What to Plant in Montana in June
June is the safest planting month on the Montana calendar. By the time the calendar turns, most valleys have already cleared the last spring frost window…
Gardening in Montana
Everything we have worked out for Montana: 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 Billings, the last spring freeze runs April 29 to May 10 and the first fall freeze runs October 1 to October 14, USDA zones 3a-6a, 2,855 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 Montana: 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 Montana in July
July in Montana means the frost risk has passed almost everywhere in the valleys, and the clock is now running the other direction: toward the first fall…
What to Plant in Montana in January
Short answer: statewide, January is not a month for open-ground planting in Montana.
What to Plant in Montana in February
In February, nothing goes into open garden soil anywhere in Montana. The state’s last spring frost falls between April 29 and May 10 in the Billings…
What to Plant in Montana in December
Nothing goes into open ground in Montana in December. The soil is frozen across nearly the entire state, and the growing season won’t reopen until the…
What to Plant in Montana in August
August in Montana sits in the gap between two frost dates: the ground has been safely frost-free since late April or early May, and the first fall freeze…
What to Plant in Montana in April
April in Montana sits mostly ahead of the last spring frost, which lands between April 29 and May 10 in the Billings area.
Growing Peppers in Montana: Fruit Set, Heat and Timing
Billings averages 28.3 days a year at or above 90 F, and that number alone can shut down pepper fruit set for stretches of the summer.
Growing Potatoes in Montana: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Billings averages just 28.3 days a year at 90°F or hotter, according to NOAA NCEI Climate Normals for 1991-2020, and the last spring frost typically…
Pepper Varieties That Ripen in a Montana Season
Peppers can ripen in Montana, but the window is narrower and rougher than in most states.