Zone 2a planting calendar

What to plant in March: zone 2a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 2a: last spring frost around June 5, first fall frost around August 20. Zones are set by winter lows, not frost dates, so two gardens in the same zone can be weeks apart. Measure your ZIP below for dates from your area's own 30-year record.

These are zone-average dates. Check an area-level frost estimate from thirty years of nearby weather history and this calendar retimes itself.
Typical last frost: June 5
Typical first frost: August 20
Winter lows: -50 to -45 °F
Zone 2a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Dormant care

  • Sharpen and oil toolsaround Mar 6

    Clean, sharpen and oil blades while there's time. Dull tools bruise plants and slow you down.

  • Prune dormant fruit treesaround Mar 20

    Prune apples, pears and peaches while fully dormant. Open the center, remove crossing wood.

Start indoors

  • Sow microgreens indoorsaround Mar 13

    A tray on the windowsill gives you a cut of fresh greens every 10-14 days through the cold months.

  • Start onions and leeks indoorsaround Mar 27

    Alliums need 10-12 weeks under lights before they go out. The earliest sowing of the year.

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