Guide

Seed-packet words, decoded

A seed packet is written in a little dialect that trips up every beginner. The short version: sow = plant seeds; direct sow = plant them straight into the ground where they’ll grow; transplant / plant out = move a young plant to its final spot; harden off = toughen up indoor seedlings before that move; and harvest = pick when it’s ready. Here’s each one in plain English — and how they line up with the timeline in the planner.

Sow

To sow is simply to place seeds in soil so they can germinate. On a packet, a sowing window (“sow March–May”) tells you when conditions are right to start (RHS).

Direct sow vs. start indoors

Direct sow means putting seeds in the garden exactly where you want them to grow, rather than starting them in pots indoors and moving them later (Iowa State Extension). Fast, root-sensitive crops (radish, carrots, beans) prefer to be sown direct; slow or frost-tender ones (tomatoes, peppers) are often started indoors to get a head start on the season.

Transplant / plant out

Transplanting — also called planting out — is moving a young plant from its pot into its final position in the garden or a bigger container, where it will grow on to harvest. This is the step where a windowsill seedling becomes a real garden plant.

Harvest

Harvesting is picking your crop when it’s mature and ready to eat or use. Many crops keep producing if you pick regularly — the more you harvest lettuce or beans, the more they give.

How this maps to the planner

When the planner shows a crop’s timeline, the amber band is its sow window and the orange band is its harvest window — the stretch between is the growing you’ll do (including planting out, once your seedlings are hardened off). So “what to start now” is really “what’s in its sow window this month, where you are.”

See your sow & harvest windows →

Sources

• Seed sowing glossary — Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
• Planting and Harvesting Your Vegetable Garden — Iowa State University Extension

Educational guidance, not a guarantee. Last reviewed 2026-07-14.