Protect · plan · keep growing
Winter Planting Guide
See what can be planted outdoors, under protection, or indoors during winter in every USDA zone.
Planting finder for Zones 1A–13B
What can I plant this winter?
Select your USDA zone to see broad seasonal windows for starting indoors, direct sowing, and transplanting or planting.
Your winter planting overview
Zone 6B Winter Planting Guide
Winter ranges from frozen soil to peak cool-season production. Indoor sprouts and microgreens remain available in every zone.
Go beyond the zone
Open your state vegetable planting calendar
State calendars account for regional frost patterns, elevation, heat, and local growing seasons that the USDA hardiness zone alone cannot describe.
Winter planning project
Lay out next season’s garden
Use quiet winter weeks to turn seed lists into a workable plot. The interactive Garden Planner lets you set the bed size, draw growing beds and paths, place crops by square foot, and save or print the finished layout.
Open the Interactive Garden Planner
SEE THE PLANNER IN ACTION →
Use the results well
Four checks before seed meets soil
Average dates are guides. Watch the forecast and protect tender crops from late or early freezes.
Warm-season seeds such as beans, cucumbers, and melons can rot or stall in cold, wet soil.
For late planting, count backward from frost and add time for slower growth under shortening days.
Use cold-tolerant, fast varieties in shoulder seasons and heat-tolerant choices for summer successions.
Modeled near 2½ inches deep
Check your current soil temperature
Enter a U.S. ZIP code for a current modeled reading, then confirm the seedbed itself with a garden soil thermometer.
Prepare for the season
Winter garden preparation
Use this checklist to prepare soil, fertility, water, mulch, pest management, and season protection before the work becomes urgent.
Protect bare ground
Keep beds covered with living cover crops, leaves, straw, or other suitable mulch to reduce erosion and compaction.
Plan from your records
Review planting dates, yields, pest notes, and failures. Order seed based on the next crop plan—not last year’s leftovers.
Test and amend carefully
Winter can be a good soil-testing window where soil is accessible. Wait for recommendations before applying lime or fertilizer.
Clean growing equipment
Wash and sanitize seed trays, propagation tools, stakes, and storage bins before spring pressure begins.
Inspect stored crops
Check onions, garlic, potatoes, and winter squash regularly; remove deteriorating produce and correct storage conditions.
Maintain protection
Vent tunnels and cold frames on sunny days, secure covers before wind, and water protected crops only when needed.
Important timing note
A zone is not a planting date
The USDA map is based on average annual extreme minimum winter temperature and is primarily a perennial-hardiness tool. Two gardens in the same zone can have different frost dates, rainfall, soil temperature, elevation, and summer heat. Use the zone finder for orientation, then refine the plan with your state calendar and current conditions.
Planning approach informed by the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, University of Maryland Extension vegetable timing guidance, and University of Minnesota Extension crop-planning guidance.