What to Plant in Utah in May
May is the payoff month for Utah gardeners who waited out a cold spring. In the Salt Lake valley, the last spring frost typically falls between April 12…
Gardening in Utah
Everything we have worked out for Utah: 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 Salt Lake City, the last spring freeze runs April 12 to April 29 and the first fall freeze runs October 18 to October 29, USDA zones 4a-9a, 3,551 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 Utah: 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 Utah in March
In most of Utah, March is still weeks away from reliable planting weather. The last spring frost for the Salt Lake City area falls between April 12 and…
What to Plant in Utah in June
By June, Utah’s frost risk has passed in most valleys, but soil temperature and elevation still call the shots.
What to Plant in Utah in July
Direct answer: in Utah, July is deep summer work, not planting season for most spring crops.
What to Plant in Utah in January
January in Utah is dormant-season work, not open-ground planting. With last spring frost running April 12 to April 29 around Salt Lake and most of the…
What to Plant in Utah in February
Across most of Utah, February is a month spent working around the calendar rather than with it.
What to Plant in Utah in December
December in Utah means no direct-sowing and no outdoor transplanting almost anywhere in the state.
What to Plant in Utah in August
August in Utah sits in the gap between two frost dates: well clear of the last spring freeze and still weeks from the first fall one.
What to Plant in Utah in April
April is the frost window itself in most of Utah, not the start of it. In the Salt Lake area the last spring freeze can land anywhere from April 12 to…
Growing Potatoes in Utah: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Yes, potatoes grow well in Utah gardens, but summer heat sets the calendar. Plant early enough that tubers form before soil temperatures climb too high…