Zone 4a planting calendar

What to plant in January: zone 4a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 4a: last spring frost around May 20, first fall frost around September 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: May 20

Typical first frost: September 20

Winter lows: -30 to -25 °F

Zone 4a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Plan & order

Inventory and order seedaround Jan 28
Sort what you already have, toss anything over 3 years old, and order early while varieties are in stock.

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