Green County gardeners know the roller coaster of local spring weather changes: one day it’s sunny and 65 degrees, and the next finds windshields covered in frost. For a successful garden, careful timing is the difference between a bountiful harvest and a row of shriveled seedlings.

Understanding the “what and when” of planting requires a basic grasp of local frost dates and the biological preferences of different vegetable families and decorative plants. With those things in mind, here’s a general, step-by-step approach to planning your planting calendar.