When Sweet Corn Is Ready in Delaware, and How Fast It Fades
Delaware soil reaches 60 F well after the last frost, so the frost date is the wrong starting gun for sweet corn.
Delaware
What home and garden advice looks like when it is written for Delaware — southeast seasons, southeast rules, and the numbers that go with them.
Gardening in Delaware
Everything we have worked out for Delaware: 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 Wilmington, the last spring freeze runs April 3 to April 14 and the first fall freeze runs October 26 to November 7, USDA zones 7a-8a, 3,937 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 21.8 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Delaware: 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.
When to Stop Cutting Asparagus in Delaware, and How to Keep the Spears
Stop cutting when most of the spears coming up are thinner than a pencil. No calendar date replaces that signal.
When to Plant Grass Seed in Delaware
In Delaware, the best window for cool-season grass seed runs from late August through September, with early October as the tail end.
When to Dethatch a Lawn in Delaware
Most Delaware lawns never need dethatching. Cut a wedge of turf and measure the brown, spongy layer above the soil: under 0.5 inch is healthy, and action…
When to Aerate a Lawn in Delaware
Aerate a Delaware lawn in early to mid fall, while the grass is still growing and well ahead of the first frost.
How Late Can You Plant Trees and Shrubs in Fall in Delaware?
In Delaware, the safe target for fall planting is six weeks before the first fall frost.
When to Pull Carrots in Delaware, and How to Keep Them
Carrots don’t ripen on a fixed date, they ripen on a signal: the shoulder of the root pushing up through the soil, full-colored and thick, while the…
What Do Homes in Delaware Cool With?
Nearly every home in Delaware runs some form of air conditioning, and for most of them that means central air pushed through ductwork rather than a…
How High Can a Hedge Be in Delaware? What the Law Actually Says
Delaware has no statewide hedge height limit. Search “Delaware hedge height law” and you won’t find a number in the Delaware Code, because the state…
Roof Snow Load, Wind Speed and Ice Barrier Rules in Delaware
Delaware’s roof snow load, wind speed and ice barrier requirements start from Wilmington’s mapped figures, then shift with elevation, coastline and county code adoption.