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.)
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13th – 14th
Start seedbeds. Good days for transplanting. Good days for planting beets, carrots, radishes, turnips, peanuts, and other root crops. Also good for leafy vegetables.
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15th – 17th
Neither plant nor sow on these barren days.
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18th – 19th
Favorable days for planting beets, carrots, turnips, radishes, onions, and other root crops.
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20th – 22nd
Excellent time to kill weeds, briars, poison ivy, and other plant pests. Good harvest days.
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23rd – 24th
Set strawberry plants. Excellent for any vine crops, such as beans, peas, and cucumbers. Good days for transplanting. Favorable days for planting root crops.
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25th – 26th
Poor planting days. Break ground or cultivate. Good harvest days.
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27th – 28th
Favorable for planting beans, corn, cotton, tomatoes, peppers, and other aboveground crops.
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29th – 30th
Poor days for planting, seeds tend to rot in ground.
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1st – 2nd
Plant seedbeds and flower gardens. Most favorable for corn, cotton, okra, beans, peppers, eggplant, and other aboveground crops.
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3rd – 7th
A barren period. Favorable for killing plant pests, cultivating, or taking a short vacation.
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8th – 9th
Favorable time for sowing hay, fodder crops, and grains. Plant flowers. Excellent time for planting corn, beans, peppers, and other aboveground crops.
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10th – 12th
Plant seedbeds. First two days are excellent for planting aboveground crops, and planting leafy vegetables. Last day is a good day for transplanting. Last day is also when to plant carrots, beets, onions, turnips, and other root crops. Also good for leafy vegetables.
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13th – 14th
Seeds planted now will do poorly and yield little.
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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.
Any questions? Leave a comment below!
But how could a chunk of rock more than 200,000 miles away affect how plants on Earth grow?
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, just like ocean tides are. Just as the tides are highest during the new and full phases of the Moon, this theory holds, seeds, too, will absorb the most water during these times. Learn how Gardening by the Moon works.
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Tell us more about your experience in the comments below.
We’re starting a flower garden at a local high school to get students more involved in extra curriculum activities to help increase school pride and academic achievements.
What an awesome idea! Happy planting!
I’ve been an avid flower gardener for 30+ years, as was my mother. She taught me to garden by the moon and I never deviate from that plan. My flower gardens are always beautiful and I get asked what my secret is. I always tell them above all, garden by the moon!
Happy planting season!
Wonderful! Happy gardening!!
Thank you – we’re so happy to have you here in our community!
Hi, what do I need to consider when I want to apply your gardening calendar to Europe (Portugal)? Is there anything I need to change?
Other than our weather forecasts just about everything should apply to you in the Northern Hemisphere! We love to hear that you are using us in Portugal. Happy Planting!
Why is the printed version of the 2025 almanac missing the gardening by the moon
Are you sure you have our Farmers’ Almanac? It’s orange and green and it does have the gardening by the moon calendar. Get your copy here: https://store.farmersalmanac.com/FARM/p-FA-25_GBALFARET25
Hiiiii!!! I am SO excited to be here. I am a 1st time “planter” / brand spanking new gardener. My granny was a virtual mother nature, but I never really had any love for plants until recently. 🙁 Foliage still does not do it for me, but fruits and veggies are my new best friends. Going simply on just what I remember seeing her do, I have been setting aside seeds from delicious fruits, etc. and putting them in labeled baggies. Well, now that I am in several hundreds of dollars on raised beds with covers, soil, food, I wanted to start planting (Houston, TX, BTW) – and see that my plants are already sprouting in the baggies!!! I’m very excited but a bit alarmed because I don’t know exactly what to do with them now (i.e., one to a hole)? Thanks to the Farmer’s Almanac (also remembered by granny’s planting) at least I think I know WHEN to plant ’em. 🙂 Any other 1st timer tips are ABSOLUTELY appreciated!!!
Hi Jaqi! We love hearing your excitement. It sounds like your granny raised you right with the Almanac 🙂 Please let us know what kinds of plants have started sprouting for you and we would be happy to share some tips for each! Best wishes, your friends at FA.
You’re so kind, thank you! I am growing cantaloupes, champagne tomatoes, Campari tomatoes, jalapeño peppers, guajillo chilies, cilantro, Russet potatoes, strawberries… oh, and I had an old onion with about a foot or more of growth, so I just stuck it into a corner of one of the beds. 🙂
I love this site. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. “Teach a man to fish …”. <3
What days in April are best for planting potatoes in Western NC
Hi Brenda, We recommend that you check your last frost date here: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/average-frost-dates. Then refer to our calendar above for specific dates. Potatoes are considered to be “below ground crops,” for reference. Let us know if you have any other questions!
I am starting a brand new permaculture homestead on .21 acres and I’m so happy! Planted 4 bare-root grafted fruit trees: 3-in-1 pear, 3-in-1 cherry and two peaches and will start working on creating a quasi-espalier. Also planted 3 citrus to grow as north side hedges, maiden grasses along western backyard fence. Additional planting includes figs, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. Also put in potatoes, onions, asparagus and strawberries. Fingers crossed. Lined south side with 5 zebra grasses and comfrey. Lined north side with variegated Liriope. Finally, in the front island where the builder had a river birch tree, we added purple fountain grass, all gold hokone grass, lilies, ferns, pumpkin, garlic, a hydrangea, and a boulder. We also added a boulder on each side of the driveway entrance. The builder installed lorapepulum, Nandina, pink muhly grass and liriope.
Wow! How fun to hear about your beautiful homestead! Feel free to share pictures. We’re sure others in the FA community here would love to see them as well. 🧡
I will like to keep my mango tree short when do I prune it to maintain height and size?
Mango flowers on the ends of new growth in the spring. The fruits are harvested summer. After harvest is over you can prune, usually late summer or fall. The best method of pruning to keep the tree from growing too big too fast is to tip trim. If you stub cut you will have little or no fruit the following summer. Old school mango farmers in Hawaii stub cut their trees every third or fourth year, alternating between the trees. It’s drastic and generally not done until the trees have a good amount of mature wood.
Thanks for your response, JoAnne! We love seeing FA readers sharing tips. We all have something to learn from each other! 🧡
What are the best days for planting bare root trees in Northern California after 1/24/25?
Weather permitting, February 3-5, 8-9, 27-28th. Happy planting!
❤️ Thanks Heather
What is meant by ‘dark nights in Feb” my uncle used to tell me that is when to plant potatoes
Dark nights are New Moon nights when the night is darkest because of no light from the moon.
Andrea, thanks for responding to Elaine. We feel very blessed to have such an active community here with our readers sharing knowledge with each other. Best wishes from all of us at FA.