeze: 29ยฐ to 32ยฐFโ€”tender plants are killed.
Moderate freeze: 25ยฐ to 28ยฐFโ€”widely destructive to most vegetation.
Severe freeze: 24ยฐF and colderโ€”heavy damage to most plants.

garden frost

Your Zone Zone 10 Zone 9 Zone 8 Zone 7 Zone 6 Zone 5 Zone 4 Zone 3
Your Lowest Temp (F.) 30ยฐ to 40ยฐ + 20ยฐ to 30ยฐ 10ยฐ to 20ยฐ 0ยฐ to 10ยฐ -10ยฐ to 0ยฐ -20ยฐ to -10ยฐ -30ยฐ to -20ยฐ -40ยฐ to -30ยฐ
Your Last Frost
Date (approx)
February Early March Early April Late April Mid-May Late May Early June Mid-June

Map and zone information courtesy of Burpee.com.


seedlings in garden

Step 2: Follow these tips for an instant garden

  • Cover planting beds with 2 inches of compost and plant directly into that.
  • Plant the garden as close to kitchen as possible.
  • Plant garden where it can get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day.
  • Use transplants for slow-growing veggies like tomatoes.
  • Hand water newly planted seeds and transplants until their roots grow into soil.

What will you be planting this spring/summer? I am hoping to try carrots, tomatoes, peppers and squash. I will need to make some raised garden beds, but with so many ideas out there I should be able to do it myself, right?

I am definitely going to check out the books below for more information.

Have you tested your soil pH? Make sure your soil is ready for a garden!
How to Test Your Soil pH.

Very-Hardy Plants
These plants can tolerate hard frosts โ€“ usually 25 to 28 degrees F.
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Collards*
English peas
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Mustard greens
Parsley
Radish
Spinach
Turnip

carrots in garden

Semi-Hardy Vegetables:
These plants can tolerate light frosts โ€“ usually 29 to 32 degrees F.
Beets
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Chinese cabbage
Endive
Irish potatoes
Lettuce and gourmet salad greens
Radicchio
Rutabaga
Salsify
Swiss chard*

pumpkins in garden

After Frost Plants:
Beans
Corn
Cucumber
Eggplant
Gourds
Melons
Okra
Peppers
Pumpkins
Southern peas
Summer squash
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes


Easiest plants for Beginners to Grow

If you are a beginner, like me, you probably want to start with easy plants! I am a perpetual beginner. I try and try and I just never really get the hang of it. But I still want to.

  • Snap Peas
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Pumpkins
  • Carrots
  • Potatoes

Step 3: Calculate and plan planting dates

Scroll down to download the garden planner below to determine when to plant seeds or seedlings in your area according to the last frost.


Download the Spring Garden Planner here to organize all of your planting and germination this year. Print out as many pages of each layout you need and staple or bind it at your local copy shop.
garden planner spiral book

Other posts like garden planner โ€“ spring planting guide

How to Prepare Your Garden for Spring
Home and Gardening Tips for Every Color Thumb
Gardening Activities for Kids

Sources for this article include naturalhomeandgarden.com and Burpee.com.

Garden Planner - Spring Planting Guide FiveSpotGreenLiving.com

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joey says

    March 17, 2014 at 8:29 am

    I’m in SW PA and can’t wait to get started planting. Last year, we had to wait to Memorial Day. I’m hoping after the tough winter that it warms up quick and stays warm. Probably too much to ask!

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    • Vicki says

      March 17, 2014 at 9:23 am

      It took about that long here in MA, too, last year! I did a lot of herbs outside last year but this year would like to graduate to container vegetables.

      Log in to Reply
  2. Cynthia R says

    March 17, 2014 at 9:24 am

    I would love to be a gardener and grow my own herbs and veggies, even just a small patch would be nice and helpful, I just have not had the motivation or time to really research it. Thanks for all the helpful tips.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Shannon says

    March 18, 2014 at 5:43 am

    Thank you very much for posting this. Have a lovely day. Spring is almost here. YAY!

