Zone 5a planting calendar

What to plant in September: zone 5a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 5a: last spring frost around May 10, first fall frost around October 1. 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 10

Typical 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.

Sow cover crop

Cover crop (cereal rye + crimson clover)around Sep 1
Sown a month before frost it germinates, holds your soil all winter, and feeds it in spring.

Direct sow for fall

Spinacharound Sep 2
Counts back 40 days from your first frost. Frost-hardy: light freezes sweeten it.
Radisharound Sep 12
Counts back 30 days from your first frost. Frost-hardy: light freezes sweeten it.

Plant to overwinter

Garlicaround Sep 17
Cloves go in about two weeks before first frost. They root now, sleep, then bulb next summer.

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