Growing Potatoes in Missouri: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Missouri gardeners get one clear signal here: at the Kansas City reference station, the year averages 32.7 days at or above 90 F, and the last spring…
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.
Pepper Varieties That Ripen in a Missouri Season
Missouri’s frost-free window runs long enough for most pepper types to ripen, but the calendar isn’t the limiting factor. Fruit set is.
Watering Through a Dry Spell in Missouri
Missouri gardeners don’t fight a genuine drought most summers, but they do fight timing.
Watering Pots and Containers in Missouri
Missouri gardens need roughly an inch of water a week through summer, but the state’s own numbers complicate that simple rule.
Forcing Spring Bulbs Indoors in Missouri
Forcing spring bulbs indoors here means giving a bulb its cold period yourself, in a refrigerator drawer or an unheated garage, instead of trusting a…
Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers in Missouri
In containers, bulbs in Missouri face a different threat than bulbs in the ground: not a shortage of cold, but too much of it applied directly to the…
Firewood in Missouri: Which Woods Your Winter Actually Needs
Firewood in Missouri works best when you match wood density to a winter that averages 19.5°F on its coldest nights in Kansas City.
Watering a Garden in Missouri: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Missouri gardens live and die by two things: heat and unpredictable rain. The state’s growing season runs roughly six months, and a big chunk of it lands…
Canning at Altitude in Missouri: What Your Elevation Changes
If you’re canning in Kansas City, Missouri’s most-cited reference point sits at 899 feet, and water there boils somewhere between 208°F and 212°F…
When to Plant Onions in Missouri
Columbia, Missouri sits at 39.30 degrees north, and its longest day of the year carries 14 hours and 46 minutes of daylight.