What to Plant Now in Canada
What to plant now in Canada, this week — pick your city and get today's exact to-do list: what to start indoors, transplant outside, direct sow, and harvest, based on your real frost dates.
What can I plant now? It depends on your city's last spring frost — which ranges from mid-March on coastal BC to early June in Newfoundland and the northern Prairies (Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals, 1991–2020). Select your city below and this tool reads today's date against your local frost dates to tell you exactly which vegetables to start indoors, transplant, direct sow, or harvest this week — no USDA-zone guesswork.
We remember your pick for next time. Not listed? Choose the closest city — frost dates within ~50 km are usually 3–5 days apart.
How "what to plant now" is calculated
Every crop has a planting window tied to your last spring frost and first fall frost — not the calendar month. Warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers can't go outside until frost risk passes; cool-season crops like peas, spinach, and lettuce go out weeks earlier. This tool takes today's date, compares it to your city's frost dates from Environment and Climate Change Canada, and surfaces only the jobs that are timely right now: which seeds to start indoors, which transplants to harden off and plant out, what to direct sow, and what's ready to harvest.
Because the answer changes week to week, bookmark this page and check back every weekend through the season — the to-do list updates automatically. For the whole-season picture (all start, transplant, and harvest dates at once), use the full planting calendar.
Frequently asked questions
What can I plant right now in Canada?
It depends entirely on your city's last frost date. In March, coastal BC gardeners (Vancouver, Victoria) can already direct-sow peas, spinach, and radishes, while Prairie gardeners are still starting tomatoes indoors. Pick your city above and the tool lists exactly what's in season today — start-indoors, transplant, direct-sow, and harvest jobs — based on Environment and Climate Change Canada frost normals.
Is it too late to plant this year?
Rarely — there's almost always something to plant. Even after the main spring window, you can succession-sow fast crops (radishes in 28 days, lettuce and arugula in 35–45 days, bush beans in 55 days) and, from mid- to late summer, sow a full fall crop of kale, spinach, and lettuce to harvest after the first light frosts.
How do I know my last frost date?
Select your city above — each is tagged with its hardiness zone and average last spring frost from ECCC climate normals (1991–2020). Last frost ranges from around March 15 in Victoria to June 1 in St. John's and Prince George.
What is the difference between this and the planting calendar?
The planting calendar shows your entire season at once — every start, transplant, and harvest date on one chart. This tool answers the narrower, time-sensitive question: of all those dates, which ones are actionable this week?
Why not just follow US planting charts?
US charts use USDA hardiness zones and frost dates that don't map cleanly onto Canadian conditions, so they often tell Canadian gardeners to plant tender crops weeks too early. This tool uses Canadian ECCC frost data for cities in every province, so the timing actually matches your ground.