Garden Pests in West Virginia: What Shows Up, When, and How to Stop It
A season-by-season look at the insects and slugs West Virginia gardeners fight most, from April’s slugs to July’s stink bugs, with real fixes.
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.
The Best Grass Seed for West Virginia Lawns
A breakdown of which cool-season grass seed suits West Virginia lawns, when to sow it, and how elevation shifts the timing.
The West Virginia Lawn Care Calendar, Month by Month
A month-by-month guide to feeding, mowing, seeding and aerating cool-season lawns in West Virginia, based on Charleston’s frost dates and Clemson’s fescue calendar.
West Virginia Lawn Care: What to Plant and When to Feed It
West Virginia’s cool climate limits lawns to fescues and bluegrasses, seeded each fall and fed as they root before winter, not warm-season grass.
Garlic Varieties That Suit West Virginia Winters
West Virginia’s fall frost window and winter cold set the planting date and decide which garlic types, hardneck or softneck, perform best in your county.
When to Plant Garlic in West Virginia: Counting Back From the First Frost
West Virginia’s garlic planting window runs late September to mid-October, calculated from NOAA’s Charleston-area first frost normals of October 18 to November 1.
Growing Garlic in West Virginia: Planting Dates, Varieties and Winter Cold
West Virginia’s average winter cold comfortably exceeds the six to eight weeks garlic needs to divide, though frost dates and mulch timing shift with elevation.
Tomato Varieties That Ripen in Time in West Virginia
NOAA’s Charleston frost window and real catalogue days-to-maturity show which tomato varieties ripen in time in West Virginia and which don’t.
Tomato Planting Dates in West Virginia: Counting Back From Your Frost Window
Learn how to calculate tomato planting dates in West Virginia by counting backward from NOAA’s Charleston frost window, then adjusting for your elevation.
Growing Tomatoes in West Virginia: Planting Dates, Varieties and Local Pests
Charleston’s last spring frost falls between April 9 and April 23 according to NOAA, and that window sets tomato seeding, hardening off and transplant dates statewide with adjustments for elevation.