PLANTING DECISIONS
What can I plant now?
It depends on where you garden, the crop, and this week’s conditions. Use these checks to decide whether to sow, transplant, protect or wait.
A planning guide, not a live forecast or location-aware calculator.
START WITH CONDITIONS
Four things to check before planting
- Location: compare local frost averages with your current forecast and the next several nights.
- Crop: find out whether your seed or transplant tolerates cold weather.
- Soil: check warmth, moisture and drainage rather than judging by sunshine alone.
- Seedling: confirm transplants are healthy and have gradually adjusted to outdoor conditions.
Use our Canadian planting calendar to work with local climate patterns without assuming there is a universal planting date.
CHOOSE YOUR PATH
Start seeds, transplant or wait?
Starting seeds indoors
Work backward from outdoor planting conditions.
Tomatoes in Ontario
Check cold-night and frost risk before transplanting.
Plan the whole season
Build a flexible planting calendar.
WHEN THE ANSWER IS WAIT
Waiting can be a useful gardening decision.
Use the time to prepare the bed, review seed packets, harden off seedlings when weather permits and arrange suitable protection. Keep checking the forecast as conditions change.
Record your actual sowing and transplant dates. Those observations can make next year’s garden plan more relevant to your location.
SOURCES
Use current weather and grounded guidance.
For long-term context, check Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada climate normals. For tomato cold tolerance, Ontario tomato transplant guidance documents the risks of prolonged chilling.