Potato Varieties That Suit Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s short, cool coastal season favors early and mid-season potato types over late ones, because the state’s frost window and its run of hot…
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.
What to Plant in Rhode Island in September
September in Rhode Island is fall-planting month: fast-maturing greens go straight into open beds, garlic beds get prepped for next month’s cloves, and…
What to Plant in Rhode Island in October
October in Rhode Island sits right at the edge of the first fall frost window, so the answer depends on which week you’re standing in.
What to Plant in Rhode Island in November
Direct answer: by November, most of Rhode Island has already crossed its average first fall frost, so the open garden is closing, not opening.
What to Plant in Rhode Island in May
By May, Rhode Island’s reference frost window (April 7 to April 17) has usually closed, which means most of the state can move from cool-season crops to…
What to Plant in Rhode Island in March
March in Rhode Island sits well before the last spring frost window of April 7 to April 17, so open ground is still off limits for anything tender.
What to Plant in Rhode Island in June
By June, Rhode Island gardens are past the frost line entirely. The last spring frost at the reference station runs April 7 to April 17, so soil has had…
What to Plant in Rhode Island in July
July in Rhode Island means the soil is warm, the frost risk is long gone, and the garden is at its most productive.
What to Plant in Rhode Island in January
In Rhode Island’s zone 6a-7b, January sits deep inside the frost window that runs from the previous fall through early-to-mid April, so open ground…
What to Plant in Rhode Island in February
Nothing goes into open ground across most of Rhode Island in February. Frost windows here run from April 7 to April 17 for the last spring freeze, so the…