Rodale’s Organic Life
by ROL Staff

Source: Plant Chicago

We’ve put together a handy guide to help you figure out when to germinate and when to plant your seedlings.

Timing is everything. To start your seeds on time, you need to know when in relation to the frost-free date in spring to plant them. If you need help determining your spring frost-free date, call your county extension agent who can tell you for certain.

How To Use This Plan
Print the seed starting chart below. Write your frost-free date in the blank space at the top of the chart. Get a calendar and add or subtract the number of weeks in the “Safe To Set Out Time” column. This is the “Setting Out Date.” It tells  you when you can safely plant the crop in the garden. Write it in the last column. Take each date from Column 5 (“Setting Out Date”), subtract the number of weeks shown for that crop in column 3 (“Weeks from Sowing”) and record that date in column 2 (“When to Start Inside”).

Download a copy of Your Seed-Starting Plan here.

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