Planning path
Direct Sow Garden Planner
Plan outdoor seeding from soil temperature, frost risk, crop tolerance, seed depth, thinning, succession windows, and catalog entries with direct-sow timing.
Direct-sow timing checks
- Check soil temperature
- Use crop-specific germination temperature and local soil warmth before treating the calendar date as ready.
- Match crop tolerance
- Separate cool-season, warm-season, and tender direct-sown crops so frost-sensitive seed is not planted into cold or risky windows.
- Prepare uniform seed depth
- Use the catalog sowing depth as a starting point, then keep the seed row even so germination is more uniform.
- Thin to final spacing
- Plan for thinning after emergence when a crop is intentionally sown more densely than its final spacing.
- Plan repeat sowings
- Use succession intervals for greens, roots, beans, and flowers that perform better as smaller repeated batches.
- Protect tender direct sowing
- Wait for frost-free warmth or use appropriate temporary protection before direct sowing tender warm-season crops.
Regional direct-sow checks
Pair catalog direct-sow offsets with regional soil temperature, frost windows, sowing depth, thinning, and germination checks before seeding outdoors.
- York County Pennsylvania Seed Planting Guide Penn State York County seed rows for sowing depth, spacing, germination, replanting, and frost-window checks
- Willamette Valley Oregon Garden Calendar OSU monthly direct-outdoor sowing checks with average-weather caveats, soil thermometer timing, and crop examples
- Minnesota Soil-Temperature Vegetable Garden UMN soil-temperature and freeze-date checks for cool direct seeding, warm soil timing, and repeat sowing
- South Dakota Frost and Soil Temperature Vegetable Garden SDSU frost-map, soil-temperature, depth, germination, harvest, and fall-succession checks for direct rows
Direct-sow-capable seed candidates
- French Breakfast Radish Cool · 28 days · 0.5" deep
- Astro Arugula Cool · 35 days · 0.25" deep
- Bloomsdale Spinach Cool · 42 days · 0.5" deep
- Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Cool · 45 days · 0.125" deep
- Southern Giant Curled Mustard Cool · 45 days · 0.25" deep
- White Stem Bok Choy Cool · 45 days · 0.25" deep
- Yellow Mustard Cover Crop Cool · 45 days · 0.25" deep
- Santo Cilantro Cool · 50 days · 0.25" deep
- Vit Mache Corn Salad Cool · 50 days · 0.25" deep
- Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Cool · 55 days · 0.25" deep
- Purple Top White Globe Turnip Cool · 55 days · 0.5" deep
- Detroit Dark Red Beet Cool · 58 days · 0.5" deep
- Annual Ryegrass Cover Crop Cool · 60 days · 0.25" deep
- Berseem Clover Cover Crop Cool · 60 days · 0.25" deep
- Field Pea Cover Crop Cool · 60 days · 1" deep
- Lacinato Kale Cool · 60 days · 0.5" deep
- Minowase Daikon Radish Cool · 60 days · 0.5" deep
- Oilseed Radish Cover Crop Cool · 60 days · 0.5" deep
- Pacific Beauty Calendula Cool · 60 days · 0.25" deep
- Spring Oats Cover Crop Cool · 60 days · 1" deep
- Sugar Snap Pea Cool · 62 days · 1" deep
- Golden Acre Cabbage Cool · 64 days · 0.5" deep
- Blue Boy Bachelor's Button Cool · 65 days · 0.25" deep
- Georgia Southern Collards Cool · 65 days · 0.5" deep
- Waltham 29 Broccoli Cool · 74 days · 0.5" deep
- Spencer Mix Sweet Pea Cool · 75 days · 1" deep
- Common Chives Cool · 80 days · 0.25" deep
- Green Curled Endive Cool · 85 days · 0.25" deep
- American Purple Top Rutabaga Cool · 90 days · 0.5" deep
- Giant Imperial Larkspur Cool · 110 days · 0.25" deep
- Hollow Crown Parsnip Cool · 120 days · 0.5" deep
- Hairy Vetch Cover Crop Cool · 180 days · 0.5" deep
- Winter Rye Cover Crop Cool · 180 days · 1" deep
- Sweet Alyssum Shoulder · 50 days · 0.125" deep
- Bouquet Dill Shoulder · 55 days · 0.25" deep
- Bright Lights Swiss Chard Shoulder · 55 days · 0.5" deep
- Jewel Mix Nasturtium Shoulder · 55 days · 0.5" deep
- California Poppy Shoulder · 60 days · 0.125" deep
- Evergreen Bunching Onion Shoulder · 65 days · 0.25" deep
- Danvers 126 Carrot Shoulder · 70 days · 0.25" deep
- Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Shoulder · 75 days · 0.25" deep
- Crimson Clover Cover Crop Shoulder · 90 days · 0.25" deep
- Buckwheat Cover Crop Warm · 35 days · 0.5" deep
- Red Garnet Amaranth Warm · 45 days · 0.125" deep
