Imported cabbageworm in Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Imported cabbageworm larvae start chewing through Virginia brassicas as early as mid-April in the Tidewater region and can keep feeding into late…
Gardening in Virginia
Everything we have worked out for Virginia: 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 Virginia Beach, the last spring freeze runs March 20 to April 3 and the first fall freeze runs November 10 to November 24, USDA zones 5a-8b, 4,864 growing degree days in the year.
Garlic does well: 17.4 weeks below 40 °F, comfortably past the six it needs to form a proper head.
Elsewhere on the property in Virginia: 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.
Tomato hornworm in Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Tomato hornworms show up in Virginia gardens from mid-June through early September, with the heaviest damage typically hitting between July and August…
Flea beetles in Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Flea beetles start chewing through Virginia gardens as early as mid-March in the Tidewater region and as late as May in the mountains of Southwest…
Colorado potato beetle in Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetles show up in Virginia gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb into the low 50s, which usually lands somewhere between mid-April…
Aphids in Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Aphids show up in Virginia in two distinct waves: a heavy one in April and May when new growth flushes out, and a smaller rebound in September and…
Garden Pests in Virginia: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
A rundown of the insect groups Virginia Cooperative Extension flags in home gardens, how to tell their damage apart, and which controls actually work.
The Best Grass Seed for Virginia Lawns
Virginia’s climate sits between cool-season and warm-season turf zones, so this guide compares Tall Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Zoysiagrass and Bermudagrass side by side.
The Virginia Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
A month-by-month Virginia lawn calendar built around NOAA frost data and Clemson’s separate cool-season and warm-season maintenance schedules for fescue, zoysia, and bermudagrass.
Virginia Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
Climate normals for Virginia Beach explain why no one grass wins here, and what that means for choosing, seeding, and feeding a lawn.
Garlic Varieties That Suit Virginia Winters
Virginia Cooperative Extension can refine the mid-October to early-November garlic planting window for your county, but this guide gives the statewide calculation and fourteen cultivar options.