TempoLife › Features › Sowing and planting calendar
Sowing calendar
Sowing, planting-out and harvest windows for 0 garden crops in the cool-temperate climate of Estonia and southern Finland (USDA zones 4-6), from published regional gardening guidance.
Windows are regional averages. Your garden's frost dates, soil and microclimate move them — a coastal plot runs a week or two earlier than an inland frost pocket.
| Crop | Sow indoors | Plant out / direct sow | Harvest |
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How the windows work
Each crop page carries the same three windows plus the note behind them. "Sow indoors" means on a warm windowsill or under lights; "plant out / direct sow" is when the young plant or the seed goes into the garden bed; "harvest" is the typical picking window in this climate. The figures are the published regional guidance in the sources below, cross-checked against the seed packets sold in the region.
Sources: EMÜ — Estonian University of Life Sciences gardening calendar · Puutarhaliitto — Finnish horticultural society · checked 2026-09-03
Frequently asked questions
When is the last spring frost in Estonia and southern Finland?
Typically late May to early June inland, earlier on the coast. The windows on this page assume planting out after that date; a frost pocket can run a week or two later.
What can I sow directly into the bed?
Peas, carrots, beetroot, radishes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes are the classic direct sows in this climate, from late April-May. Warm-weather crops — tomatoes, cucumbers, squash — are started indoors first.
Do these dates work everywhere in the region?
Approximately. A coastal garden or a greenhouse runs earlier; an inland low-lying plot later. The windows are the region's published guidance, not a weather forecast for your specific bed.
What is worth starting indoors?
Anything that needs more than our short outdoor season: tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, cucumbers, pumpkins, brassicas. The indoor column on each crop page says when.
From seed packet to dinner plate
TempoLife tracks what you grew against your daily targets — the harvest window on this page meets the calorie log.