Basic Zone 5 Planting Schedule (Plus When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5) (2024)

Contents hide

1 Figuring Out Your Last Frost Date

2 When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5

2.1 Seeds to Start Indoors in January

2.2 Seeds to Start Indoors in February

2.3 Seeds to Start Indoors in March

2.4 Seeds to Start Indoors in April

Figuring Out Your Last Frost Date

Our average last frost in the spring is June 5 and our average first frost of fall is in early September. That gives us 95 days between frosts, on average, not a lot to work with! If your average last frost is different than ours, you can adjust your planting dates by the same number of days. For example, if your average frost is May 20, you can plant things about 2 weeks earlier than I do.

If you are new to gardening, you might be able to find your city’s average frost dates online with a quick search. The Farmers Almanac has a frost date search box. If not, check with your local extension office and also ask other gardeners in your neighborhood.

When figuring out a zone 5 planting schedule, it’s important to note that each neighborhood or property is it’s own little micro-climate. For example, in my area the average last frost is supposed to be May 25, and average first frost September 15, for a total growing season of 111 days. But on my actual property, the growing season has averaged just 95 days since I’ve lived here, and last year was only 80 days!

In summary, use this zone 5 planting schedule as a guide, but the better you get to know your area and your property, the more you can fine tune it!

Keeping notes will help you figure out the best time for you to start seeds in future years. You can make adjustments each year to fine tune your gardening. I’ve found a garden journal to be very helpful!

When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5

Since our growing season is so short, we usually give seedlings a little extra time than the standard listed on seed packets. Although younger plants transplant better, time is of the essence in our short growing season. We’ve found that we get better harvests on many crops by starting them earlier.

You can find more info on the best grow lights and whether you even need them here!

Seeds to Start Indoors in January

January 15: Sweet potatoes (start slips from a mature sweet potato)
January 15-25: Onions
January 15-25: Leeks

Seeds to Start Indoors in February

February 1-15: Celery
February 15-25: Perennial Herbs
February 15-25: Tomatoes or flowers intended for Mothers Day Gifts
February 25-March 5: Peppers

Seeds to Start Indoors in March

February 25-March 5: Peppers
March 1: Cabbage
March 1: Broccoli and Cauliflower
March 1-10: Annual Herbs
March 10-15: Tomatoes
March 10-15: Eggplant
March 15-20: Tomatillos
March 10-15: Most flowers
March 15-25: Lettuce, spinach and kale
March 15-25: A few early beets and radishes

Seeds to Start Indoors in April

April 5-10: Pre sprout peas between damp paper towels

Seeds to Start Indoors in May

May 20: Pre sprout corn between damp paper towels
May 20: Pre sprout beans between damp paper towels
May 20: Pre sprout squash between damp paper towels
May 20: Pre sprout cucumbers between damp towels
May 25: Pre sprout melons between damp paper towels

If you are starting seeds indoors, be sure to check out our grow light information page below!

Where to Find Organic Plant Starts

Miss the time window for our zone 5 planting schedule, or don’t want to start your own seeds? You’ll definitely want to check out Ellie’s Eden, a branch of Azure Standard that offers high quality, organically grown plants from March through May each year. Azure has no membership fees and delivers for FREE to most of the US. You just have to meet their truck at the designated location in your area to pick up your order.

You can check out their seasonal plant offerings here, or find out more about how Azure works here.

About Pre Sprouting

Pre sprouting is a helpful technique for short seasons. It gives larger seeds a head start while allowing the weather outside to warm up a bit more.

We use pre sprouting for corn, beans, squash, cucumbers and melons.

It’s less labor intensive and less disruptive to the plant than actually growing the seedlings in a pot, and doesn’t require much space to start hundreds or thousands of seeds.

To pre sprout seeds, Fold a paper towel in half, dampen it, place the seeds on one side and fold in half again to cover the seeds. Put the paper towel in a labeled plastic baggie. Seed started this way should be planted in the ground as soon as they start to germinate.

When the roots begin to emerge from the seeds, they need to be planted ASAP. Occasionally, if they need to be planted but the weather is still too cold, I go ahead and stick them in pots of soil until better weather.

Starting Salad Greens Indoors

Although I like to direct sow most of my salad greens, I start the first crop indoors to give me a head start on harvesting. In late March, I sow a few trays total of greens including lettuce, spinach and kale, as well as a few pots of beets and radishes. These are transplanted at 3 1/2-4 weeks, and are ready for harvest about two weeks after that. This allows me to harvest fresh veggies about 4 weeks earlier than I would direct seeding in my climate.

At the same time I transplant the first salad greens, I direct sow the second succession planting to give me a continuous harvest.

This is an optional but valuable part of my zone 5 planting schedule for short season climates!

Zone 5 Planting Schedule

This is my zone 5 planting schedule that I start with. Each year I make adjustments based on weather or if something was too late or too early the year before.

Like I said earlier, use this as a beginning point, but adjust it as you get to know your area better.

This zone 5 planting schedule is based on an average last frost date of June 5.

You’ll notice on our zone 5 planting schedule that we do plant some frost sensitive crops before the last frost date. This is because we have such a short season. If we wait until after the last frost, warm season crops don’t have time to mature before fall. Since we plant so early, we have to keep a close eye on the weather. If the forecast is below 38 degrees Fahrenheit, we either cover the sprouts over with soil if they are small enough, or use frost protection. A light frost isn’t a problem if the seeds are in the ground but haven’t come up yet.

For heat loving crops such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, we wait until about June 10.

April Planting Schedule

April 10-15: Peas
April 20-25: Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, Mustard (direct sow or transplant)
April 20-25: Onions (transplant)
April 20-25: Leeks (transplant)
April 20-25: Celery (transplant)
April 20-25: Carrots
April 20-25: Radishes
April 20-25: Beets (direct sow or transplant)
April 20-25: Parsnips
April 20-25: Turnips
April 20-30: Broccoli, Cauliflower (transplant)
April 20-30: Cabbage, Kohlrabi (transplant)
April 20-30: Brussels Sprouts, Collards (transplant)
April 25-30: Cilantro, Parsley, Thyme, Mint
April 25-30: Cold hardy flowers such as lavender, poppies, violets and pansies
April 25-May 10: Potatoes

May Planting Schedule

April 25-May-10: Potatoes
May 10-20: Sunflowers
May 25: Beans
May 25: Squash, Zucchini, Pumpkins
May 25: Corn
May 25: Cucumbers
May 25: Most Flowers

June Planting Schedule

June 1: Succession plant more peas, salad greens, radishes
June 1: Melons, Watermelon
June 10: Tomatoes
June 10: Peppers
June 10: Basil (transplant)
June 10: Sweet Potatoes (transplant slips)

October Planting Schedule

October 10-30: Garlic

Without cover, most succession plantings after June won’t have time to mature in my garden, so I did not include these in my zone 5 planting schedule.

I do plant some succession crops in July that get covered with floating row cover if frost threatens. These include lettuce, spinach, mustard, arugula, beets, hybrid carrots such as Napoli, radishes and cilantro. Amending the soil again at planting time is helpful for succession crops if you have already grown one or more crops in that spot in a particular year to ensure quick growth. Whether these later planted crops have time to mature does vary each season.

I would encourage you to experiment with succession plantings of salad and root crops to see how late you can plant them in your microclimate!