Spring in the Northeast isn’t a date on the calendar — it’s a negotiation. One week it’s 65°F and you’re in a t-shirt turning compost. The next week it’s 28°F and your tulips are regretting every decision they’ve made.

That unpredictability is exactly why you need a planting calendar — not a vague one that says “plant after danger of frost,” but a week-by-week plan tied to your actual zone.

Here it is.

How to Use This Calendar

This calendar is organized by weeks before and after your last frost date. Your last frost date is the anchor for everything.

Average last frost dates by zone:

  • Zone 4 (northern VT, NH, ME, Adirondacks): May 20–June 1
  • Zone 5a (much of VT, NH, ME coast, upstate NY, Berkshires): May 10–20
  • Zone 5b (most of MA, CT interior, central PA, Catskills): May 1–10
  • Zone 6a (southern CT, northern NJ, Hudson Valley, southeastern PA): April 20–May 1
  • Zone 6b (NYC metro, central NJ, Philadelphia area): April 10–20
  • Zone 7 (coastal NJ, Long Island south shore, Cape May): April 1–10

Find your zone. Count backward and forward from your frost date. That’s your calendar.

Pro Tip: These are averages. Keep an eye on your 10-day forecast and be ready to cover tender transplants if a late frost threatens. A few dollars in row cover buys a lot of insurance.

Phase 1: Indoor Seed Starting (10–12 Weeks Before Last Frost)

This is the quiet phase. You’re working under lights or on a sunny windowsill (lights are better — let’s be honest) while the ground outside is frozen or soggy.

10–12 weeks before last frost:

  • Onions from seed (long-day varieties: ‘Ailsa Craig,’ ‘Walla Walla,’ ‘Copra’)
  • Leeks (‘King Richard,’ ‘Bandit’)
  • Celery and celeriac (slow growers, need the head start)

8–10 weeks before last frost:

  • Peppers — all types. They’re slow. Start them now and keep them warm (75–85°F for germination). Use a heat mat.
  • Eggplant — same timeline as peppers
  • Artichokes (annual culture) — if you’re attempting them, now’s the time

6–8 weeks before last frost:

  • Tomatoes — this is the sweet spot. Starting earlier leads to leggy, root-bound transplants.
  • Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts — for spring transplanting
  • Herbs: basil, parsley (parsley is slow — start it now)

3–4 weeks before last frost:

  • Cucumbers, squash, melons — only 2–3 weeks before transplanting. They grow fast and hate root disturbance. Use peat pots or soil blocks.

Pro Tip: Tomato seedlings need strong light (14–16 hours) and cool temps (60–65°F at night) to stay stocky. A warm room with weak light produces spindly, pale plants that won’t perform in the garden.

Phase 2: Early Outdoor Planting (6–4 Weeks Before Last Frost)

The soil is thawing. You can work it — maybe. Here’s the test: grab a handful, squeeze it into a ball, and poke it with your finger. If it crumbles, you’re good. If it stays in a dense lump, wait. Working wet soil destroys its structure.

6 weeks before last frost (soil 35–40°F):

  • Peas — direct sow. All types. This is the moment.
  • Spinach — direct sow. Germinates in cold soil.
  • Fava beans — direct sow. Underused in the Northeast, but they love cool weather.

5 weeks before last frost:

  • Lettuce — direct sow or transplant starts
  • Arugula — direct sow
  • Radishes — direct sow
  • Onion sets and transplants — plant as soon as soil is workable
  • Shallots — same as onion sets

4 weeks before last frost (soil 40–45°F):

  • Carrots — direct sow. Keep moist until germination.
  • Beets — direct sow or transplant (beet “seeds” are actually clusters — thin to 3–4 inches)
  • Turnips — direct sow
  • Swiss chard — direct sow or transplant
  • Parsnips — direct sow. Fresh seed only; parsnip seed viability drops dramatically after one year.
  • Kale — direct sow or transplant
  • Kohlrabi — transplant

3 weeks before last frost (soil 45–50°F):

  • Potatoes — plant seed potatoes 4 inches deep
  • Broccoli transplants — harden off and plant out
  • Cabbage transplants — same
  • Cauliflower transplants — same, but protect from hard freeze (<25°F)

Pro Tip: Hardening off matters. Move transplants outside for increasing periods over 7–10 days before planting. Skip this step and your coddled indoor starts will sunburn, wind-stress, and stall for two weeks. It’s the difference between a plant that takes off and one that sulks.

Phase 3: Last Frost Week (The Transition)

This is the anxious week. You’re watching forecasts obsessively. Your warm-season transplants are hardened off and begging to get in the ground.

Last frost week:

  • Continue planting all cool-season crops (second succession of peas, lettuce, radishes)
  • Prepare warm-season beds — lay black plastic mulch if using, set up cages/stakes

What NOT to plant yet:

  • Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, squash, beans, corn
  • These need warm soil. Your last frost date is the earliest possible, not the target date. Wait.

