Garden Pests in Iowa: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
Japanese beetle, squash bugs and vine borers top the list of Iowa garden pests, with pressure peaking from mid-June through August each summer.
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.
The Iowa Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
This month-by-month calendar uses NOAA frost data and Clemson’s fescue schedule to time mowing, feeding, seeding and aeration for a cool-season Iowa lawn.
Iowa Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
NOAA’s Des Moines climate data settles which grass Iowa lawns need, when to seed it, and how the fall feeding schedule works.
Garlic Varieties That Suit Iowa Winters
NOAA’s frost data for Des Moines sets the fall planting window for Iowa garlic, and the right hardneck or softneck variety depends on your county’s climate.
When to Plant Garlic in Iowa: Counting Back From the First Frost
Iowa garlic goes in the ground in fall, timed by counting back from NOAA’s Des Moines frost window, not by a fixed calendar date.
Growing Garlic in Iowa: Planting Dates, Varieties and Winter Cold
Iowa’s long winters meet garlic’s cold requirement easily, so growers plant hardneck and softneck cloves in early fall, weeks before the ground freezes.
Tomato Pests in Iowa: Which Ones Actually Show Up Here
A season-by-season rundown of the tomato pests that actually appear in Iowa gardens, with how to identify each one and what stops it.
Tomato Varieties That Ripen in Time in Iowa
A look at which named tomato cultivars actually finish before Iowa’s first fall frost, with the days-to-maturity math shown.
Tomato Planting Dates in Iowa: Counting Back From Your Frost Window
Explains how to set tomato transplant dates in Iowa by counting forward from NOAA’s last-frost window and backward from named cultivars’ days to maturity.
Growing Tomatoes in Iowa: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
Iowa’s tomato transplant window, soil prep, disease-resistant varieties, companion planting and common pest problems, explained with local frost data and practical fixes.