The Massachusetts Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
A month-by-month lawn care calendar for Massachusetts, built around Boston’s cool-season grasses and NOAA’s fall frost window, with regional notes.
Gardening in Massachusetts
Everything we have worked out for Massachusetts: 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 Boston, the last spring freeze runs April 1 to April 8 and the first fall freeze runs November 3 to November 14, USDA zones 5a-7b, 3,084 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 Massachusetts: 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.
Striped cucumber beetle in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Striped cucumber beetles start showing up in Massachusetts gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb into the mid-60s, which usually lands somewhere…
Squash vine borer in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
In Massachusetts, squash vine borer moths typically emerge and start laying eggs from late June through mid-July, with a second smaller wave of activity…
Squash bug in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Squash bugs typically show up in Massachusetts gardens in late May through June, right when overwintered adults crawl out of leaf litter and old mulch…
Lily leaf beetle in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Adult lily leaf beetles emerge in Massachusetts as soon as the ground thaws, usually between late April and early May, right around the time true lilies…
Mexican bean beetle in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Mexican bean beetle adults overwinter in Massachusetts leaf litter and stone walls, then wake up and start feeding on bean plants sometime between…
Colorado potato beetle in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetles show up in Massachusetts gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb past 50°F, which typically happens between the last week of…
Spotted lanternfly in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Spotted lanternfly has moved from a rare hitchhiker to an established pest in parts of Massachusetts, with breeding populations confirmed in central and…
Winter moth in Massachusetts: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Winter moth caterpillars strip leaves off maples, oaks, and fruit trees across eastern Massachusetts every spring, and the adult moths that lay next…
Garden Pests in Massachusetts: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
A season-by-season look at the ten pests Massachusetts gardeners are most likely to see, how to identify them, and which controls actually work.