Palatino Garden Adventures
Seattle Planting Calendar: What to Plant Each Month (Zone 8b-9a)
In Seattle you can plant something almost every month from February through November. The trick is planting on a rhythm instead of all at once: small sowings every two to three weeks give you steady harvests instead of one glut in July.
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The free one-page PNW Succession Planting Schedule. Print it, tape it inside a cabinet, done.
What to Plant in February in Seattle
Start the cold-tolerant crops.
SOW NOW
Peas (late Feb) · Spinach · Lettuce · Arugula · Radishes · Cilantro · Dill
Keep going: lettuce and radishes every 2 weeks from here on.
What to Plant in March in Seattle
Second pea sowing. Keep the greens going.
SOW NOW
Peas (mid-March) · Lettuce · Radishes · First root crops, once the soil works easily
Keep going: lettuce and radishes every 2 weeks.
Last date that still works: peas by March 31.
What to Plant in April in Seattle
Heavy cool-season planting.
SOW NOW
Kale · Swiss chard · Beets · Carrots · Green onions · Cilantro
Keep going: a new short row of carrots every 3 weeks, cilantro every 2 to 3 weeks.
What to Plant in May in Seattle
Warm-season crops open. First round of beans.
SOW AND PLANT
Bush beans (1st round) · Cucumbers · Zucchini · Basil
Keep going: wait for soil at 60°F, and do not plant all your beans at once.
What to Plant in June in Seattle
Second wave of beans and cucumbers.
SOW AND PLANT
Bush beans (2nd round) · Cucumbers (late June) · Lettuce, with afternoon shade
Last date that still works: tomatoes and peppers by June 10.
What to Plant in July in Seattle
Fall planning month. Last summer plantings.
SOW NOW
Bush beans (final round) · Cucumbers (final, mid-July) · Fall brassica seedlings
Keep going: July heat stalls lettuce and cilantro, so give them a break.
Last date that still works: pole beans by July 1, carrots for fall by July 15.
What to Plant in August in Seattle
Spring Part 2: the major fall planting.
SOW NOW
Spinach · Arugula · Cilantro · Bok choy · Turnips · Radishes · Winter lettuce
Keep going: this is where most gardeners accidentally stop. Do not.
Last date that still works: beets by August 1, kale and broccoli starts by August 15.
What to Plant in September in Seattle
Winter greens go in.
SOW NOW
Mâche · Claytonia · Tatsoi · Overwintering kale · Radishes (last sowing)
Keep going: cover beds with row cover as the nights cool.
What to Plant in October in Seattle
Garlic and overwintering onions.
PLANT NOW
Garlic · Onion sets
Keep going: harvest your fall greens and roots.
Last date that still works: crimson clover by October 15.
What to Plant in November in Seattle
Protect and harvest.
PLANT NOW
Garlic · Broad beans
Keep going: frost cloth on tender greens. Protected beds keep producing well into November and sometimes December.
Last date that still works: garlic and broad beans by November 10.
December and January in Seattle: Plan the Year
Harvest what's left in protected beds, order seeds, and sketch next year's beds before February.
Map your beds with the free Balcony to Backyard app › Join the waitlist
Lettuce, radishes and arugula every two weeks; carrots, beets and beans every three.
Three Rules That Make This Work
1
Start with one crop, not twelve.
Pick lettuce or radishes and sow a small batch every two weeks. Add a second crop next year.
2
Sow before the bed is empty.
The next round goes in while the current crop is still producing. That closes the July gap.
3
August is Spring Part 2.
Plant spinach, arugula, cilantro, bok choy and winter lettuce in August and harvest through November.
First Edition
The PNW Succession Guide
The free calendar shows what to plant each month.
This guide tells you what to plant the moment a crop comes out: one default, one backup, and the last date that still works.
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