January Planting Guide by Zone
Click on your Zone for details.
Zones 1 – 4
- Organize your seeds: Discard those that are too old; then make a list of seeds to order.
- Order seeds early to avoid substitution. Even though you won’t be starting for a couple of months, avoid everyone else’s last-minute rush.
- Choose your onion seeds now so you receive them in time to start indoors next month.
- Draw your garden plan before placing your seed order. Refer to last year’s notes and plan for crop rotation and selection of varieties that did well. Try at least one new variety this year.
- Check your seed – starting setup, making sure it is cleaned, repaired, and operational. Upgrade or update equipment or tools as needed—lights, trays, covers, etc.
- Check the condition of your gardening equipment. Clean, oil, and sharpen garden tools. Brightly painting a section on tool handles will make them easier to spot in the garden.
- Build a garden trellis.
Zones 5 – 6
- Organize your seeds: Discard those that are too old, then make a list of seeds to order.
- Check your seed – starting setup, making sure it is cleaned, repaired, and operational. Upgrade or update equipment or tools as needed—lights, trays, covers, etc.
- Replenish your supplies, including seed-starting mix and organic fertilizers.
- Where there isn’t much snow cover, push back any plants that have “heaved” out of the ground because of freeze-thaw cycles.
- Draw your garden plan before placing your seed order. Refer to last year’s notes and plan for crop rotation and selection of varieties that did well. Try at least one new variety this year.
- Order seeds and plants early to avoid substitution.
- Check the condition of your gardening equipment. Clean, oil, and sharpen garden tools. Brightly painting a section on tool handles will make them easier to spot in the garden.
- Rake heavy snow off shrubs.
Zones 7 – 8
- On mild days, remove winter weeds, such as wild onions and chickweed.
- Sow poppy seeds for bloom in May and June.
- Sow pollinator-attracting flower seeds directly in flowerbeds where you want them to grow; look for blooms by mid-spring.
- Sow seeds of annual flowers for cutting or as a background for other plants.
- Towards the end of the month, weed the asparagus bed and strawberry plot, then feed the plants and renew the thinning mulches.
- Cover root crops still in the ground with an extra layer of mulch.
- Sow seeds of herbs, such as dill and parsley.
- Top-dress lawns and garden beds with compost.
Zones 9 – 10
- Use the weather to your advantage. Observe the location of standing puddles left by winter rains and note where you need to improve plant drainage.
- Sow seeds of geraniums, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in pots filled with a peat moss/vermiculite mixture; set the pots on a sunny windowsill or beneath lights until it’s warm enough to plant them outside.
- In the garden, “scratch in” wildflower seed mixes and poppy seeds; plant nasturtium seeds a bit deeper.
- As the soil warms, plant carrots, broccoli, lettuce, spinach, cilantro, parsley, and Asian greens.
- Harvest carrots, radishes, and Brussels sprouts—sweetened by frost.
- It’s the dry season—water vegetable plants, non-dormant tropical plants, and bedding plants regularly.
- Plant heat-tolerant chicory, lettuce, and Swiss chard in the shade so that they stay cool when the weather warms.
Zone Planting Guides
Planting charts for your Zone
Zone 3
Zone 3 is the coldest and shortest of the USDA garden zones.
Zone 4
Zone 5
Zone 6
Zone 7
Zone 8
Zone 9
Zone 10
USDA Zones vs First & Last Frost Dates
Which to Use and Why
USDA Zone Maps
These guides show the lowest average temperatures recorded in the area over the past 30 years.
They are a good basis for initial planning and comparison but should not be used as the only source of information for choosing what vegetables to grow or when to plant.
The Zone information is helpful when exchanging ideas with gardeners in different zones, as it is user-friendly.
Find your USDA hardiness zone here.
Scroll using your cursor to grab and move the map, then zoom in with the + and – buttons at the top left. Once you can see your town, city, or location, click on the map to see your Zone info in a popup window.
First & Last Frost Dates Tool
This frost dates tool provides detailed and accurate information for sowing seed, transplanting, and using frost protection to extend the growing season.
It includes historical data from numerous regional NOAA weather stations to help determine the likelihood of frost in spring and fall.
Find your First and Last frost dates here.
Enter your ZIP code and scroll down to see general information and the three closest weather stations to you.