When to start seeds indoors
Most gardens start the first seeds indoors in late winter to March, working back from the last frost. Set your place and the Almanac lists every crop's indoor start and transplant date.
First indoor seed start, every year.
Why count back from the last frost
Indoor seed starting is about giving slow or frost-sensitive crops a head start without letting them outgrow their pots. The right start date is a fixed number of weeks before your average last spring frost, which varies by weeks across the country.
The table below converts those offsets into real dates once you set your place. Crops without a transplant week are marked n/a because they are typically direct-sown or grown to full size indoors.
Crops to start indoors
Generic offsets shown. Set your place for dated windows.
| Crop | Start indoors | Transplant |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato | 6 weeks before last frost | 1 week after last frost |
| Pepper | 8 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Eggplant | 8 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Cucumber | 3 weeks before last frost | 1 week after last frost |
| Zucchini | 3 weeks before last frost | 1 week after last frost |
| Winter squash | 3 weeks before last frost | 1 week after last frost |
| Pumpkin | 3 weeks before last frost | 1 week after last frost |
| Melon | 4 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Lettuce | 8 weeks before last frost | 4 weeks before last frost |
| Kale | 6 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks before last frost |
| Swiss chard | 5 weeks before last frost | 1 week before last frost |
| Leek | 10 weeks before last frost | 0 weeks after last frost |
| Broccoli | 6 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks before last frost |
| Cauliflower | 6 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks before last frost |
| Cabbage | 6 weeks before last frost | 3 weeks before last frost |
| Brussels sprouts | 6 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks before last frost |
| Basil | 6 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks after last frost |
| Parsley | 8 weeks before last frost | 2 weeks before last frost |
Offsets follow standard horticultural practice. Sources on the methodology page.
Last spring frost for major cities
| City | Last spring frost | |
|---|---|---|
| New York | NY | March 26 |
| Los Angeles | CA | January 9 |
| Chicago | IL | April 11 |
| Houston | TX | January 30 |
| Phoenix | AZ | January 8 |
| Philadelphia | PA | April 2 |
| San Antonio | TX | February 26 |
| San Diego | CA | January 6 |
| Dallas | TX | March 8 |
| Austin | TX | February 20 |
| Miami | FL | January 20 |
| Tampa | FL | January 20 |
| Atlanta | GA | March 25 |
| Seattle | WA | March 13 |
| Denver | CO | May 3 |
| Boston | MA | April 4 |
| Las Vegas | NV | January 24 |
| Portland | OR | March 29 |
| Minneapolis | MN | April 30 |
| Detroit | MI | April 30 |
| Nashville | TN | March 31 |
| Charlotte | NC | March 30 |
| Honolulu | HI | April 12 |
| Anchorage | AK | May 1 |
Related tools
Questions, answered plainly
Which seeds should I start indoors first?
Leeks, peppers, and eggplant are the earliest indoor starts, often ten to eight weeks before the last frost. Tomatoes follow at six weeks. The table above lists every crop with an indoor start window.
What does "weeks before last frost" mean?
It is a countdown from the average date of your last spring frost. A crop marked "8 weeks before" gets started indoors eight weeks ahead of that date. The Almanac converts the offset to a real date once you set your place.
Can I start these seeds outdoors instead?
Some crops on the list can also be direct-sown; the planting calendar shows both methods. The list here is limited to crops that gain from an indoor head start in most gardens.
How this page was made
Data source: NOAA 30-year climate normals via the site dataset, plus crop offsets from the site crops library. Method: each indoor start date is the station's mean last spring frost plus the crop's indoorStartWeeks offset. Verified 2026-06-12. Full notes on the methodology page.