When to Plant Onions in Norwich, NY

One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Norwich you can estimate when it's the best time to plant onions by reviewing the USDA zone info.


Planting Calendar for Onions

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

Onions can survive in a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

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 Norwich 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. Any later than that and your onions may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your onions indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Norwich. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Norwich and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Norwich there is a last frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your onions in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Norwich

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-20°F
Highest Expected Low-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Norwich

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