Zone 6b planting calendar

What to plant in January: zone 6b

A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 6b: last spring frost around April 25, first fall frost around October 15. 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 25
Typical first frost: October 15
Winter lows: -5 to 0 °F
Zone 6b Almanac. What growers here actually recorded: sowing weeks, days to first pick, and yields.

Plan & order

  • Inventory and order seed3 sowings: Jan 3 and Jan 10 and Jan 17

    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 24

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

Start indoors

  • Sow microgreens indoorsaround Jan 31

    A tray on the windowsill gives you a cut of fresh greens every 10-14 days through the cold months.

Direct sow

  • Rutabagaaround Jan 31

    Soil is ready 12 weeks before last frost.

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