What You Need to Do Month-to-Month in Gardening Zone 6

Gardening zones, also known as hardiness zones, are geographical areas defined by their average annual minimum winter temperature. These zones help gardeners determine which plants will thrive in their region. Gardening zone 6 covers parts of the Midwest, Northeast, some areas of the Pacific Northwest, and the Mid-Atlantic in the United States. Cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, and parts of New York and Pennsylvania fall within this zone. With cold winters and warm summers, gardeners in Zone 6 enjoy a diverse growing season from early spring to late fall.

This post is all about gardening zone 6.

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The Importance of Knowing Your Gardening Zone

It’s crucial to know about your gardening zone to have a successful gardening experience. That doesn’t mean you have to know all of the ins and outs before you start. That shouldn’t dissuade you from planting your garden. However, having a basic understanding and foundation is good to have. I did a breakdown of what hardiness zones are and microclimates in this post here if you haven’t read it yet. What has been so helpful to me, and hopefully to you if you’re a beginner or more experienced gardening, is knowing what to do and when. So if you’re in gardening zone 6, I’ve compiled a month-to-month to do list to help you out.

Let’s dive in!

Climate Characteristics of Gardening Zone 6

Gardening Zone 6 has a last frost date around May 1st, and the first frost date around November 1st. These frost dates are only estimates and will vary from year to year, as well as with zone 6 itself. These differences can range from as long as one to two weeks. Meaning you could have a last frost date on May 1st one year. But the next year could be a last frost date in mid-May. It’s important to always keep an eye on the weather when growing food. By not paying attention to the weather, this could be the difference of destroying your whole garden by planting too soon and having to replant, and having a successful year.

This zone is considered a temperate climate with an average minimum winter temperature of -10F to 0F.

Your Month-to-Month Guide

January & February

Even though January and February are colder months, they’re still important months as a gardener. These are the months you should start thinking about your garden and planning. My suggestion is to get a gardening journal and start taking notes throughout the year. Things you may want to consider in your journaling is recording anything off about your soil after conducting a test later on in the year, whether you encountered any diseases or pests and what you learned from remediation and care, what you planted and when, when your first and last frost date were that year, as well as anything else you learned.

What to do this month in the garden:

During these months, there won’t be a whole lot to do outside. However, you can start by doing the following:

Check out online seed companies and check out your local gardening shops.
- My favorite seed companies:
  - Botanical Interests
  - Johnny’s Selected Seeds
  - Baker’s Creek Rare Seeds
Plan your garden layout and order seeds. Some companies may require you to pre-order certain crops and they’ll ship them at a certain point during the year. This is the case for crops like potatoes, garlic, onions, and strawberries.
Set up growing area, trays, and indoor grow lights if you’re starting seeds indoors.
Start cold-hardy crops like onions, leeks, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, and rosemary.
Clean, sanitize, and sharpen your tools, as well as oil any equipment that may need it.
Set up cold frames and trellises or any other type of supports, if possible.

What else to think about later in the year:

Are you preserving any of the harvest? If so, how are you preserving it and what do you need to get that done?

March

During the month of March, the work will start to pick up. Depending on the weather, you may be able to start doing some plantings outside with cold hardy crops. March is the month you can start your warm weather crops indoors. By starting them indoors, this will give you a head start on the growing season.

The checklist for this month:

Begin hardening off any cold or cool weather crops that you started indoors before you plant them outside. Even though it’s a colder/cooler month, this is still a vital step so your seedlings survive transplant.
Start warm-weather crops indoors, such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
Clean up the garden – remove any debris before you start adding your plants in.
Direct sow crops like peas, spinach, radishes, and carrots as the soil thaws.

April

It’s starting to warm up and it’s really feeling like spring now. But don’t be fooled with these temperatures since cold snaps can happen. Remember, it’s still possible during this month to have frost which can really set you back. Keep any frost tender plants indoors. You can cover any plants you have outdoors with fleece or plastic covers in hoop tunnels if you’d like. Half way through the month, start looking two weeks out to see if there’s any frost in the forecast. Keep an eye on the forecast!

Sow the following crops outside: potatoes, onions, asparagus, beets, carrots, Swiss chard, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
Think ahead by planning to provide cover for cooler weather crops with warmer weather crops.
Set up garden beds with compost and mulch.
Keep an eye on late frosts and cover vulnerable plants when necessary.
If you have raspberries, it’s time to prune the canes.

