What seedlings can you start in January?- Zones 5 & 6

What seedlings can you start in January? This post is focused primarily on those who live in Zones 5-6.

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What is my Garden Zone?

Let me start out by giving you a quick link.  This post is meant for those of you living mainly in garden hardiness Zones 5 to 6.  If you don’t know what your garden zone is, follow this link to find out!

Don’t live in Zones 5 or 6?  Check out my other January Planting guides for Zones 7 and 8 or Zones 9 and 10. Your climate will determine what you can start this month so look at the other garden zone posts to see what you can plant now in January.

I just added a video to my YouTube channel about this topic. Please check out the video below and be sure to subscribe to my channel while you are at it!!

Starting Seeds Indoors Tips

Let’s face it, there really isn’t much that most of us can sow in a garden bed this time of year in zones 5-6 since it is probably buried in snow. Did you know that you can start some seeds indoors in January? In order to start seeds in January all you need is some seed trays, seed starting soil, seeds, and maybe a heated propagator (Heat Mat).

If you have never started seeds indoors it really isn’t that hard. Learning how to start seeds is a great way to get the variety of seeds you want to plant plus it saves you a lot of money on starts from a nursery.

Check out this article about seed starting or download my free seed starting e-book.

What Seeds to Start in January?

There really are not very many seeds you can plant this month it is too early to start any kind of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or tomatoes. However, there are still a few seeds you can start towards the end of January.

It may take a little creativity and help with a cold frame or greenhouse but you can start the plants below in January even if you live in zones 5 to 6.

Onions

If you live in zones 5-6 the end of January is your time to start onion seedlings. There are of course several different and fairly simple ways to grow onions without growing the seedlings yourself.  But if you are itching to get something started early, onions are one of those plants!

Onion seedlings need a solid 8 weeks or more to get to transplanting size. Decide on your outside planting date and then count back 8-10 weeks. This is when you want to get those seeds started indoors. If you live in zones 5-6 that date is likely to fall in January.

Herbs

Many of the longer-growing herbs need 8 to 10 weeks to get established and ready for transplant outdoors. So January can be a good time to get a few early plants started.

These may be plants that will be going into containers. If that is your plan, January is the time to start, because once they are in their final pot, you can always bring them inside on frosty nights.

I have listed below the herbs you can plant in late January:

• basil
• oregano
• thyme
• chives
• parsley

I have found both chives and parsley to be particularly cold-hardy making late January the perfect time to get them started indoors.

Lettuce

January 15th is my target date for the first indoor plantings of lettuce. These seedlings will go out in the garden in mid-March. For us, in zone 5/6 March plantings of lettuce still have to go in a cold frame, hoop house, or greenhouse for protection and warmth.

A mid-January planting indoors means we will have fresh lettuce in the garden by early April. I have listed below some of my favorite lettuce seeds I like to plant indoors.

• Winter Density
• Little Gem
• Buttercrunch
• Nevada
• Black Seeded Simpson

Be sure you have your lettuce seedlings in larger pots. They will be inside for at least 8 weeks (depending on your March weather) so a standard 2-inch pot won’t cut it. Either plant them in 3 to 4-inch pots or plan on transplanting them out after 4 or so weeks, into a larger pot.

Spinach

Spinach is one of the more hardy spring plants. It will grow unprotected in our garden starting in March. So a late January planting indoors is perfect for us.

Keep in mind that spinach is one of those plants that doesn’t transplant really well. They have a deep central taproot that doesn’t like being disturbed. So use larger 3 or 4-inch containers so that when transplant time comes there is plenty of soil around that root ball!

Swiss Chard

Another very hardy plant on my “what seedlings can you start in January list” is Swiss chard. You can get a few seedlings started in late January to put out in March under the protection of a hoop house, or even just some fabric row cover.

Remember that a few Swiss chard plants can go a long way. Unless you absolutely love this green, 4 or so plants will probably be enough. These early plantings of chard will last well into the summer, giving you tons of leaves and crunchy celery-like stalks.

Kale

Kale is not everyone’s favorite veggie.  I think that is because so many of us grow it at the wrong time of year. Garden kale tastes much better when it is grown in very cool to cold temps. In fact, frost enhances the flavor of kale.

Kale grown in the early spring will be much sweeter than what you are normally used to. So get a few plants started indoors in mid-January for transplant to the garden in mid-March.

Early spring flowers

Many flower seedlings take between 8 to 12 weeks to reach transplant size. Late January may be the time to get many of the hardier flowers started.

Flowers like pansies will need to be ready to plant out in early to mid-April so late January is the time to get them started.

Other Flowers to start in January:

• Pansies
• Sweet Peas
• Violas
• Snap Dragons

When to Plant seeds indoors?

A reminder that this list of “what seedlings can you start in January”,  is mainly intended for those living in Zones 5-6. If you live in the warmer zones then you have probably already started your seedlings. If you live in a colder zone then you should wait.

A good rule of thumb is to start seedlings 6-8 weeks before you intend to plant them out in the garden. In the case of all these January plantings, you should also have a hoop house or cold frame to plant these seedlings in when they go out to the garden.

If you are itching this January to do some gardening then give seed starting a try. You could start with any of the vegetables listed above to see what works best for you. What seeds do you want to start this month?

Happy Gardening!!