Zone 5a planting calendar

What to plant in October: zone 5a

Zone 5a averages its last spring frost around May 10 and its first fall frost around October 1. Everything below is timed from those two dates, so it stays useful whether you're planting for summer or for a fall harvest.

These are zone-average dates. Check an area-level frost estimate from thirty years of nearby weather history and this calendar retimes itself.

Last frost: May 10

First frost: October 1

Winter lows: -20 to -15 °F

Zone 5a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

A quiet month in zone 5a

October is a rest-and-plan month here. Use it to order seed, test your soil, repair beds, and map next season's rotation, then jump ahead to November.

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