May

It’s finally May! This is the month where things really getting busy. You should still be keeping an eye on the forecast just to be sure that there’s no frost in the forecast. I’m in zone 7a, but can also follow zone 6b. The reason for this is that we always land on the cuff of either having warmer or colder weather depending, on weather passing through. In my area, we can suddenly have frost out of nowhere in the middle of May. Once you don’t see any frost in the forecast, it’s now time to really start planting. For warmer weather crops, I also make sure nighttime temperature are above 60 degrees. When it’s too cold for warmer crops at night, it can cause nutrient deficiencies because of uptake issues with nutrients from the soil.

Transplant your warmer weather plants like tomatoes, eggplants, okra, squash, etc.
Sow beans, corn, squash, and cucumbers directly into the soil.
Start pest control measures early.
As you plant, utilize companion planting. If you’re unfamiliar with this technique, I have lots several posts which discuss it.
Direct sow flowers like sunflowers, nasturtiums, and marigold.

June

Temperatures are continuing to rise. It’s time to start doing your succession planting to keep the garden bumpin’ all season long. Pests are definitely out and about so continue to monitor and keep an eye out. This is really important because pest pressure can quickly spiral out of control. Before you know it, you have an infestation.

Pests to look out for (examples and not all):

Colorado potato beetle
Mexican bean beetles
Aphids
Vine borers

What to do this month:

Harvest early crops like lettuce and radishes.
Cover brassica crops with row covers to protect them from pest pressure.
Keep soil moist and apply mulch to retain moisture.
Support climbing plants with trellises.
As temperatures climb, cooler weather crops may start bolting. This will cause bitter tasting crops. It may become time to pull them. Hopefully you planned for warmer weather crops to provide shade for cooler weather crops. You can also try using shade covers.
Since the plants are probably established by now, you won’t have to water them as frequently as when they were seedlings. Water deep and at least once a week.

July

This month you may be able to start harvesting if you haven’t already. Keep a close eye on your crops to make sure you’re harvesting on time. By not harvesting often enough, crops can slow down and produce can become too large. Some crops, like basil, highly benefit from being harvested from frequently. The more frequently basil is harvest, the more it grows!

Continue harvesting and replant fast-growing crops like beans and greens.
Water deeply during hot spells. The plants will also need water more frequently.
Start seeds for fall crops – these are the crops that were planted in the spring time. These cool and cold weather crops can be grow in the fall too.
Deadhead any of the flowers you planted.
Continue monitoring for pests.
- Pro tip: check under the leaves for eggs!

August

August is usually super hot! Continue what you’ve been doing throughout July. Your plants may even be suffering through the heat. Put up shade covers in your garden if it’s really hot to give the plants a rest. If you’ve considered canning, it now might be time to start. Otherwise, to preserve your excess, start drying, hydrating, and freezing it.

Harvest peak summer vegetables.
Sow cool-season crops for fall.
Begin drying herbs and preserving excess produce.
Remove any plants that aren’t producing or diseased. If any of the plants have diseases, don’t put them in the compost pile.
Remove any debris that may have accumulated.
Start sowing cover crops if you plan to use them for the fall.

September

It’s still probably hot this month. Continue everything you’ve been doing during the month of August – watering, cleaning up the garden, checking for pests, and other general maintenance.

Sow cover crops to enrich soil for next year.
Start bringing in tender plants before frost, if you’ve planted them in containers.
Keep harvesting and remove spent plants.
Continue to preserve the harvest.
Apply compost, mulch, manure, and leaves (if the leaves have started to fall).

October

It’s pumpkin season! Are you a pumpkin spice lover? Unpopular opinion – I’m not a pumpkin spice latte lover. However, I definitely indulge in making sweets with pumpkin and spices. This is the month when things really start to wind down in the garden after the hustle and bustle of the growing season. It’s time to finish up cleaning the garden. It’s getting close to the first frost date. However, there may be a first frost towards the end of the month. Hopefully you’ve been journaling throughout the year and making notes along the way. Mark down your first frost date.

Plant garlic, shallots, and spring bulbs.
Apply compost and mulch garden beds for winter protection.
Clean and store garden tools.
Prep for protecting cool weather crops with hoop tunnels, row covers, or whatever else you may be planning to extend the season.

November & December

If you didn’t have a first frost last month, you may have one this month. Be sure to mark down your first frost date. Hopefully you already have your cool weather crops protected. This is an opportunity to extend the growing season and may even give you a chance to grow throughout the winter.

Protect perennials with mulch.
Reflect on the gardening season and plan improvements.
Enjoy winter harvests from stored and preserved produce.

It’s now time to rest and enjoy anything you’ve preserved during the growing season!

Following this month-by-month guide will help keep a Zone 6 garden thriving year-round. Happy gardening!

This post was all about gardening zone 6.

What You Need to Do Month-to-Month in Gardening Zone 6

The Importance of Knowing Your Gardening Zone

Climate Characteristics of Gardening Zone 6