Lesson 2
Sowing windows — early, main, late
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Most edibles and many cut flowers have three usable sowing windows. Beginners default to one (usually the main spring sow) and lose the year's possibilities.
How to find your windows
- 1Look up your average last frost date (LFD). Mark it on the calendar.
- 2Count back 6–8 weeks — that's when 'early' sowing under cover begins.
- 3Main sowings = 2 weeks BEFORE to 4 weeks AFTER your LFD.
- 4Look up your first frost date (FFD). Count back the days-to-maturity on a seed packet to find the latest sensible direct-sow date.
- 5Late sowings for autumn / overwintering = mid-summer (July–August in northern hemisphere temperate climates).
Three windows worth knowing
- Early — cool-tolerant crops sown indoors / under cover 6–8 weeks before last frost: lettuce, brassicas, hardy annual flowers (cornflower, ammi), broad beans.
- Main — the big spring window. Tender crops indoors, hardy crops direct: tomato, chilli, basil, courgette, sweet pea, cosmos.
- Late — mid- to late-summer sowings for autumn / winter cropping: chard, kale, winter lettuce, spinach, autumn carrots, hardy annuals for an early next-year flush.