North Carolina Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
Uses NOAA’s Charlotte climate normals to explain which grasses suit North Carolina, when to plant them, and how to feed each one.
Gardening in North Carolina
Everything we have worked out for North Carolina: 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 Charlotte, the last spring freeze runs March 23 to April 5 and the first fall freeze runs October 30 to November 8, USDA zones 5b-8b, 4,943 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 North Carolina: 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.
Garlic Varieties That Suit North Carolina Winters
NOAA’s Charlotte climate normals and North Carolina’s winter cold set the fall planting window and show which garlic varieties fit each region of the state.
When to Plant Garlic in North Carolina: Counting Back From the First Frost
North Carolina’s garlic planting window runs early October to mid October, set against NOAA’s 1991-2020 frost normals for the Charlotte area.
Growing Garlic in North Carolina: Planting Dates, Varieties and Winter Cold
North Carolina growers plant garlic in fall, choose hardneck or softneck by region, and time it against the Piedmont’s first frost window.
Tomato Planting Dates in North Carolina: Counting Back From Your Frost Window
Explains how Charlotte’s NOAA frost window sets North Carolina tomato transplant timing, and how to adjust the count for a different county or elevation.
Tomato Pests in North Carolina: Which Ones Actually Show Up Here
A season-by-season rundown of the tomato pests that actually turn up in North Carolina gardens, tied to the state’s frost window and how to identify each one.
Tomato Varieties That Ripen in Time in North Carolina
Seven named tomato varieties, ordered by days to maturity, checked against Charlotte’s frost window to show which finish comfortably and which cut it close.
Growing Tomatoes in North Carolina: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
Charlotte’s last spring frost falls between March 23 and April 5 according to NOAA, guiding when to start seeds, harden off, and transplant tomatoes outdoors.