Grow your own food, right in your backyard.

Zone 6 planting calendar

Pick a month to see what to start, plant, and harvest. Zone 6 usually sees its last spring frost around mid-May and its first fall frost in early to mid-October.

Frost dates shift from yard to yard. Look up the dates for your own town and adjust by a week or two either way.

New to growing food? Start here.

You don't need a big yard or a lot of experience. A sunny patch and a few easy crops are enough for a first season.

1. Find your sunniest spot

   Most vegetables want six to eight hours of direct sun. Watch your yard for a day and note where the light lands longest.

2. Build good soil

   Mix a few inches of compost into the bed, or fill a raised bed with a blend of topsoil and compost. Healthy soil does most of the work for you.

3. Start with easy crops

   Lettuce, radishes, bush beans, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes are forgiving and productive. Grow what you love to eat.