What to Plant in September in Zone 6
Here is what you can sow in September if you garden in USDA zone 6. Dates use typical zone 6 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
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| Crop | Window | Sow between |
|---|---|---|
| CilantroCalypso | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 14 |
| Lettuce, leafSalad Bowl | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
| Lettuce, romaineChalupa | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
| Lettuce, headButtercrunch | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 14 |
| SpinachBloomsdale | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 19 |
| ArugulaAstro | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
| RadishCherry Belle | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 14 |
| Onion, bulbTexas Legend | fall | Aug 20 – Oct 1 |
| Fava Bean (Broad Bean)Broad Windsor | fall | Sep 14 – Oct 22 |
| Bok ChoyJoi Choi F1 | fall | Jul 27 – Sep 5 |
| TatsoiTatsoi | fall | Jul 22 – Sep 5 |
| MizunaMizuna Early | fall | Jul 27 – Sep 10 |
| Daikon RadishMiyashige | fall | Jul 27 – Sep 5 |
| SorrelProfusion | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 15 |
| WatercressCommon | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 15 |
| ShallotAmbition | fall | Sep 24 – Oct 29 |
| Strawberry, day-neutralAlbion | fall | Aug 16 – Sep 15 |
| DillFernleaf | fall | Aug 13 – Sep 24 |
| ChervilCurled | fall | Aug 20 – Oct 1 |
| Strawberry, June-bearingHoneoye | fall | Aug 16 – Sep 15 |
| Lettuce | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
| Onion | fall | Aug 20 – Oct 1 |
| Calendula (Pot Marigold)Resina | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 14 |
| Mache (Corn Salad)Vit | fall | Aug 16 – Oct 5 |
| Cress, gardenCurled | fall | Aug 1 – Sep 30 |
Zone 6 in September
September in Zone 6: Fava Beans Go In While Garlic Waits Its Turn
Fava bean settles in for a winter underground, not a fall harvest
Fava bean gets planted in September for a purpose different from everything else on the calendar this month: it is not racing frost for a fall harvest, it is settling in to overwinter and resume growth in spring. Garlic and shallot beds get their final clearing and compost work this same month, but the cloves themselves wait for next month, once the ground has cooled enough that they will not push top growth a hard freeze would only cut back down.
Fava bean is a genuine gamble, not a sure thing
Fall-planted fava bean survives a Zone 6 winter in most years but not all of them, since sustained cold into the low 20s is roughly where damage starts on an established plant, and pushing meaningfully colder than that usually takes a hardy overwintering variety backed by snow cover for insulation. Plant it early in the month rather than late, giving it the longest possible root-establishment window, and treat any loss over a rough winter as a normal outcome of the gamble rather than a planting mistake, since even well-timed fava beans fail in the coldest Zone 6 winters.
August's quick plantings are on a hard deadline
Meanwhile, the fast greens started in August, lettuce, spinach, arugula, and the rest, are running out their last few weeks of real growth as days keep shortening by roughly 2 to 3 minutes each one this month. The point where daylight actually drops under 10 hours and leafy growth all but stops does not arrive here until sometime in November, well past this month, but the steady daily loss already slows these crops down before that hard line ever hits. Harvest anything close to size rather than betting on a little more growth, since a crop that stalls out short of full size now rarely catches up before frost closes the bed.
September in zone 6: common questions
What can I plant in September in zone 6?+
In September, USDA zone 6 gardeners can sow Cilantro, Lettuce, leaf, Lettuce, romaine, Lettuce, head, Spinach, Arugula, and more. Dates use typical zone 6 frosts, so your own microclimate may shift them by a week or two.
What USDA hardiness zone am I in?+
Zone 6 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 6 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.