When to plant · 17 cities · zones 5b–7b
When to plant onions in New York
Start Spanish Onion seeds indoors around Feb 6 and transplant around Apr 3 — the New York statewide median, counted from a last spring frost of May 1 across 1,819 ZIP codes and 186 NOAA stations.
The rule: Twelve weeks indoors, the earliest sowing on the calendar, then transplant about four weeks before the last frost.
New York onions, by step
Statewide median last frost May 1, first fall frost Oct 14, 2027 season. Each cultivar's own indoor lead time and days to maturity, same engine as the Plan Builder.
| Cultivar | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish OnionYellow Sweet Spanish (long-day) | Feb 6 | Apr 3 | Jul 22 | 110 from transplant |
Tight means first harvest lands within two weeks of the median first fall frost. Statewide dates are the ZIP-weighted median of every NOAA 1991–2020 station New York's ZIP codes resolve to.
Onions in New York, city by city
Spanish Onion, scheduled from each city's nearest NOAA station — the same dates as its frost page.
| City | Last frost | Start indoors | Plant out | First harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Yorkzone 7b | Apr 1 | Jan 7 | Mar 4 | Jun 22 |
| Buffalozone 6b | Apr 24 | Jan 30 | Mar 27 | Jul 15 |
| Yonkerszone 7b | Apr 20 | Jan 26 | Mar 23 | Jul 11 |
| Rochesterzone 6b | Apr 24 | Jan 30 | Mar 27 | Jul 15 |
| Syracusezone 6a | Apr 29 | Feb 4 | Apr 1 | Jul 20 |
| Albanyzone 6a | Apr 27 | Feb 2 | Mar 30 | Jul 18 |
| New Rochellezone 7b | Apr 1 | Jan 7 | Mar 4 | Jun 22 |
| Mount Vernonzone 7b | Apr 1 | Jan 7 | Mar 4 | Jun 22 |
| Schenectadyzone 6a | Apr 27 | Feb 2 | Mar 30 | Jul 18 |
| Uticazone 5b | May 1 | Feb 6 | Apr 3 | Jul 22 |
| White Plainszone 7a | Apr 12 | Jan 18 | Mar 15 | Jul 3 |
| Hempsteadzone 7b | Apr 2 | Jan 8 | Mar 5 | Jun 23 |
| Troyzone 6a | Apr 19 | Jan 25 | Mar 22 | Jul 10 |
| Niagara Fallszone 6b | Apr 26 | Feb 1 | Mar 29 | Jul 17 |
| Binghamtonzone 6a | May 5 | Feb 10 | Apr 7 | Jul 26 |
| Freeportzone 7b | Apr 7 | Jan 13 | Mar 10 | Jun 28 |
| Kiryas Joelzone 6b | Apr 10 | Jan 16 | Mar 13 | Jul 1 |
What these onions become
What New York onions need
Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion Seed
A long-day storage onion with enough sugar to sweat down without scorching. The aromatic base under every tomato sauce on this site.
Organic Seed Starter Potting MixMust have
Seed-starting mix is not potting soil with a nicer label — it is finer, lighter, and low in nutrients on purpose, because a seedling's first roots want air and moisture, not fertiliser.
72-Cell Trays with 1020 Bottoms, 5-PackMust have
The cheap black nursery trays crack after one season and flex enough to break roots when you lift them. These do not. Over five seasons the price per use is lower than the throwaways.
T8 Full-Spectrum Grow Lights, 1 ft 4-packMust have
A south window in March delivers a fraction of the light a pepper seedling needs, and the plant tells you by stretching. Two inches of LED above the canopy for 16 hours a day fixes it permanently.
Rapitest Soil Test Kit
In-ground growers are guessing until they test. pH outside 6.0–6.8 locks nutrients out no matter how much fertiliser you add, and no amount of feeding fixes that.
Pure Organic Worm Castings, 15 lb
Not a fertiliser so much as a soil-biology inoculant with a mild nutrient charge. A cup in each planting hole is a cheap, unglamorous improvement you can measure by August.
Garden Harvest Basket with Tool Caddy
A harvest basket that doubles as a colander means the hose rinse happens in the garden, and the dirt stays outside. On a 20-pound tomato day that is a genuine time saving.
Paid links. We earn a commission from Amazon if you buy; you pay the same. Disclosure.
Onions in New York: questions
When should I plant onions in New York?
Transplant around Apr 3 at the statewide median; across the state that date runs from Mar 5 in the warmest tenth of New York's ZIP codes to Apr 16 in the coldest. To cut the freeze risk to one year in ten, count from May 16 instead of the median last frost. Use the city table for your own town.
When do I start onions seeds indoors in New York?
Around Feb 6 for Spanish Onion: 12 weeks before the statewide median last frost, on soil held at 65–75 °F.
When is the last frost in New York?
The ZIP-weighted median of NOAA 1991–2020 station medians is May 1. In the warmest tenth of New York's ZIP codes the median last frost falls on or before Apr 2; in the coldest tenth, on or after May 14.
When will New York onions be ready to harvest?
Spanish Onion planted on the statewide date is ready around Jul 22: 110 days from transplant.
Which onions grow in New York?
Spanish Onion is a long-day onion, correct above roughly 36° N. Every New York city listed here is north of that line.
More for New York
- When to plant tomatoes
- When to plant peppers
- When to plant tomatillos
- When to plant basil
- When to plant cilantro
- When to plant carrots
- When to plant mustard greens
Onions in every state → · New York frost dates → · How frost-date math works →