What to Plant in September in Zone 5
Here is what you can sow in September if you garden in USDA zone 5. Dates use typical zone 5 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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| Crop | Window | Sow between |
|---|---|---|
| CilantroCalypso | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 4 |
| Lettuce, leafSalad Bowl | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 20 |
| Lettuce, romaineChalupa | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 20 |
| Lettuce, headButtercrunch | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 4 |
| SpinachBloomsdale | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 9 |
| ArugulaAstro | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 20 |
| RadishCherry Belle | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 4 |
| Onion, bulbTexas Legend | fall | Aug 10 – Sep 21 |
| SorrelProfusion | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 5 |
| WatercressCommon | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 5 |
| ShallotAmbition | fall | Sep 14 – Oct 19 |
| Strawberry, day-neutralAlbion | fall | Aug 6 – Sep 5 |
| DillFernleaf | fall | Aug 3 – Sep 14 |
| ChervilCurled | fall | Aug 10 – Sep 21 |
| Strawberry, June-bearingHoneoye | fall | Aug 6 – Sep 5 |
| Lettuce | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 20 |
| Onion | fall | Aug 10 – Sep 21 |
| Calendula (Pot Marigold)Resina | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 4 |
| Mache (Corn Salad)Vit | fall | Aug 6 – Sep 25 |
| Cress, gardenCurled | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 20 |
Zone 5 in September
September in Zone 5: The Fast Crops Wrap Up, Garlic Waits for October
The last quick-turnaround plantings of the year
September is a hard stop for the fast crops, the radishes, spinach, and quick lettuces that can still squeeze in a harvest before Zone 5's early-October frost. Daylight is already shrinking by 2 to 3 minutes a day this month, and that steady loss slows leafy growth well before day length actually drops under 10 hours in November, so a crop sown after the first week of September is racing a clock that is already running down, not just a coming frost.
Garlic and shallots are not ready for the ground yet
Garlic and shallots are the one crop still weeks away from planting, not an exception that opens now. The cloves want a stretch of 6 to 8 chilly weeks under 40 degrees to divide into separate cloves rather than forming one round bulb next summer, and pushing them into September's still-warm dirt only forces top growth that a hard freeze later cuts down, leaving a smaller bulb than one planted on schedule. Spend this month prepping the bed instead: pull the last spent crops, turn 2 to 3 inches of compost into the soil, and let the bed cool before an October planting.
September is also cleanup month
Behind the last harvests, September is the best window to pull spent summer crops and get a cover crop like winter rye or crimson clover established, since both need 4 to 6 weeks of growth before a hard freeze to hold soil and suppress spring weeds. Skipping the cover crop leaves bare soil through a Zone 5 winter, which loses far more topsoil to freeze-thaw heaving than most gardeners expect from a single season.
September in zone 5: common questions
What can I plant in September in zone 5?+
In September, USDA zone 5 gardeners can sow Cilantro, Lettuce, leaf, Lettuce, romaine, Lettuce, head, Spinach, Arugula, and more. Dates use typical zone 5 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 5 is one band of the map, but planting time is set by your local frost dates, not the zone number. Enter your ZIP code in the free planner and it uses your actual frost dates, which can differ by weeks within a single zone.
Are these September planting dates exact?+
They are typical zone 5 windows. Two gardens in the same zone can be a week or two apart because of elevation and local climate, so treat these as a starting point and tune them to your ZIP code with the free planner.