Viburnum leaf beetle in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Viburnum leaf beetle shows up in Ontario in two distinct waves each year: hungry larvae skeletonizing leaves from late April through June, and adult…
Gardening in Ontario
Everything we have worked out for Ontario: 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 Toronto, the last spring freeze falls around April 30 and the first fall freeze falls around October 16, 2,297 growing degree days in the year.
That is enough for early varieties, tight for anything late. 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 Ontario: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from Environment and Climate Change Canada. 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.
Swede midge in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Swede midge doesn’t announce itself with obvious signs. By the time a grower notices something’s wrong with a broccoli head or a canola stand, larvae…
Striped cucumber beetle in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Striped cucumber beetles show up in Ontario as soon as soil temperatures climb past roughly 55°F, which usually lands somewhere between mid-May and early…
Spotted cucumber beetle in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Spotted cucumber beetles show up in Ontario gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb into the 55 to 60 degree Fahrenheit range, usually mid to late May…
European earwig in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
European earwigs turn up in Ontario homes in two predictable waves each year: a smaller one in late April through May when overwintering adults leave the…
Fourlined plant bug in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
The fourlined plant bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus) becomes active in Ontario gardens in late April through May, when overwintered eggs hatch into bright…
Asparagus beetles in Ontario: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Asparagus beetles show up in Ontario the moment spears break through the soil, usually in late April in the southwest and closer to mid-May farther north…
Ontario Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
A grass-by-grass, month-by-month guide to what actually grows and feeds well on Ontario lawns, based on Toronto climate data.
When to Plant Garlic in Ontario: Counting Back From the First Frost
Ontario garlic goes in the ground in late September, timed off Environment Canada’s average first fall frost near Toronto, not a fixed calendar date.
Garlic Varieties That Suit Ontario Winters
Ontario’s fall frost date and long cold winter set the planting window for hardneck and softneck garlic, with fourteen catalogue varieties suited to the province.