Zone 6a planting calendar

What to plant in January: zone 6a

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 6a: last spring frost around April 30, first fall frost around October 10. 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: April 30
Typical first frost: October 10
Winter lows: -10 to -5 °F
Zone 6a Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Plan & order

  • Inventory and order seed3 sowings: Jan 8 and Jan 15 and Jan 22

    Sort what you already have, toss anything over 3 years old, and order early while varieties are in stock. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.

Dormant care

  • Sharpen and oil toolsaround Jan 29

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

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