When to Plant Onions in Malden, MA

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By checking out the USDA zone info for Malden it's a good idea to estimate when it's the best time to plant onions.


Planting Calendar for Onions

Frost tolerance for onions: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since onions are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather you can plant them much earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant onions
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant onions
Probably not a good time to plant onions

The earliest that you can plant onions in Malden is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant onions and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your onions indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Malden. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Malden may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Malden last frost occurs after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your onions if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Malden

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-5°F
Highest Expected Low0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Malden

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Malden.