Colorado potato beetle in Delaware: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetle adults start crawling out of Delaware soil once ground temperatures hit roughly 50°F, which usually lands somewhere between…
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.
Imported cabbageworm in Delaware: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Imported cabbageworm shows up in Delaware as early as mid-April, when the first white butterflies emerge from overwintering pupae and start laying eggs…
Cucumber beetles in Delaware: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cucumber beetles show up in Delaware gardens the moment soil temperatures climb into the mid-50s, usually the last week of April in Sussex County and…
Mexican bean beetle in Delaware: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
The Mexican bean beetle typically appears in Delaware gardens in mid-to-late May, when overwintered adults crawl out of leaf litter and head straight for…
Harlequin bug in Delaware: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Harlequin bugs show up in Delaware gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb past 60°F, typically in mid-to-late April, and stick around through the…
Garden Pests in Delaware: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
Delaware gardeners face nine key pests, from Colorado potato beetle to squash vine borer, peaking in July and August according to University of Delaware Extension.
The Best Grass Seed for Delaware Lawns
Delaware’s cool-season climate favors tall fescue and fescue-bluegrass blends, seeded in fall rather than spring, based on Wilmington’s NOAA frost data.
The Delaware Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
Delaware’s lawn calendar follows cool-season grasses, with fall seeding and feeding timed to NOAA’s Wilmington frost window and Clemson’s tall fescue schedule.
Delaware Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
Delaware’s climate calls for cool-season grass fed in fall, not spring, with seeding timed to the first fall frost near Wilmington.
Garlic Varieties That Suit Delaware Winters
Delaware gardeners can plant hardneck and softneck garlic in early to mid October, timed against Wilmington’s NOAA frost normals for the region.