How to Use the Garden Planner

From “which zone am I?” to a printed planting plan in about five minutes.

Garden Planner — Quick Start Guide

Five steps from zone lookup to a printed plan.

1. Find your USDA hardiness zone

Your zone (1–13) comes from the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature. Look up your ZIP code on the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (usda.gov), then pick that zone in the planner. The zone sets the last-frost anchor every sowing window is built on.

2. Pick the vegetables you actually eat

Select crops from the chip list — each one carries its own spacing and days-to-harvest. Cool-season crops (lettuce, peas, spinach, onions) tolerate frost; warm-season crops (tomatoes, beans, squash) must wait until after the last frost.

3. Read your planting schedule

The schedule shows, per crop: when to start seeds indoors, when to sow outdoors, when to transplant, and an approximate harvest window. All windows are relative to your zone's typical last frost — general guidance, not a guarantee. Slide them with your local forecast.

4. Fill the square-foot layout grid

Each cell is one square foot. The grid fits as many plants per square as the crop's spacing allows (16 carrots, 1 tomato). Tall crops go on the north edge so they don't shade shorter neighbors. A 4×8 bed is the classic starting size.

5. Print and keep it in the shed

Print your plan — it fits one letter page with white background. Write dates on it as you sow, keep it through the season, and use it next year to rotate plant families between beds.