Striped cucumber beetle in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
In Tennessee, striped cucumber beetles show up as soon as cucurbit seedlings break ground in spring, typically as the soil warms in April, and they stay…
Gardening in Tennessee
Everything we have worked out for Tennessee: 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 Nashville, the last spring freeze runs March 31 to April 12 and the first fall freeze runs October 28 to November 8, USDA zones 5b-8a, 4,937 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 Tennessee: 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.
Cutworms in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cutworms show up in Tennessee gardens in early spring, right around transplant time, when soil temperatures climb enough for the larvae to move and feed…
Flea beetles in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Flea beetles show up in Tennessee gardens as soon as the soil warms in early spring, usually within a week or two of the last frost, and they don’t leave…
Trees, Shrubs and Perennials for Tennessee: What Will Not Survive
Tennessee’s hardiness range runs from 5b to 8a on the USDA scale, a spread wide enough that a shrub thriving in Memphis can struggle in Mountain City.
When to Sow Beets in Tennessee
Sow beet seed directly in the ground two to three weeks before your last spring frost.
How Much Insulation Does a Home in Tennessee Need?
Tennessee sits across two IECC climate zones, 4A and 3A, and that split is the whole reason there’s no single R-value answer for “a home in Tennessee.” A…
When Can You Turn the Heat Off in Tennessee?
In most of Tennessee, there isn’t a real “off” season for the HVAC system, just a narrower window when it runs less.
Will Sweet Corn Ripen in Tennessee?
Yes, sweet corn ripens in Tennessee in most years, and the numbers back it up: the state’s frost-free stretch runs long enough to fit even a…
When to Sow Sweet Corn in Tennessee
Sweet corn goes into Tennessee soil once that soil holds above 60°F, not on the date of the last frost.
When to Sow Autumn Spinach in Tennessee
Sow autumn spinach in Tennessee once soil temperatures drop below the 80 F germination ceiling, typically from late August into mid-September in most of…