What to Plant in Missouri in May
By May, most of Missouri has already cleared its last frost window of April 6 to April 20, so the answer is straightforward: this is the month to get…
Gardening in Missouri
Everything we have worked out for Missouri: 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 Kansas City, the last spring freeze runs April 6 to April 20 and the first fall freeze runs October 18 to October 29, USDA zones 5b-7b, 4,194 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 Missouri: 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 to Plant in Missouri in March
March in Missouri sits in a narrow window: too early for tomatoes and peppers, but wide open for peas, onions, potatoes, and every leafy green that…
What to Plant in Missouri in June
June is Missouri’s green light month. The frost window closed weeks ago, soil temperatures have caught up with the air, and the garden can finally carry…
What to Plant in Missouri in July
By July, Missouri gardens are well past the frost line and deep into the growing season.
What to Plant in Missouri in January
January in Missouri sits weeks, sometimes months, ahead of the last frost. With the average last spring freeze falling between April 6 and April 20 (NOAA…
What to Plant in Missouri in February
February in Missouri sits weeks before the frost window closes, so open ground stays mostly off-limits this month.
What to Plant in Missouri in December
December in Missouri sits deep in the dormant season, weeks after the first fall frost and months from the last one.
What to Plant in Missouri in August
August in Missouri is a fall-planting month dressed up as the middle of summer.
What to Plant in Missouri in April
April is Missouri’s real planting month: cold-hardy crops go straight into the ground from the first week on, while the state’s last frost still falls…
Growing Peppers in Missouri: Fruit Set, Heat and Timing
Missouri’s Kansas City reference station logs an average of 32.7 days a year at or above 90°F, based on the NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 Climate Normals.