When Sweet Corn Is Ready in Kentucky, and How Fast It Fades
In Kentucky, sweet corn goes into the ground when the soil says so, not the calendar.
Kentucky
What home and garden advice looks like when it is written for Kentucky — southeast seasons, southeast rules, and the numbers that go with them.
Gardening in Kentucky
Everything we have worked out for Kentucky: 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 Louisville, the last spring freeze runs March 24 to April 4 and the first fall freeze runs November 2 to November 12, USDA zones 6a-7a, 4,712 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 Kentucky: 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.
Growing Roses in Kentucky: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
In Kentucky, container roses go in after the last spring frost, which falls between March 24 and April 4 in Louisville.
When to Lift Onions in Kentucky, and How to Cure Them
Lift onions when the tops fall over and the necks go soft, then cure them until the necks are tight and the skins turn papery.
Growing Hydrangeas in Kentucky: Types, Colour and Winter
Growing hydrangeas in Kentucky is straightforward if you match the type to the winter and the planting date to the frost calendar.
When to Plant Grass Seed in Kentucky
For a cool-season lawn in Kentucky, sow in early fall, with seed in the ground before the middle of September ends.
When to Dethatch a Lawn in Kentucky
Most Kentucky lawns never need dethatching. Cut a wedge with a spade and measure the brown, spongy layer between the green blades and the soil.
When to Aerate a Lawn in Kentucky
Kentucky lawns get aerated in early fall if the grass is a cool-season type such as tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass.
How Late Can You Plant Trees and Shrubs in Fall in Kentucky?
In Kentucky, the safe deadline for fall-planting trees and shrubs runs from September 21 to October 1, which is six weeks before the first fall frost…
Hedge Plants for Kentucky: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
All 12 hedge species documented for Kentucky survive winter across the whole state, which runs from zone 6a to 7a on the USDA map.
When to Pull Carrots in Kentucky, and How to Keep Them
Pull carrots when the tops are full and green and the orange shoulders show at the soil line, which is about 65 to 75 days after planting by Clemson…