The 2026
planting calendar

• 01JanuarySeed catalogs, onions under lights, stored harvests+
• 02FebruaryPeppers and celery under lights, chitting potatoes+
• 03MarchTomatoes indoors, peas and radishes outside+
• 04AprilCarrots, beets, chard, and the potato main crop+
• 05MayBeans and squash after last frost, tomatoes go out+
• 06JuneSuccession sowings, fall brassicas begin, first fruits+
• 07JulyGarlic comes up, fall roots go down+
• 08AugustSpinach, kale, lettuce, radishes, carrots−

  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 window · Harvest signals

• 09SeptemberGarlic prep, spinach, cover crops, greens+
• 10OctoberGarlic, tulips, cover crops, cleanup sowings+
• 11NovemberGarlic's last call, winter mulch, sweetened parsnips+
• 12DecemberRest, sharpen, plan, and eat the stores+

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.