    Log in to Reply
  4. Ginger M Cochran says

    March 27, 2017 at 9:38 pm

    Excellent post for novice gardeners ๐Ÿ™‚ I’d be so pleased if you’d visit my new linky party on Mondays ๐Ÿ™‚ Feel free to check it out here: http://superstinkyboys.blogspot.com/2017/03/support-your-fellow-crafter-linky-party_27.html

    Log in to Reply
  5. Gabrielle Tyler says

    March 30, 2017 at 2:06 pm

    Thanks for sharing! I want to garden so bad but I kill everything. ๐Ÿ™ I will be giving it another try though. lol

    Log in to Reply
  6. Linda says

    March 30, 2017 at 3:57 pm

    It is almost time to start work in the garden. I love spring and look forward to warm days ahead. Thanks for the helpful post and for sharing at DI&DI.

    Log in to Reply
  7. Melissa Ruddy says

    March 31, 2017 at 11:51 pm

    I am in that crazy zone 10 so we are coming to the end of our growing season. Soon the heat and intense sun will fry everything but this is a great idea to plan our next years plantings.

    Log in to Reply
  8. Nina says

    April 3, 2017 at 4:05 pm

    Hello! Thanks for sharing this post at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. I’m getting ready to work out in our yard and garden soon, so this is a very helpful post. I will be featuring this post on my blog tomorrow, for my Tuesday Treasures post of a few of my favorites I’ve discovered from the blog hop. I’ll link back here, of course, and would love to have you stop by and check out some of my other favorites. Hope to catch up with you this week at the blog hop! Sincerely, Nina @ Vintage Mama’s Cottage

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  9. Theresa (@DearCreatives) says

    April 4, 2017 at 3:56 pm

    Our water table is back to a non severe drought but, we still have to watch how much water we use where we live. Love your post. I miss gardening. Maybe we can invest in drought tolerate plants and spruce up our backyard area. Seriously loved all the rain we got this year.
    Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Pinned & sharing.

    Log in to Reply
  10. Joyce says

    April 7, 2017 at 12:11 am

    I can’t wait for my garden to be providing me with delicious veggies and herbs! Thank you for sharing this with us at Funtastic Friday link party.

    Log in to Reply
  11. Babychaser says

    February 19, 2018 at 1:34 pm

    I wouldn’t say that I have a green thumb either, but we’ve been throwing ourselves into it for the last 10 years and I do think that I’m doing better than I was in the beginning. Still I think we have more failures than successes, but we did get a ton of strawberries, asparagus, onions and raspberries last year… even if most everything else failed. ๐Ÿ™‚ And there was a lot that went into the ground.

    Still… with it being late winter, I’ve (finally) moved past the discouragement and have been making my big plans for this year’s garden. The winter planning is the part I’m best at. ๐Ÿ™‚ I even ordered all my spring seeds last night. ๐Ÿ™‚ That planner looks very helpful! ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks for sharing!

    Blessings,
    Babychaser
    mamasbrush.wordpress.com

    Log in to Reply
    • Vicki says

      February 20, 2018 at 8:55 pm

      Thanks babychaser! That harvest sounds amazing! I have high hopes every year but it doesn’t always work out for me.

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  12. Kim~madeinaday says

    February 20, 2018 at 9:25 am

    What an informative post! Pinned! Thank you for sharing on Merry Monday! Hope to see ya next week!
    Kim

    Log in to Reply
  13. Karen, the next best thing to mummy says

    February 23, 2018 at 7:33 am

    This has come at just the right time as I am starting to get the garden tidy for spring and summer #insparatiinspotlight@_karendennis

    Log in to Reply
  14. Ann says

    February 23, 2018 at 2:38 pm

    I would love to add veggies to my container garden but don’t have much space on my balcony left. I just planted some lavender and flowers and hope to see some green from them soon! Found you via #homemattersparty. Thanks for sharing!

    Log in to Reply
  15. Teresa says

    February 27, 2018 at 6:11 pm

    Thank you for the printable. I haven’t even thought about planting yet, but I know I need to start making plans. Thank you for sharing with us on Party in Your PJ’s.

    Log in to Reply
  16. Amanda says

    February 28, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    Thanks for the great ideas! Now I can’t wait until early April!

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  17. ariana dagan says

    February 28, 2019 at 11:58 am

    Love this, unfortunately it says the link has been moved and I can’t download. But the post has great info I saved, thanks for sharing!

    Log in to Reply
    • Vicki says

      March 3, 2019 at 7:16 pm

      HI Ariana – Which link has moved? The garden planner is available.

      Log in to Reply
  18. Vicki says

    March 6, 2019 at 2:32 pm

    Thanks Willow!

    Log in to Reply

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