How High Can a Hedge Be in Minnesota? What the Law Actually Says
Minnesota has no state law that caps hedge height. Search for one and you’ll only find city ordinances, each different, because height limits on hedges…
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.
What Do Homes in Minnesota Cool With?
Minnesota’s winters get all the attention, but the summers here run warm enough that cooling equipment has become standard in nearly every home.
What Eats Pepper in Minnesota, and When
Minnesota’s verified pepper data does not include a named, sourced list of insect species attacking the crop in this state.
Finishing a Basement in Minnesota: Permits, Ceiling Height, Egress and Waterproofing
Minnesota’s residential code sets a lower ceiling-height minimum for existing basement remodels than for new construction, and its own rules decide when an egress window is required.
What Eats Carrot in Minnesota, and When
The honest answer for Minnesota is less about naming an insect and more about ruling out everything that isn’t one.
What Eats Onion in Minnesota, and When
Ask a Minnesota gardener what’s chewing on their onions and the honest answer is: probably nothing you’d recognize from a general pest list.
What Eats Parsnip in Minnesota, and When
University of Minnesota Extension documents ten pests common to home vegetable gardens across the state, but only one of them, Japanese beetle, has a…
What Eats Potato in Minnesota, and When
In Minnesota gardens, only two insects on the University of Minnesota Extension’s documented pest list actually feed on potato: the Colorado potato…
Which Sweet Corn to Grow in Minnesota: su, se or Supersweet
For most Minnesota gardens, the choice comes down to season length and how much room you have to keep corn patches apart.
When to Overseed a Lawn in Minnesota
The short answer: aim for late August through the first week of September in the Twin Cities area, and shift that a couple weeks earlier the farther…