For first time gardeners and even those who have tons of experience, knowing exactly when to plant your seeds each season can be tricky. Maybe you just moved to a new area, or maybe like me you just never seem to remember the best time to plant seeds for your zone!
Whatever the reason, this automated seed starting guide is exactly what you need!
Just put in your last frost date and the spreadsheet will calculate when you need to start seeds indoors, and when to put them in the ground (as seedlings or as seeds)!
Why We Use a Seed Starting Guide
When we started a garden on our own for the first time 2 years ago we knew 2 things...
1. We needed the effort to be minimal. This is why we ended up trying the Back to Eden gardening method since it boasted "no weeding and no watering".
That's my kind of vegetable gardening method!!
2. We accepted that we knew NOTHING about when to plant for our zone. This meant that we needed to do a little research and fortunately the local county extension office had a great planting guide specifically for our area!
We were so excited that there was a "when to plant" seed starting guide, not only for our zone, but for our town that we followed it exactly and had amazing results!
Related: When to Plant Pumpkins for a Halloween & Thanksgiving Harvest
"When to Plant" Seed Starting Guide
What we didn't realize at the time was that the guide wasn't actually all that hard to create for any zone.
You just take the last frost date and calculate days before or after for each plant you want to grow... but while that's simple, it's not quick right?
Unless you have an automated tool that calculates all that for you! Well, good news! I made one for you!
Just enter your last frost date in the field noted and the tool does the rest of the work and gives you all of the following information sorted by plant variety!
- Indoor Start Date for Transplants
- Outdoor Transplant Date
- Direct Seed Date
- Germination Length
- Dates to Maturity
- Links to Order Seeds Listed
And one of the best parts is, you can sort by any of the columns!
The default setting is that the plants are alphabetized in the first column. But if you wanted to see the information by harvest date, just sort by that field with the built in sort feature! (Sort A -> Z or vise versa, even for date fields)
This makes it really easy to plan your garden and gives you the ability to know confidently when to plant your seeds!
Once you have everything sorted and organized the way you want it, click print to print just the guide and place it in your homestead journal, or just stick it on the fridge!
START SEEDS INSIDE WITH THIS EASY SEED STARTER PROJECT!
Beyond Knowing When to Plant...
Once you know when and what to plant in your area, you also really need the best seeds! These heirloom seeds from White Harvest Seeds are our favorites!
Though we've tried many different companies over the years, we always come back to White Harvest Seeds, because of the excellent germination rate and the wonderful produce we get!
Check out White Harvest Seed Company here!
Get the Free Automated Seed Starting Guide
This download is part of our exclusive members only download. But it's totally free! So go ahead and join us for all our past, present, and future free library listing!
If you're already a member, head to our members only page and enter the password from the bottom of the last newsletter!
Natalie says
I’m trying to view the seed planner and I cannot view it. Any help would be great.
Victoria says
Hi Natalie!
Grab the member’s only password from your last email from me ([email protected]) and head to this link: https://www.amodernhomestead.com/free-downloads/
Put in the password (case sensitive and includes the exclamation point) and you should see the download there! Hope that helps!
Leslie says
Thank you. I know you are busy, but I would love to see a fall garden calculator also.
Victoria says
Hi Leslie!
That’s a great idea! I’ll have to work on that for next year!
Peggy says
Can’t get downloads though I recently subscribed and got an emailback from Victoria. SoI’m trying to join AGAIN. h
Hope it helps.
Peggy
Victoria says
Hi Peggy! I sent you an email just now, just in case you weren’t able to get to it! :-)
Carolyn Merrell says
The planner will not let me change the frost date.
Victoria says
Hi Carolyn! Great question! I did just verify that the spreadsheet is working on my end, so there may be two things stopping it from working for you:
1. Is the sheet in read only mode or preview mode? Make sure that you open the file completely, and if there is a notice at the top that says “enable editing” click on that.
2. If you are able to change the date, but it doesn’t affect the planting dates… change the date and hit ENTER after doing so. That will apply the changes to the rest of the file.
If that doesn’t work, let me know!
Alice says
Thanks so much for this!! I’ve never gardened and I’m going to start my first garden this Em year using the Back to Eden method. I’m also really wanting to plant strawberries and blueberries but berries aren’t on the spreadsheet- would you suggest container gardening for those, since they have requirements for soil pH, etc?
Victoria says
Hi Alice, yay so exciting!!! As for berries and trees, we do them in a back to eden method as well with AMAZING results! I just didn’t include them on the list. Enjoy!