About Growing Vegetables in Zone 6
Planting times for zone 6 will depend on whose zone map you are consulting. There is a zonal map put out by the United States Department of Agriculture and one put out by Sunset. These vary greatly for zone 6. The USDA map is broad of stroke and encompasses Massachusetts and Rhode Island, extends southwest through parts of New York and New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. USDA zone 6 doesn’t stop there but branches out into northwestern Oklahoma, northern New Mexico and Arizona, and on into northern California. A very large area indeed! Conversely, the Sunset map for zone 6 is very small containing Oregon’s Willamette Valley. This is because Sunset takes other things besides the coldest winter temperature average into account. Sunset bases their map on factors such as elevation, latitude, humidity, rainfall, wind, soil conditions and other microclimate factors.
When to Plant Vegetables in Zone 6
If relying on the coldest average winter temperature, the last frost date is May 1 and the first frost date is November 1. This will, of course, vary due to our constantly changing weather patterns and is intended as a general guideline. According to Sunset, zone 6 vegetable planting runs from mid-March after the last frost through mid-November. In both cases, it’s important to remember that these are guidelines and winter or summer can come earlier or last longer than is typical. Some plants can be started inside (typically around April) for later transplant. These include:
Brussels sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Tomato Eggplant Peppers Cucumber
The earliest seeds to sow outdoors are cabbages in February followed by the following crops in March:
Kale Onions Celery Spinach Broccoli Radish Peas
Carrots, lettuceand beetscan go out in April while you can direct sow sweet potatoes, potatoes, and squashin May. This, of course, is not all you can grow. For more information on vegetables well suited for you area, contact your local extension office for advice.
