Growing Potatoes in Delaware: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Delaware gardeners can grow potatoes successfully, but the summer heat sets a hard limit.
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.
Canning at Altitude in Delaware: What Your Elevation Changes
In Wilmington, Delaware, sitting at just 92 feet above sea level, water in a canning pot still boils close to 212°F, the sea-level mark.
Watering a Garden in Delaware: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Delaware sits at the edge of two climates: humid enough that a lot of gardeners assume the rain does the work for them, and hot enough for long enough…
Delaware Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Dig a foot down almost anywhere in Delaware and you’re likely standing in some version of the Greenwich series, the state’s official soil since 2000.
Delaware Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
A county-by-county guide to Delaware’s frost dates and planting windows, from cool-season peas through fall crops, using NOAA’s 30-year climate normals for Wilmington.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Delaware, and the Ones That Struggle
Delaware’s humid summers and zone 7a-8a winters favor native perennials like coneflower and daylily, while tropical annuals and thirsty exotics often struggle.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Delaware: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Delaware’s spring bulb question isn’t really about beauty, it’s about cold. This state’s winters, zone 7a to 8a on the USDA map, with a coldest-month…
When to Plant Onions in Delaware
Delaware sits at 39.67 degrees north, measured at the Wilmington weather station, and on the longest day of the year the sun gives that spot 14 hours and…
The Best Onion Varieties for Delaware
Delaware sits at 39.67 degrees north latitude, measured at Dover, where the longest day of the year delivers 14 hours and 49 minutes of daylight.
The Delaware Apple Calendar, Stage by Stage
A stage-by-stage apple calendar for Delaware, tied to NOAA’s Wilmington frost dates, covering pruning, bloom, fruit set and harvest timing.