Growing Onions in Tennessee: Which Varieties Actually Bulb
Nashville sits at 36.12 degrees north, and on the longest day of the year the sun is up for 14 hours and 28 minutes there.
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.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Tennessee, and the Ones That Struggle
A look at which flowers hold up to Tennessee’s humid summers and winter lows, based on NOAA and USDA climate data for the Nashville area.
Heating a Home in Tennessee: What the Winter Actually Costs
Nashville’s coldest month averages a 30.1°F low, a number that sounds mild until you multiply it by weeks on the calendar.
The Best Apple Varieties for Tennessee
Tennessee’s winters are cold enough for nearly any apple cultivar, but frost timing decides which one actually bears fruit each year.
When to Carve a Pumpkin in Tennessee
Middle Tennessee’s mean first fall frost lands somewhere around October 28 to November 8, a window that straddles Halloween itself.
Growing Apples in Tennessee: Varieties, Timing and Frost Risk
A region-by-region look at which apple varieties, pairings and frost timing actually work across Tennessee’s varied climate zones.
Gardening in Tennessee: What the Season Actually Allows
Tennessee gardeners work with a frost-free window that runs roughly from mid-April to early November, sandwiched between a hardiness zone that shifts…
Aphids in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Aphids start showing up in Tennessee gardens as early as mid-March in the western part of the state and stretch their active season all the way into late…
Squash bug in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Squash bugs show up in Tennessee gardens once soil temperatures climb into the 60s, usually mid-May in West Tennessee and closer to early June in the…
Mexican bean beetle in Tennessee: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Mexican bean beetles start showing up in Tennessee gardens as early as late April in the western part of the state, and as late as mid-May in the higher…