Cabbage maggot in Minnesota: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cabbage maggot shows up in Minnesota gardens in two distinct waves each year: a spring flight that starts as soil temperatures climb into the low 50s…
Gardening in Minnesota
Everything we have worked out for Minnesota: 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 Minneapolis, the last spring freeze runs April 17 to April 30 and the first fall freeze runs October 11 to October 23, USDA zones 3a-5a, 3,013 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 30.4 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Minnesota: 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.
Spotted wing drosophila in Minnesota: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Spotted wing drosophila typically appears in Minnesota fields and backyard fruit patches by early to mid-July, with populations building through August…
Swede midge in Minnesota: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
As of the 2026 growing season, swede midge has not been confirmed as an established pest in Minnesota, but state agriculture officials and University of…
Three-lined potato beetle in Minnesota: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Three-lined potato beetles start turning up in Minnesota gardens in the last two weeks of May, with numbers building through June and peaking in early…
Striped cucumber beetle in Minnesota: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Striped cucumber beetles emerge in Minnesota once soil temperatures climb into the mid-50s, typically between mid-May in the southern counties and early…
Garden Pests in Minnesota: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
A month-by-month look at the insects Minnesota gardeners deal with, how to identify their damage, and which controls UMN Extension recommends.
Minnesota Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
Minneapolis climate data pins Minnesota lawns to cool-season grass, with September nitrogen feeding and late-summer seeding replacing spring lawn work.
Garlic Varieties That Suit Minnesota Winters
A rundown of the 14 garlic varieties suited to Minnesota’s winters, split into softneck and hardneck types, with the fall planting window calculated from NOAA’s frost data.
When to Plant Garlic in Minnesota: Counting Back From the First Frost
Minnesota garlic planting dates run mid-September to early October, calculated back from NOAA’s first-frost window for Minneapolis, with northern counties running two to three weeks earlier.
Growing Garlic in Minnesota: Planting Dates, Varieties and Winter Cold
Minnesota’s long, cold winters give garlic all the chilling it needs. Here’s the planting window, best cultivars, and how to protect cloves through winter.