About Garden Yardstick

Garden Yardstick is a set of free calculators for planning a home vegetable garden in the United States. Each tool answers one practical question, like when to start seeds indoors or how much soil a raised bed needs, using US units.

Where the numbers come from

Planting windows follow the typical ranges published by university Cooperative Extension services and seed companies. Climate data, such as frost dates, comes from public NOAA records. Each calculator explains its method below the tool.

Use them as a starting point

Gardens vary with weather, soil and microclimate. Treat the results as a well-informed estimate and adjust for what you see in your own yard.