Farmers’ Almanac Planting Calendar

Gardening by the Moon (according to the phases of the Moon) is an ancient concept and a fundamental part of the Farmers’ Almanac philosophy. For over 200 years, our print editions have included a Planting Calendar that uses phases and position of the Moon to predict the best times to perform specific gardening tasks. FA readers have long sworn by this method of managing their gardens and crops. Get All-Access to see the next 12 months and receive a copy of the Almanac shipped free!

Farmers’ Almanac Planting Calendar

The dates listed below are consistent across all growing zones. Please consider your regional weather and climate before following our suggestions. We also recommend that you talk with your local greenhouse or agricultural extension office to discover optimal windows of time within which you may use the dates below. Be sure to check out your frost dates and learn more about your plant hardiness zone. (which may have changed a bit when the zones were updated in 2024.)

Farmers’ Almanac Gardening Terms Explained

Above ground crops: Crops that produce their yield above the soil (corn, peppers, squash, etc.)

Root Crops: Crops that produce their yield below the soil (potatoes, radishes, carrots, etc.)

Seedbeds: A bed of soil cultivated for planting seeds or seedlings before being transplanted.

Seedlings: Young plants—especially ones that grow from seeds (rather than from a cutting).

Transplanting: To uproot and replant a growing plant or an already well-established plant. (Transplanting suggestions are true for houseplants as well.)

The terms “Favorable,” “Good,” and “Best” are all considered beneficial days for planting. “Favorable” and  “Good” mean the same thing. However, “Best” is considered the optimal day for planting seeds. Learn about the associations between zodiac signs and planting in our Zodiac Calendar.

how Does The Moon affect plants on Earth?

Those who swear by this ancient growing method say the water in both the ground and in plants are affected by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon, similar to the ocean tides. This theory holds that seeds absorb the most water during the “new” and “full” Moon phases, when the tides are highest, which aids germination. Learn more about Gardening by the Moon.

June Gardening To-Do List

The threat of frost has passed, making June a busy month for gardeners. Here are some tasks to add to garden to-do list this month to ensure that your gardens are thriving by midsummer:

• Deadhead any spring blooms after they have finished blooming to help them conserve energy. 
• Move self-sown flowers and perennials outside.
• Weed consistently to prevent your plants from fighting for precious water and nutrients.
• Prune or thin out perennials to prevent them from taking over neighboring plants.
• Add a layer of mulch to help plants retain moisture as the temperatures heat up.
• Side dress plants with mature compost or aged manure.
• Be on alert for pests and disease such as Japanese beetles, aphids, snails, slugs, mildew, etc.
• Stake or cage your tomato plants.
• Plant beans, squash, melons, gourds, and cucumbers. Add any trellises needed for growing vines.
• Keep your vegetable garden moist and water transplants daily until well established.
• Pick ripe strawberries. 
• Cover ripening berries with netting to keep birds off. 
• Also keep an eye out for rabbits and groundhogs and catch them before they get to your harvest. 
• Direct sow annual seeds outside. 
• Thin seedlings to proper spacing as they come in. 
• Stop harvesting asparagus as the stalks become thin.

Looking Ahead to July …

• Collect rainwater to use to water your garden. (Please note that state restrictions and regulations may apply.)
• Develop a consistent daily watering schedule, trying to water at dusk or early in the morning to reduce evaporation. Deep watering will encourage roots to grow deeply.
• If you go away on vacation this month, arrange to have someone water your plants, especially those in containers, or set up an automated watering system. 
• Weed! This is the perfect time to keep weeds from making seeds now. Make a pass through each garden bed every week to pluck out any sprouting weeds.
• Side-dress vegetable rows or individual plants with aged compost and additional fertilizer as needed.  
• Deadhead blooms and prune back blooming perennials to keep them looking their best.
• Harvest beetroot, peas, carrots, chard, potatoes, salad leaves, lettuce, tomatoes, turnips, kohlrabi, and zucchini this month. Also, the garlic and onions you planted last fall should be ready now (when the tops turn brown), saving the best of the small bulbs for planting next spring.
• Avoid harvesting more rhubarb stems. Leave the stems in place to allow the plant to build up reserves for next year.
• Start seedlings of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, calabrese, and cauliflower to transplant out into the garden in 3 or 4 weeks.
• Later summer and winter salad crops, root crops, and spring cabbage can go into the garden this month. (Endive, Chinese cabbage, Asian greens, lettuce, mustard, spinach, bush beans, beets, chard, snap, snow and shell peas, and radishes.)
• Continue to hill potatoes and dig potatoes when the tops die. Use grass clippings as a mulch around potato plants to stop tubers near the surface from turning green. Plant fall potatoes by the middle of the month.
• Nip off the growing tips of squash and courgette plants to encourage branching.
• Train cucumber stems upwards, tying onto a trellis or stake, to make the most of the space available.
• Pick, dry and freeze herbs for use later in the year.
• During the dry summer months, mow grass one-half inch higher than usual to help conserve soil moisture. Avoid mowing when the lawn is under severe drought stress. Lawns that become brown due to a lack of water will usually recover in the fall as precipitation increases.
• Pull out annual weeds, such as crabgrass, before they go to seed.

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