Heating a Home in Idaho: What the Winter Actually Costs
Boise’s coldest-month minimum sits at 25.4°F, a full seven degrees above freezing.
Gardening in Idaho
Everything we have worked out for Idaho: 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 Boise, the last spring freeze runs April 23 to May 7 and the first fall freeze runs October 7 to October 21, USDA zones 3b-7b, 3,309 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 26.1 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Idaho: 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.
Pea leaf weevil in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Pea leaf weevil in Idaho is a regional pest, not a statewide one: University of Idaho Extension places it only in northern Idaho and the Magic Valley.
Gardening in Idaho: What the Season Actually Allows
Boise sits in USDA zone 6b-7a territory, but Idaho as a whole spans zones 3b through 7b.
The Idaho Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
A month-by-month lawn calendar for Idaho’s transition zone, covering cool-season and warm-season grass tasks, aeration, overseeding, and Boise’s fall frost timing.
Aphids in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Aphids start showing up in Idaho gardens and fields as soon as daytime temperatures hold steady in the 50s, which usually means late April in the…
Squash bug in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Squash bugs show up in Idaho gardens right around late June, once soil temperatures climb and squash and pumpkin vines start putting out real growth.
Tomato hornworm in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Tomato hornworms typically appear in Idaho gardens from mid-July through early September, with the heaviest feeding damage showing up in late July and…
Cutworms in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cutworms show up in Idaho twice a year: a spring wave from overwintered larvae between late March and May, and a fall wave in September and October when…
Colorado potato beetle in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetles show up in Idaho fields and gardens in late spring, usually between mid-May and early June, once soil temperatures climb past 50°F.
Grasshoppers in Idaho: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Grasshopper season in Idaho typically starts when soil temperatures warm into the low 60s, which usually happens in April across the Snake River Plain…