Zone 6 has a medium to short growing season. The first quarter of the year is not only a continuation of winter crops from the last quarter but the opening of the window for inside planting for spring for a very small number of crops and the first safe dates for transplanting tender spring plants outside.
Last Frost Date in Zone 6 is on average May 1 however this means that April 31st has about a 50% chance of having a freeze. Therefore a safe outside planting/transplant date is likely sometime thereafter. It is often in the interest of the gardener in Zone 6 to plant as early as the odds seem good in order to get yield from crops as early as possible, especially crops that are slow to mature like peppers. An early planting can also allow the possibility of a fall planting of some vegetables or a fall crop from indeterminate vegetable
Some crops are slow to mature and yield and require as many days head start as is practical so the wise gardener will take into account the crop, the variety, how long they can keep seedlings inside and protected, micro climates and if they can protect new plants outside if the average last frost turns out to be much later.
Below are some common home garden vegetables whose planting window opens in the first quarter of the year. Feel free to sign in to Home-Gardenbook and create or amend your own planting calendar with reminder functions. If you would like to add some vegetables to this list for future planting guide mail outs please feel free to contact us and tell us the vegetables you would like to add.
- BEETS - March 15 to June 30
- BROCCOLI - March 1 to June 15
- CAULIFLOWER - March 1 to June 15
- Kale - March 15 to June 15
- LETTUCE - March 15 to June 15
- ONIONS - March 15 to August 31
- PEAS - March 15 to May 31
- PEPPERS - March15 to September 30 (generally one season for peppers which take around 120 days to mature)
- SPINACH - March 1 to June 30
- SQUASH - March 1 to June 30
- TOMATO - March 15 to September 30 (one season for tomatoes with room for staggering two distinct crops....as most tomatoes take around 70 days that means one might easily get in two iterations)