Oklahoma

For homeowners and renters in Oklahoma: the planting calendar, the maintenance schedule and the local programs worth knowing about.

Gardening in Oklahoma

Everything we have worked out for Oklahoma: 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 Oklahoma City, the last spring freeze runs March 28 to April 10 and the first fall freeze runs October 29 to November 8, USDA zones 6a-8a, 5,375 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 Oklahoma: 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.

When to Cut Spinach in Oklahoma, and How Long It Really Keeps

A young spinach plant with emerging flower bud grows in a sunny raised garden bed with dark soil.

Spinach in Oklahoma gets a short spring and a late-opening fall. Sow 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost (March 28 to April 10 at the Oklahoma City…

When to Stop Cutting Asparagus in Oklahoma, and How to Keep the Spears

Young asparagus spears pushing through rich dark soil in a wooden raised garden bed on a sunny spring day.

Stop cutting when most of the spears coming up are thinner than a pencil. That is a test you run in the bed, not a date on the calendar.

What Eats Asparagus in Oklahoma, and When

Young asparagus spears emerging from garden soil with ladybugs crawling on the stems.

The best-documented thing that eats asparagus is the gardener, and the calendar says not until year 3. After that the bed feeds you for 10 to 15 years.

What Eats Corn in Oklahoma, and When

A productive vegetable garden showing mature corn stalks and tomato plants laden with ripe red fruit under bright summer sunlight.

Most of what eats a sweet corn crop in Oklahoma has no legs. Cold spring soil rots the seed, a variety that needs too many days runs out of season, and…

What Eats Pumpkin in Oklahoma, and When

A carved jack-o'-lantern pumpkin sits on the front porch steps of a house with autumn foliage visible in the background.

Frost is the part of the calendar that ends an Oklahoma pumpkin crop for good.

When to Dethatch a Lawn in Oklahoma

Weeds sprouting along a concrete edge in a lawn area during warm season.

Most Oklahoma lawns never need dethatching. The ones that do should get it when the grass is growing hard: Bermudagrass and zoysia in late spring to…

When to Plant Grass Seed in Oklahoma

Weeds sprouting along a concrete edge in a lawn area during warm season.

In Oklahoma, cool-season seed (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass) goes down in September.

How Late Can You Plant Trees and Shrubs in Fall in Oklahoma?

How Late Can You Plant Trees and Shrubs in Fall in Minnesota?

The conservative deadline for planting trees and shrubs in fall around Oklahoma City is September 17 to September 27, which is six weeks before the first…

When to Aerate a Lawn in Oklahoma

Weeds sprouting along a concrete edge in a lawn area during warm season.

Oklahoma sits in the transition zone, so the right month depends on what is growing in your yard.

What Eats Pepper in Oklahoma, and When

A black pepper plant with dark purple-black fruits and foliage growing in a garden bed with terracotta pots visible in the background.

Pepper plants get eaten from the day they go in the ground until the last fruit is picked, and the calendar of the plant tells you more than the name of…