Cabbage worms in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cabbage worms show up in West Virginia gardens every year, and the state’s own extension service places their arrival squarely in June, right alongside…
Gardening in West Virginia
Everything we have worked out for West 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 Charleston, the last spring freeze runs April 9 to April 23 and the first fall freeze runs October 18 to November 1, USDA zones 5a-7a, 4,159 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 West 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.
Japanese beetle in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Japanese beetles typically appear in West Virginia between mid-June and early July, with populations peaking through late July and tapering off by…
Harlequin bug in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Harlequin bugs start showing up in West Virginia gardens in late April to early May, right when brassica seedlings go into the ground, and they stick…
Corn earworm in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Corn earworm moths ride storm fronts up from the Gulf Coast and the Deep South, and in West Virginia they typically show up in numbers by mid-July, with…
Flea beetles in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Flea beetles start chewing through West Virginia gardens as early as mid-April in the lower valleys and can hang around into October in a bad year.
Colorado potato beetle in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Colorado potato beetle adults break dormancy in West Virginia soil once daytime temperatures hold above roughly 60°F for several days running, which…
Asparagus beetles in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Asparagus beetles typically appear in West Virginia between late April and mid-May, right as the first spears push through the soil, and they stick…
Tobacco hornworm in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Tobacco hornworms show up in West Virginia gardens starting in late June and stick around through September, with the heaviest damage usually hitting…
Slugs in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Slugs turn up across West Virginia mainly from mid-April through June, then again in September and October when nights cool off but the ground stays damp.
Cucumber beetles in West Virginia: When It Shows Up and What Stops It
Cucumber beetles start showing up in West Virginia gardens as soon as soil temperatures climb past 65°F, which usually lands somewhere between mid-May in…