What to plant in January: zone 7b
A rule-of-thumb starting point for zone 7b: last spring frost around April 5, first fall frost around November 5. 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.
Dormant care
- Sharpen and oil toolsaround Jan 4
Clean, sharpen and oil blades while there's time. Dull tools bruise plants and slow you down.
- Prune dormant fruit treesaround Jan 18
Prune apples, pears and peaches while fully dormant. Open the center, remove crossing wood.
Start indoors
- Sow microgreens indoorsaround Jan 11
A tray on the windowsill gives you a cut of fresh greens every 10-14 days through the cold months.
- Start onions and leeks indoors2 sowings: Jan 25 and Jan 25
Alliums need 10-12 weeks under lights before they go out. The earliest sowing of the year. Sowing again a few weeks later keeps the harvest coming instead of arriving all at once.
- Rosemaryaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). In zone 6 and below, grow in a pot and overwinter indoors near a south window.
- Leekaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). Plant seedlings deep in a 6 in trench and hill soil up the stem twice during the season. That buried length is the tender white shaft you're growing for.
- Celeryaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). Celery is a water crop: it turns stringy and bitter the moment it dries out. Keep soil consistently moist and feed steadily. Homegrown stalks are thinner and far more flavorful than store celery.
- Lavenderaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). Lean, gritty, well-drained soil and no coddling. Plant on a slight mound, skip the fertilizer, and prune a third of the plant after bloom to stop it going woody.
- Celeriacaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). Needs a long, steady season: start indoors early and keep soil evenly moist the entire time or the knob stays small.
- Habanero Pepperaround Jan 25
10 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (04-05). Needs more heat and a longer season than bell peppers; start indoors early and don't rush it outside until nights stay above 55F.
Direct sow
- Rutabagaaround Jan 11
Soil is ready 12 weeks before last frost.
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