Zone 3 Planting Calendar (2026)

Check off your crops and get a month-by-month chart timed to Zone 3's frost window — last frost mid may – early june, first frost early september – early october. Then print it.

How to read this calendar

Each crop you select gets a row across all twelve months. SI (light green) means sow indoors — start seeds inside ahead of the season. S (dark green) means sow outdoors, directly in garden soil. T (amber) means transplant your indoor starts into the garden. H marks harvest months. Every month is computed from Zone 3's average frost dates — last frost around May 22, first frost around Sep 20 — so tender crops land after the last freeze and finish before the first.

Pick your crops4 selected

Vegetables

SISow indoorsSSow outdoorsTTransplantHHarvest
Crop
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Carrots
S
H
Lettuce
S
H
S
Peppers
SI
T
H
H
Tomatoes
SI
T
H
H

Your crop-by-crop timing

  • Carrots: sow outdoors May, harvest Oct
  • Lettuce: sow outdoors Apr, Aug, harvest Jun
  • Peppers: start indoors Feb, transplant May, harvest Aug–Sep
  • Tomatoes: start indoors Feb, transplant May, harvest Aug–Sep

Keep planning Zone 3

Zone 3 calendar questions

When should I start seeds indoors in Zone 3?

Count back from Zone 3's average last frost (~May 22): most warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers want a 6–8 week indoor head start. The green “SI” cells in the chart above do that math for every crop you select.

What are the frost dates for Zone 3?

On average, Zone 3's last spring frost falls in mid may – early june and the first fall frost arrives early september – early october. Those two dates are the guardrails of this calendar — everything tender gets planted after the first and harvested before the second.

How do I print this planting calendar?

Check off the crops you grow, then hit “Print my calendar.” The print view hides everything except the chart itself, plus a title line — so what comes out of the printer is a clean, one-page Jan–Dec planting chart for your garden.

Why do these months differ from my seed packet?

Seed packets print one generic range for the whole country. This chart is computed for Zone 3 specifically, from its average frost dates — the same engine behind our month-by-month zone guides. When the two disagree, trust the zone-specific timing and confirm against your local forecast.

Will my crop selection be saved?

Yes — your checked crops are stored in your browser automatically (nothing is sent to a server). Come back next month and your calendar is exactly as you left it, on the same device.

Planting calendars for every zone