Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers in Kentucky
Kentucky’s coldest month averages a 27.8°F low, according to NOAA climate normals for Louisville, cold enough that ground-planted spring bulbs get all…
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.
The Kentucky Apple Calendar, Stage by Stage
Kentucky’s apple stages, from dormancy to harvest, are timed against NOAA’s Louisville frost dates, with regional adjustments for elevation and valley cold pockets across the state.
Canning at Altitude in Kentucky: What Your Elevation Changes
Louisville sits at 466 feet, low enough that most tested canning recipes apply exactly as written.
When to Plant Onions in Kentucky
Kentucky gardeners plant onions in late winter to early spring, not fall. At 38.18°N, the reference latitude for this page, the longest day of the year…
The Best Onion Varieties for Kentucky
Kentucky sits at a latitude where both long-day and intermediate-day onions can size up properly, but the state’s daylight ceiling of 14 hours 39 minutes…
Kentucky Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
NOAA’s 1991-2020 climate normals give Louisville’s frost dates, and this guide turns them into sowing and transplant windows for Kentucky gardens.
Watering a Garden in Kentucky: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Kentucky gardeners deal with two truths that don’t always cooperate: enough heat most summers to push tomatoes and peppers hard, but rainfall that…
Kentucky Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Kentucky’s official state soil is the Crider series, a silt-heavy, moderately fertile ground that drains well and leans slightly acid.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Kentucky, and the Ones That Struggle
A look at which flowers survive Kentucky’s cold winters and hot, humid summers, and which ones need extra help or don’t belong here.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Kentucky: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Spring bulbs succeed almost everywhere in Kentucky because the state’s winters run cold enough, long enough, for tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths…