Spring Garden Prep Checklist 2026 — Zone-by-Zone

The most common spring gardening mistake: doing everything at once instead of in sequence. The calendar for Zone 7b is nothing like Zone 5a. If you follow generic advice, you'll either transplant too early and lose seedlings to frost, or wait too long and lose a month of growing season.

This checklist gives you the right tasks at the right times — organized by USDA hardiness zone, timed to your last frost date.

Your personal date anchor: Everything in this checklist is timed relative to your last average frost date. Find yours at planthardiness.ars.usda.gov or enter your ZIP in Cloche.

The Universal Pre-Season Checklist

Before anything zone-specific, do these tasks as soon as the ground is workable (before it's even planting time):

Walk every bed. Take notes. What worked? What rotted over winter? Which perennials are already pushing growth?
Test soil pH if you haven't in 2+ years (cheap kits at any garden center; labs give more precision)
Apply compost to all beds — till in lightly or top-dress and let earthworms do the work
Clean and sharpen tools: hoes, trowels, pruners. Sharp tools make clean cuts that heal faster.
Inspect cold frames, row covers, and hoops for damage before you need them urgently
Order seeds NOW if you haven't. By April, popular varieties are sold out.
Label seed packets and organize by planting date so you're not hunting at 6am in March

Zone 3–4 Checklist (Last Frost: May 10 – June 1)

Zones 3–4

Short season; every day counts

Minneapolis, MN · Duluth, MN · Burlington, VT · Fargo, ND

March 1–15: Start onions, leeks, and celery indoors (12–14 weeks before last frost)
March 1–15: Start peppers — they need 10 weeks minimum indoors
March 15–30: Start tomatoes (8 weeks before May 20 transplant target)
April 1–15: Start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower for transplanting in May
April 15: Direct sow peas outdoors — peas tolerate frost and need cold soil
April 15–30: Uncover perennials; remove winter mulch as growth appears
May 1–10: Harden off tomatoes, peppers, and warm-season transplants over 7–10 days
May 20 – June 1: Transplant tomatoes, peppers, and basil after last frost is past
May 20 – June 1: Direct sow beans, cucumbers, squash, and corn

Zone 5 Checklist (Last Frost: April 20 – May 1)

Zone 5

Classic Midwest growing season

Chicago, IL · Columbus, OH · Denver, CO · Hartford, CT

Feb 15 – Mar 1: Start peppers indoors (10 weeks before May 1 target)
Feb 20 – Mar 10: Start onions and leeks indoors
Mar 1–15: Start tomatoes indoors (7–8 weeks before transplant)
Mar 15–30: Start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower for outdoor transplant in late April
Mar 20 – Apr 1: Direct sow peas, spinach, and lettuce outdoors (tolerates frost)
Apr 1–15: Transplant broccoli and cabbage outdoors under row cover if needed
Apr 15–25: Harden off tomatoes and warm-season starts over 7–10 days
Apr 20 – May 5: Transplant tomatoes, peppers, and basil after last frost
Apr 20 – May 5: Direct sow beans, cucumbers, squash after soil warms to 60°F

Zone 6 Checklist (Last Frost: April 10–15)

Zone 6

Solid four-season growing window

Kansas City, MO · Baltimore, MD · Louisville, KY · Pittsburgh, PA

Feb 1–15: Start peppers indoors
Feb 10–20: Start tomatoes and eggplant indoors
Feb 20 – Mar 5: Start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower indoors
Mar 1–15: Direct sow peas, spinach, lettuce, kale outdoors
Mar 15–30: Transplant broccoli, cabbage, and cole crops outdoors
Apr 1–10: Harden off tomatoes and warm-season crops (7–10 days)
Apr 10–20: Transplant tomatoes, peppers, basil, and eggplant after last frost
Apr 10–20: Direct sow beans, cucumbers, squash, and corn
Apr 20 – May 10: Plant warm-season flowers (marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers)

Zone 7 Checklist (Last Frost: March 25 – April 1)

Zone 7

Long season; succession planting is your superpower

Charlotte, NC · Nashville, TN · Raleigh, NC · Oklahoma City, OK

Jan 15 – Feb 1: Start peppers indoors
Jan 20 – Feb 5: Start tomatoes and eggplant indoors
Feb 1–15: Direct sow cool-season crops outdoors (spinach, lettuce, peas, radish)
Feb 15 – Mar 1: Transplant broccoli, cabbage, kale outdoors
Mar 10–20: Harden off tomatoes and warm-season starts
Mar 25 – Apr 5: Transplant tomatoes, peppers, and basil after last frost
Mar 25 – Apr 5: Direct sow beans, cucumbers, squash, and sweet corn
Apr 15 – May 1: Plant warm-season flowers, tropicals, and heat-loving herbs
Late summer: Start fall succession crops (kale, lettuce, broccoli) in July–August

Zone 8–9 Checklist (Last Frost: Feb 15 – Mar 15)

Zones 8–9

Year-round garden with two distinct seasons

Atlanta, GA · Dallas, TX · Seattle, WA · Sacramento, CA

December–January: Start peppers, tomatoes indoors for early spring transplant
January–February: Direct sow peas, carrots, spinach, lettuce, and brassicas outdoors
Feb 15 – Mar 1: Transplant tomatoes, peppers, and warm-season crops after last frost
Mar 1–15: Direct sow beans, cucumbers, squash, corn
March–April: Plant citrus, tropical herbs, summer bulbs (caladium, canna, elephant ear)
April–May: Switch from brassicas and lettuce to heat-tolerant summer varieties
July–August: Start fall garden: direct sow or transplant fall tomatoes, peppers; sow kale, broccoli, lettuce
October–November: Plant garlic cloves for summer harvest; establish cool-season crops

The One Thing That Improves Every Checklist

Every checklist above is built around averages. Your specific ZIP code — your microclimate, your elevation, your proximity to water — shifts every date. A house at the bottom of a valley gets frost 2 weeks later than a hilltop a mile away.

Cloche calculates your planting calendar from your exact ZIP code using USDA 2023 zone data and NOAA 30-year climate normals. It also sends frost alerts when overnight temperatures are forecast below 32°F — so you never lose a bed to an unexpected late freeze again.

Get Your Personalized Spring Checklist

Enter your ZIP in Cloche and get a week-by-week planting calendar built for your exact location, your specific plants, and your growing goals. 7-day free trial.

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