Does a Wall in Alabama Need a Vapor Barrier?
No. Alabama’s 67 counties sit in IECC Climate Zones 2A and 3A, and the 2021 International Residential Code exempts Zones 1, 2 and 3 from the interior…
Gardening in Alabama
Everything we have worked out for Alabama: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Huntsville, the last spring freeze runs March 19 to April 3 and the first fall freeze runs November 2 to November 16, USDA zones 7a-9a, 5,449 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 13 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Alabama: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Heating With Pellets in Alabama: What a Winter Takes
A Huntsville-area winter runs about 2,831 heating degree days, a number that puts North Alabama closer to “supplement” territory than “primary heat…
Which Hydrangeas Survive a Alabama Winter
In most of Alabama, hydrangeas that bloom on new wood, like panicle types (Hydrangea paniculata) and smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), come…
Roses That Hold Up in Alabama
Roses that hold up in Alabama tend to share three traits: they’re grown on their own roots or a rootstock suited to Deep South heat, they carry natural…
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for Alabama: What Will Not Survive
Alabama’s USDA range runs from 7a to 9a, and crossing that span against the 65 landscape plants this site documents turns up zero total failures, but 28…
What Eats Spinach in Alabama, and When
Alabama gardeners lose spinach to two kinds of feeders: the ones that suck sap from the leaves, and the heat and day length that push the plant to bolt…
What Eats Onion in Alabama, and When
Only two of the pests Alabama’s extension service tracks in home gardens actually bother onions: aphids and spider mites.
What Eats Corn in Alabama, and When
Corn in Alabama gardens draws a short list of true pests, out of the many insects the state’s extension service tracks across vegetable gardens in general.
What Eats Pumpkin in Alabama, and When
Six insects on Alabama’s documented pest list actually feed on pumpkin, not all ten sometimes lumped together under “garden pests.” The Alabama…
What Eats Potato in Alabama, and When
Four of the ten pests the Alabama Cooperative Extension System documents in home gardens will actually feed on potato: aphids, spider mites, spotted…