Phase 4: After Last Frost (Weeks 1–4)

Now the warm-season garden comes alive.

1 week after last frost (soil 55–60°F):

  • Tomatoes — transplant. Bury the stem up to the first set of true leaves. (Zone 4 gardeners: consider Wall O’ Waters set out 2 weeks before last frost for a head start.)
  • Basil — transplant. Dies instantly in frost. No exceptions.

1–2 weeks after last frost (soil 60°F+):

  • Beans — direct sow bush beans. First of 3–4 succession plantings.
  • Cucumbers — transplant or direct sow
  • Summer squash, zucchini — direct sow or transplant
  • Dill — direct sow

2–3 weeks after last frost (soil 65°F+):

  • Peppers — transplant. They want warmer soil than tomatoes.
  • Eggplant — transplant.
  • Winter squash, pumpkins — direct sow or transplant
  • Sweet corn — direct sow in blocks (not rows) for pollination. Minimum 4x4 block.
  • Melons — transplant into black plastic with row cover. Zone 5+ only for most varieties.

3–4 weeks after last frost (soil 70°F):

  • Sweet potatoes — slips into well-warmed soil. Zone 6–7 only for reliable results.
  • Pole beans — direct sow at base of trellises
  • Okra — Zone 7 only without season extension

Pro Tip: Soil temperature is more important than air temperature for warm-season crops. Use a soil thermometer. Take readings at 4-inch depth in the morning. That $10 tool eliminates guesswork.

Zone-by-Zone Cheat Sheet

Here’s what a typical spring looks like in each zone:

Zone 4 (Last frost: ~May 25)

  • March 15: Start peppers and eggplant indoors
  • April 1: Start tomatoes indoors
  • April 15: Start brassica transplants indoors
  • April 20: Peas and spinach outdoors (if soil is workable)
  • May 1: Carrots, beets, lettuce, potatoes outdoors
  • May 15: Brassica transplants outdoors
  • June 1: Tomatoes outdoors. Beans, cucumbers, squash.
  • June 10: Peppers, eggplant, corn, melons (pushing it)

Zone 5 (Last frost: ~May 10)

  • March 1: Start peppers indoors
  • March 15: Start tomatoes, brassicas indoors
  • April 1–10: Peas, spinach, onion sets outdoors
  • April 15: Lettuce, carrots, beets, kale outdoors
  • April 25: Potatoes, brassica transplants outdoors
  • May 15: Tomatoes, basil outdoors
  • May 20: Beans, cucumbers, squash outdoors
  • June 1: Peppers, eggplant, corn, melons outdoors

Zone 6 (Last frost: ~April 20)

  • February 15: Start peppers indoors
  • March 1: Start tomatoes, brassicas indoors
  • March 15–25: Peas, spinach outdoors — for a full breakdown of what’s possible in March, see our March vegetable planting guide for Northeast gardens
  • April 1: Lettuce, carrots, beets, potatoes, onions outdoors
  • April 10: Brassica transplants outdoors
  • May 1: Tomatoes, basil outdoors
  • May 5–10: Beans, cucumbers, squash outdoors
  • May 15: Peppers, corn, melons outdoors

Zone 7 (Last frost: ~April 5)

  • February 1: Start peppers indoors
  • February 15: Start tomatoes indoors
  • March 1: Peas, spinach, onions outdoors
  • March 15: Lettuce, carrots, beets, potatoes outdoors
  • April 1: Brassica transplants outdoors
  • April 15: Tomatoes, basil outdoors
  • April 20–25: Beans, cucumbers, squash outdoors
  • May 1: Peppers, corn, sweet potatoes, melons outdoors

Common Mistakes

  1. Planting by the calendar instead of conditions. A warm March followed by an April cold snap will kill unprotected transplants. Use dates as guidelines, weather as the final authority.
  2. Starting seeds too early indoors. Six weeks for tomatoes. Not eight. Not ten. Six.
  3. Forgetting to harden off. The #1 cause of transplant failure in the Northeast.
  4. Not staggering plantings. One row of lettuce planted all at once = two weeks of salad followed by nothing. Plant a short row every 10–14 days.
  5. Ignoring soil temperature. Just because the air is warm doesn’t mean the soil has caught up. Cold, wet soil rots seeds and stalls transplants.

Your Spring Starts Here

Print this calendar. Tape it to your fridge. Adjust the dates for your specific zone. And then actually follow it — the single biggest improvement most Northeast gardeners can make is simply timing things right.

For the complete planning toolkit — including fall planting calendars, season extension techniques, and variety recommendations for every crop — our Harvest Home Guide: Northeast Edition covers it all.

Get the Northeast Harvest Home Guide →

Keep reading:

📚 Want the complete guide? Northeast Vegetable Gardening covers everything you need — planting calendars, variety picks, soil strategies, and more — all tailored to your region. Browse the Harvest Home Guides series →