Watering Through a Dry Spell in Indiana
Water Indiana gardens deeply once or twice a week rather than daily, aiming for about an inch total between rainfall and irrigation.
Gardening in Indiana
Everything we have worked out for Indiana: 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 Indianapolis, the last spring freeze runs April 9 to April 21 and the first fall freeze runs October 21 to October 30, USDA zones 5b-7a, 3,822 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 Indiana: 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.
Watering Pots and Containers in Indiana
Indiana gardens need roughly an inch of water a week through summer, but the sky rarely delivers all of it at once.
Forcing Spring Bulbs Indoors in Indiana
Forcing works for any Indiana gardener willing to fake a winter indoors: pot the bulbs, chill them for the weeks each species demands, then bring them…
Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers in Indiana
Indiana winters bring plenty of cold to break bulb dormancy in the ground, so forcing isn’t a climate necessity here the way it is in mild-winter regions.
Indiana Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
A month-by-month look at Indiana’s frost dates, cool- and warm-season planting windows, and fall crop timing based on NOAA and Purdue Extension figures.
Watering a Garden in Indiana: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Indiana gardens want about an inch of water a week during the growing season, delivered slowly and at the root zone rather than sprayed daily on the…
Growing Potatoes in Indiana: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
If you’re gardening in Indiana, the short version is this: summer heat is not what will beat you here.
Canning at Altitude in Indiana: What Your Elevation Changes
For most Indiana canners, altitude barely enters the picture. Indianapolis sits at 715 feet, water there boils somewhere between 208°F and 212°F, and…
When to Plant Onions in Indiana
Indiana sits at 39.71 degrees north latitude, measured at Indianapolis, where the longest day of the year delivers 14 hours and 49 minutes of daylight.
The Best Onion Varieties for Indiana
Indiana sits at 39.71 degrees north (measured at Indianapolis), and on the longest day of the year the sun gives that spot 14 hours and 49 minutes of…