When to Plant Onions in Franklin, PA

Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Franklin you can figure out when you can plant onions by checking out 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 earlier in the year than more sensitive 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 Franklin 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 grow to maturity. If you are starting your onions indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Franklin. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -10°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Franklin is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Franklin you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your onions in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-10°F
Highest Expected Low-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Franklin

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