Mississippi Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
Mississippi’s frost dates, cool- and warm-season planting windows, and calculated tomato timelines for the Jackson area, with guidance to check your own county.
Gardening in Mississippi
Everything we have worked out for Mississippi: 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 Jackson, the last spring freeze runs March 6 to March 22 and the first fall freeze runs November 7 to November 22, USDA zones 7b-9a, 6,057 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 13 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Mississippi: 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 Onions in Mississippi: Which Varieties Actually Bulb
Mississippi’s reference latitude sits far enough south that the longest day of the year never breaks past the mid-14-hour mark.
Growing Apples in Mississippi: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
Mississippi growers need low-chill apple varieties and careful frost timing, since the state’s mild winters and early springs limit which cultivars will fruit well.
Heating a Home in Mississippi: What the Winter Actually Costs
Winters in Mississippi rarely bite hard, but they linger longer than most people expect.
Gardening in Mississippi: What the Season Actually Allows
Mississippi gardens sit in USDA zones 7b through 9a, with a frost-free window that runs roughly from mid-March to mid-November at the state’s reference…
Fire ants in Mississippi: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Fire ants are active in Mississippi from early spring through late fall, with the heaviest mound-building and stinging incidents happening in April, May…
Garden Pests in Mississippi: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
MSSTATE Extension lists ten pests common in Mississippi home gardens, with warm-season and cool-season patterns gardeners near Jackson can use to time scouting.
The Best Grass Seed for Mississippi Lawns
Mississippi’s warm climate rules out cool-season lawn seed. Compare Bermudagrass, Centipedegrass, Zoysiagrass and Bahiagrass by shade tolerance, wear and maintenance before you choose.
The Mississippi Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
Mississippi’s lawn calendar runs on warm-season grass, with mowing, feeding, and dormancy timed to Jackson’s fall frost window and each species’ own maintenance calendar.
Mississippi Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
A practical rundown of which warm-season grasses suit Mississippi, when to plant them, and how much nitrogen to feed each one.