Seed Starting Calendar for Georgia

Count back from the median last frost where you garden. At Atlanta (Atlanta Fulton County Airport) that date is March 24, so for spring 2027 onions start indoors Dec 16 to Dec 30, peppers Jan 27 to Feb 10 and tomatoes Feb 3 to Feb 17. Across Georgia's 122 NOAA stations the median last frost runs from Feb 27 to Apr 10 for the middle 90 percent, so a garden near Blairsville Experiment Station starts later than one near Brunswick.

It depends on the station. The earliest median last spring freeze in Georgia is February 8 at Brunswick; the latest is April 26 at Blairsville Experiment Station. A median is a coin flip: at Atlanta the last 32°F freeze comes after March 24 in half of years, and has passed by April 10 in 9 of 10 years (NOAA 1991 to 2020 normals).

UNH Extension sets tomatoes out 1 to 2 weeks after the last frost, which at Atlanta is Mar 31 to Apr 7 in 2027. Tomatoes are frost tender, so the date to watch is April 10, when 9 of 10 springs at Atlanta have had their last 32°F night. Hardening off starts two weeks before setting out (Mar 17 to Mar 31).

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension publishes planting months by region (Georgia). For Georgia, tomatoes go in during March, April, May, June and July. Seeds for transplants go in 4 to 10 weeks ahead of those months, depending on the crop.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension's Vegetable Garden Calendar puts it this way: "The monthly recommendations—especially the spring and fall planting dates—are for the typical day and month in middle Georgia. To use this calendar, consider middle Georgia as a belt across the state from Columbus through Macon to Augusta. Spring planting dates can be as much as 2 to 3 weeks earlier in extreme south Georgia, and fall planting dates also can be as much as 2 weeks later. In north Georgia, the spring planting dates are from 1 to 3 weeks later as you progress northward through the mountain counties; fall planting dates are about 2 weeks earlier." The guide is linked below with the date it was read (September 21, 2026).

UNH Extension gives 8 to 10 weeks from seed to transplant for both, and sets peppers out 2 weeks after the last frost and eggplant 2 to 3 weeks after, so the sowing date is 6 to 8 weeks before the median last frost. At Atlanta that is Jan 27 to Feb 10 for peppers.

About two weeks. University of Missouri Extension: "Hardening should be started about two weeks before planting in the garden." University of Minnesota Extension adds that seedlings should go out on a cloudy day or in the late afternoon.

Augusta and Savannah reach a median last frost around the start of March, Atlanta around Mar 24, and Blairsville in the Blue Ridge not until about Apr 26, so north Georgia starts its peppers last. Each station carries its own dates: Augusta Daniel Field Airport Feb 27 and Blairsville Apr 26 at the median.