- Provider Bush Bean Warm · 50 days · 1" deep
- French Marigold Warm · 55 days · 0.25" deep
- Clemson Spineless Okra Warm · 56 days · 1" deep
- Marketmore 76 Cucumber Warm · 58 days · 1" deep
- Common Borage Warm · 60 days · 0.25" deep
- Common Summer Savory Warm · 60 days · 0.125" deep
- German Chamomile Warm · 60 days · 0.125" deep
- Genovese Basil Warm · 68 days · 0.25" deep
- Common Lemon Balm Warm · 70 days · 0.125" deep
- Red Stem Malabar Spinach Warm · 70 days · 0.25" deep
- Sorghum-Sudangrass Cover Crop Warm · 70 days · 0.5" deep
- California Giant Zinnia Warm · 75 days · 0.25" deep
- Sensation Mix Cosmos Warm · 75 days · 0.25" deep
- Envy Edamame Soybean Warm · 80 days · 1" deep
- Florence Fennel Warm · 80 days · 0.25" deep
- Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Warm · 80 days · 1" deep
- Red Noodle Yardlong Bean Warm · 80 days · 1" deep
- Sugar Baby Watermelon Warm · 80 days · 1" deep
- Tall Double Mix Strawflower Warm · 80 days · 0.125" deep
- Globe Amaranth Gomphrena Warm · 85 days · 0.25" deep
- Hale's Best Jumbo Melon Warm · 85 days · 1" deep
- Black-Eyed Susan Warm · 90 days · 0.125" deep
- Indian Summer Rudbeckia Warm · 90 days · 0.125" deep
- Mammoth Sunflower Warm · 90 days · 1" deep
- Waltham Butternut Squash Warm · 95 days · 1" deep
- Delicata Winter Squash Warm · 100 days · 1" deep
- Small Sugar Pumpkin Warm · 100 days · 1" deep
- Common Anise Warm · 120 days · 0.25" deep
- Blanketflower Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Canada Goldenrod Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Clustered Mountain Mint Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Common Milkweed Warm · 365 days · 0.25" deep
- Dense Blazing Star Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Eastern Bee Balm Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Foxglove Beardtongue Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Joe Pye Weed Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Lanceleaf Coreopsis Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Little Bluestem Warm · 365 days · 0.25" deep
- New England Aster Warm · 365 days · 0.125" deep
- Purple Coneflower Warm · 365 days · 0.25" deep
- Swamp Milkweed Warm · 365 days · 0.25" deep
Supporting planning paths
- Direct Sow Seeds 53 entries marked direct sow; this planner also includes Either entries with direct-sow timing
- Planting Calendar Tool Map direct sowing to frost dates, soil warmth, and harvest estimates
- Soil Temperature Germination Planner Check soil warmth before treating outdoor direct-sow windows as ready
- Frost Protection and Season Extension Planner Plan temporary protection before direct sowing tender crops into cold nights, wind, or early-season frost risk
- Succession Sowing Planner 42 direct-sow entries support repeat sowing
- Fall Planting Planner 59 direct-sow entries also have first-frost windows
- Quick Harvest Garden Planner 34 direct-sow entries mature in 60 days or less
- Cool Season Seeds 33 direct-sow entries fit cool-season collections
Source basis
- CSU vegetable planting guide 22 entries cite this source
- OSU Extension An educator's guide to vegetable gardening Willamette Valley Oregon Garden Calendar regional direct-sow source
- Penn State cole crops for home vegetable gardens 3 entries cite this source
- Penn State plant factsheets 4 entries cite this source
- Penn State planting for pollinators 2 entries cite this source
- Penn State pollinator recommendations 1 entry cites this source
- Penn State York County vegetable seed planting guide York County Pennsylvania Seed Planting Guide regional direct-sow source
- SDSU Extension Vegetable Gardening in South Dakota South Dakota Frost and Soil Temperature Vegetable Garden regional direct-sow source
- Seed Savers seed saving guide 19 entries cite this source
- UMD Extension planting vegetables in succession Repeat sowing, replacement planting, and maturity-date staggering guidance for direct-sown crops
- UMN companion planting guide 3 entries cite this source
- UMN planting the vegetable garden 10 entries cite this source
- UMN starting seeds indoors 3 entries cite this source
- Wisconsin Extension cover crops and green manures 11 entries cite this source
- Xerces pollinator-friendly native plant lists 7 entries cite this source