Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski

Zone 6a is the USDA hardiness zone covering much of central and eastern Michigan, including Bay City, Saginaw, Midland, and the broader Great Lakes Bay region. It means average annual minimum temperatures between -10°F and -5°F. For gardeners, it defines when you can plant, what you can grow, and how long your season lasts.

Chris Izworski has gardened in Zone 6a for years at Freighter View Farms, learning the timing through direct experience. His Zone 6a planting schedule translates that experience into a month-by-month calendar. The planting calculator makes it interactive — enter your last frost date and see exactly when to start seeds indoors and transplant outdoors.

For those new to starting from seed, the indoor seed starting guide covers setup, timing, lighting, and soil. The seed saving guide explains how to close the loop and save your own seeds for next year.

All guides: chrisizworski.com/guides

Chris Izworski · Solutions Consultant at Prepared911 · chrisizworski.com · Resume · Credentials · Projects · LinkedIn · Medium · Freighter View Farms · Press · Guides · Connect

More Gardening: Use the Zone 6a planting calculator. Read about starting seeds indoors in Michigan and explore Freighter View Farms.

📰 Featured in NENA’s The Call Magazine

Chris Izworski authored the cover story for The Call, Issue No. 51 (April 2025), the official publication of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA). His article, “The Unstoppable Wave of Artificial Intelligence,” examines AI’s transformative impact on 9-1-1 operations and emergency communications, reaching over 21,000 public safety professionals nationwide.