When to Pick Tomatoes in Iowa, and Ripening the Rest
The short answer: pick anything showing color by the time your area’s fall frost risk climbs, and bring the rest of the green fruit indoors rather than…
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.
When to Harvest Garlic in Iowa, and How to Cure It
Garlic planted last fall in Iowa comes out of the ground the following summer, usually when the lower third to half of the leaves have turned brown while…
When to Pick Apples in Iowa, and How Long They Keep
Iowa apples are ready when the fruit’s stage matches the calendar window set by frost, not by a fixed date on the wall.
Does Insulation Keep a Home in Iowa Cool?
Yes, insulation cools an Iowa home, though summer is only part of the job here.
Does a Wall in Iowa Need a Vapor Barrier?
Yes. Every one of Iowa’s 99 counties sits in a cold climate zone under the 2021 International Residential Code, so the exception that removes the vapor…
Heating With Pellets in Iowa: What a Winter Takes
A furnace stays the backbone of home heating in Iowa, and the numbers explain why: this is a state where the mercury spends eight months below the point…
Common stalk borer in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Common stalk borer shows up in Iowa gardens in two waves within a single generation: young larvae crawl out of roadside grasses and weedy fence rows in…
Iris borer in Iowa: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Iris borer causes visible damage in Iowa from May into June, when larvae mine iris leaves, and the real destruction hits the rhizome from July into early…
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for Iowa: What Will Not Survive
Iowa’s hardiness range runs from USDA zone 4b in the northern counties to 6a along the southern border, and that spread is exactly why a one-size verdict…
How Much Insulation Does a Home in Iowa Need?
Iowa’s 99 counties split between two IECC climate zones, but the insulation math lands in the same place for both.