White grubs in Rhode Island: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
White grubs show up in Rhode Island lawns and garden beds from April through May, with late May marking the point when treatment does the most good.
Gardening in Rhode Island
Everything we have worked out for Rhode Island: 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 Providence, the last spring freeze runs April 7 to April 17 and the first fall freeze runs October 24 to November 3, USDA zones 6a-7b, 3,229 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 26.1 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Rhode Island: 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.
Crypt gall wasp in Rhode Island: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Crypt gall wasps show up on Rhode Island oaks as a late-summer surprise: clusters of brown, wilted leaves clinging to otherwise green branch tips.
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for Rhode Island: What Will Not Survive
Rhode Island’s hardiness range runs 6a to 7b, and of the 65 landscape plants tracked on this site, 62 survive across the entire state.
How Much Insulation Does a Home in Rhode Island Need?
The whole state of Rhode Island falls into IECC climate zone 5A, which means one row of the ENERGY STAR retrofit table applies statewide: R60 for an…
When Can You Turn the Heat Off in Rhode Island?
September is as close as Rhode Island gets to a break between the furnace and the air conditioner, and even then the answer isn’t a clean “off.” The…
Will Sweet Corn Ripen in Rhode Island?
Yes, sweet corn can ripen in Rhode Island, but the timing is tighter than the calendar suggests. The crop doesn’t start its clock at the last spring frost.
When to Sow Sweet Corn in Rhode Island
Rhode Island gardeners can sow sweet corn once soil hits 60°F, typically several weeks after the last spring frost, and a 60- to 90-day variety will…
When to Sow Autumn Spinach in Rhode Island
Rhode Island gardeners can sow autumn spinach roughly from early August through mid-September, timed by counting back 50 to 75 days from a target harvest…
Will Spinach Bolt Early in Rhode Island?
Spinach bolts early almost everywhere in Rhode Island, and the reason has less to do with a cool coastal summer than with the clock.
Will Rhode Island Soil Hold an Asparagus Bed for Fifteen Years?
Rhode Island’s representative soil, the Narragansett series, drains well enough to carry an asparagus bed through its full 10 to 15 year run.