Growing Peppers in Minnesota: Fruit Set, Heat and Timing
Peppers set fruit in the Twin Cities area only when nights stay above 55 F and days stay below 90 F, a window that Minnesota summers hit but also…
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.
Growing Potatoes in Minnesota: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
In the Twin Cities area, potatoes get a full growing season, not a race against the calendar.
Pepper Varieties That Ripen in a Minnesota Season
Minnesota gardeners get the best results from short-season, early-maturing pepper types, since the state’s frost-to-frost window is tight and its summer…
Watering Through a Dry Spell in Minnesota
Minnesota gardeners get more rain in a typical summer than many parts of the country, but that rain doesn’t fall evenly, and a handful of hot days can…
Watering Pots and Containers in Minnesota
Minnesota’s growing season swings between short bursts of real heat and stretches where the sky does most of the watering for you.
Forcing Spring Bulbs Indoors in Minnesota
Forcing spring bulbs indoors works in Minnesota because it sidesteps the state’s real limitation: a winter too extreme for a container to survive…
Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers in Minnesota
Spring bulbs will grow in containers in Minnesota, but the pot changes the rules that apply in a garden bed.
Watering a Garden in Minnesota: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Minneapolis logs an average of just 10.6 days a year at 90F or hotter, and the frost-free window there runs from around April 17-30 to October 11-23.
Canning at Altitude in Minnesota: What Your Elevation Changes
Most Minnesota home canners never touch a recipe’s processing time. That’s because the reference elevation for the state’s biggest population center sits…
When to Plant Onions in Minnesota
In Minnesota, onions go in the ground in early spring, not fall, and the variety has to be a long-day type.