Zone 6a planting calendar

What to plant in September: 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.

Direct sow for fall

  • Radish2 sowings: Sep 7 and Sep 21

    Succession sowing 2 of 3. Sow every 14 days for a steady cut. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.

  • Spinacharound Sep 11

    Counts back 40 days from your first frost. Frost-hardy: light freezes sweeten it.

Sow cover crop

Plant to overwinter

  • Garlicaround Sep 26

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

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