What Eats Spinach in Kansas, and When
K-State Research and Extension documents ten insect pests for Kansas gardens, but only two of them are general feeders likely to touch a spinach bed…
Gardening in Kansas
Everything we have worked out for Kansas: 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 Wichita, the last spring freeze runs April 4 to April 18 and the first fall freeze runs October 23 to November 2, USDA zones 5b-7a, 4,576 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 Kansas: 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.
What Eats Onion in Kansas, and When
Two insects show up on onion foliage in Kansas with any regularity, going by the pests the state’s extension service tracks: blister beetles and…
What Eats Corn in Kansas, and When
Corn in Kansas takes real damage from just three insects K-State Research and Extension documents for the state: grasshoppers, blister beetles, and the…
What Eats Pumpkin in Kansas, and When
Squash bugs, squash vine borers, and two kinds of cucumber beetle do most of the damage to pumpkin vines in Kansas, with grasshoppers joining in during…
What Eats Potato in Kansas, and When
The Colorado potato beetle is the pest most likely to strip a Kansas potato patch bare, and it starts feeding as soon as young foliage appears in spring.
What Eats Parsnip in Kansas, and When
Only two of the pests Kansas gardeners hear about most turn up on parsnip: blister beetle and grasshopper.
What Eats Beet in Kansas, and When
K-State Research and Extension documents ten garden and landscape pests for Kansas, but only two of them actually feed on beet foliage: blister beetle…
When to Overseed a Lawn in Kansas
In Kansas, the best window to overseed a cool-season lawn (tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass) runs from mid-August through mid-September, timed backward…
First and Last Frost Dates in Kansas
Kansas typically sees its last spring frost between April 4 and April 18, and its first fall frost between October 23 and November 2, based on NOAA’s…
When to Pick Tomatoes in Kansas, and Ripening the Rest
Color, not the calendar, decides when a Kansas tomato comes off the vine. Full-size fruit that has started to blush pink or red will finish ripening off…