Watering a Garden in Pennsylvania: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Pennsylvania gardens don’t run on a single watering schedule. The reference station in Philadelphia logs 24.0 days a year at 90F or hotter, and the state…
Gardening in Pennsylvania
Everything we have worked out for Pennsylvania: 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 Philadelphia, the last spring freeze runs March 29 to April 6 and the first fall freeze runs November 5 to November 16, USDA zones 5a-7b, 4,116 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 Pennsylvania: 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.
Pennsylvania Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Pennsylvania’s official state soil, the Hazleton series, is a strongly acid, well-drained loam that blankets ridges and forested slopes across much of…
Pennsylvania Planting Calendar: When to Sow and Plant, Frost Dates Included
Shows Pennsylvania’s frost-free window near Philadelphia from NOAA data, plus how to adjust the dates for colder regions using soil temperature and elevation.
Growing Onions in Pennsylvania: Which Varieties Actually Bulb
Philadelphia sits at 39.87 degrees north and gets 14 hours and 50 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Pennsylvania, and the Ones That Struggle
Pennsylvania flowers need to survive winter lows near 26F and dozens of 90-degree days, and native perennials and a well-planned border handle both extremes best.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Pennsylvania: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Yes, Pennsylvania gets cold enough for nearly every classic spring bulb — but the state runs from USDA zone 5a in the northern tier to 7b along the…
The Best Apple Varieties for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania spans mild Philadelphia winters to colder northern and mountain regions, so apple variety choice depends on local frost timing, chill hours, and rootstock, not a single statewide pick.
When to Carve a Pumpkin in Pennsylvania
Philadelphia’s mean first fall frost lands sometime between November 5 and November 16, well after Halloween arrives.
Growing Apples in Pennsylvania: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
A county-by-elevation guide to which apple varieties, pollination pairs, and frost timing actually work across Pennsylvania’s climate range.
Heating a Home in Pennsylvania: What the Winter Actually Costs
Pennsylvania winters average a coldest-month low of 26°F in Philadelphia, and that single number shapes everything about how a household here burns fuel…