Zone 5 Planting Calendar (2026)
Check off your crops and get a month-by-month chart timed to Zone 5's frost window — last frost late april – early may, first frost early – mid 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 5's average frost dates — last frost around Apr 28, first frost around Oct 10 — so tender crops land after the last freeze and finish before the first.
Pick your crops5 selected
Vegetables
Herbs
Fruits & Berries
Flowers
Your crop-by-crop timing
- Carrots: sow outdoors Apr, Jul, 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
- Basil: sow outdoors May
Keep planning Zone 5
Zone 5 calendar questions
When should I start seeds indoors in Zone 5?＋
Count back from Zone 5's average last frost (~Apr 28): 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 5?＋
On average, Zone 5's last spring frost falls in late april – early may and the first fall frost arrives early – mid 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 5 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.