Potato Varieties That Suit Kentucky
Kentucky gardeners do best with early and mid-season potato classes planted well ahead of summer heat, not with late-season types that need a long cool…
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.
When Does the Heating Season Start in Kentucky?
Heating season in Kentucky opens in October, when the average temperature first drops below the 65°F mark used to calculate heating demand.
What to Plant in Kentucky in September
September in Kentucky is the state’s best-kept planting secret: the soil is still warm from summer, the worst heat has broken, and the first fall frost…
What to Plant in Kentucky in October
October in Kentucky sits in the narrow window before the first fall frost, which lands anywhere from November 2 to November 12 depending on where you…
What to Plant in Kentucky in November
By the first week of November, most of Kentucky has already crossed its average first fall frost or is sitting right inside it.
What to Plant in Kentucky in May
May is Kentucky’s green light month. The frost window that runs March 24 to April 4 has closed weeks earlier, soil has had time to warm, and this is when…
What to Plant in Kentucky in March
Kentucky sits in the thick of frost season during March, with the state’s last spring freeze arriving anywhere from March 24 to April 4.
What to Plant in Kentucky in June
By June, Kentucky gardens are well past the risk of frost, and the state’s soil has warmed enough for nearly every warm-season crop to go straight into…
What to Plant in Kentucky in July
Kentucky gardens in July sit deep in summer, months past the spring frost window and still months from the first fall freeze (November 2 to November 12…
What to Plant in Kentucky in January
January in Kentucky means almost nothing goes into open ground, and that’s fine.