🌱 When to Plant in Canada
Indoor start dates, transplant windows, and direct sow dates for 10 vegetables — Ontario and BC.
Planting dates vary dramatically across Canada. A Vancouver Island gardener can transplant tomatoes in April. A Winnipeg gardener waits until June. The gap isn't just about temperature — it's about hardiness zones, last frost dates, and the length of your frost-free window. Using the wrong dates for your location is the single most common cause of crop failure for Canadian gardeners.
Each guide below covers a specific crop in a specific province, with indoor start dates, transplant windows, and direct sow timing based on actual city-level frost data. If you don't know your last frost date yet, start with the Frost Calculator — it covers 100+ Canadian cities.
Canada-Wide Guides
Ontario
British Columbia
Common Questions
What is the difference between Ontario and BC planting dates?
BC's Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island (Zone 8) have a 225-250 day season with last frost dates in late March to early April. Most of Ontario (Zones 5-6b) runs 150-200 days with last frost in early-to-mid May. BC gardeners transplant tomatoes 4-6 weeks earlier, and coastal BC gardeners can grow cool-season crops like lettuce and spinach nearly year-round.
How do I find my last frost date in Canada?
Use our Frost Calculator, which covers 100+ Canadian cities using Environment Canada historical data. It returns your average last spring frost and first fall frost dates plus your hardiness zone. Your last frost date is the anchor point for every planting schedule — all indoor start dates count backwards from it.
Can I direct sow tomatoes outdoors in Canada?
No. Tomatoes need 6-8 weeks of indoor growth before transplanting, and no Canadian province has a long enough frost-free window to mature tomatoes from outdoor direct-sown seed. Start tomatoes indoors under lights — February in coastal BC, early March in Ontario — then transplant after your last frost date when nights stay consistently above 10°C.