Heating a Home in Iowa: What the Winter Actually Costs
Winters in Iowa mean months of furnace runtime and, for a good share of households, a wood stove or fireplace insert doing real work.
Gardening in Iowa
Everything we have worked out for Iowa: 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 Des Moines, the last spring freeze runs April 12 to April 24 and the first fall freeze runs October 14 to October 25, USDA zones 4b-6a, 3,659 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 Iowa: 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.
Gardening in Iowa: What the Season Actually Allows
Iowa gardeners work inside a frost-free window that runs roughly five and a half to six months, sitting in USDA Hardiness Zones 4b through 6a.
The Best Grass Seed for Iowa Lawns
A rundown of the cool-season grasses that succeed in Iowa, ranked by trade-off, plus the fall seeding math based on NOAA’s frost data.
Squash vine borer in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Squash vine borer adults start flying in Iowa from mid-June through early August, with the heaviest activity typically landing between the last week of…
Squash bug in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Squash bugs show up in Iowa gardens right around the time zucchini plants start putting out their first true leaves, usually mid-to-late May in the…
Grasshoppers in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Grasshopper season in Iowa typically ramps up in late June, peaks through July and August, and tapers off after the first hard frost, usually in October.
Spotted cucumber beetle in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
The spotted cucumber beetle turns up in Iowa gardens right around late May, just as squash and cucumber seedlings push their first true leaves out of the…
Japanese beetle in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Japanese beetles show up in Iowa in a predictable window: late June through August, with the heaviest feeding in mid-July.
Striped cucumber beetle in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Striped cucumber beetles start showing up in Iowa gardens and fields as soon as soil temperatures climb into the mid-50s, which usually happens sometime…
Lily leaf beetle in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Lily leaf beetle shows up in Iowa gardens starting in mid-to-late April, right as true lily shoots push through the soil, and it sticks around through…