What to Plant in West Virginia in June
June in West Virginia sits well past the state’s last spring frost window (April 9 to April 23), so this is the month when nearly every warm-season crop…
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.
What to Plant in West Virginia in July
July in West Virginia sits deep inside the growing season, well past the last spring frost window of April 9 to April 23 and still more than three months…
What to Plant in West Virginia in January
January in West Virginia is not a planting month for open ground in most of the state.
What to Plant in West Virginia in February
Short answer: in most of West Virginia, February is not a month for putting seeds or transplants into open ground.
What to Plant in West Virginia in December
December offers almost nothing for open ground in West Virginia: garlic and shallots still working into unfrozen soil, cold frames holding hardy greens…
What to Plant in West Virginia in August
August in West Virginia is a fall-garden month wearing a summer-garden’s clothes.
What to Plant in West Virginia in April
Direct answer: April is when West Virginia’s cold-hardy crops go in the ground, but the state is also sitting right inside its last frost window, so…
Growing Potatoes in West Virginia: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
West Virginia’s summer heat is not the problem most gardeners assume it is. Charleston averages just 16.0 days a year at 90°F or higher, according to…
Growing Peppers in West Virginia: Fruit Set, Heat and Timing
West Virginia’s pepper growers get a break most Southern states don’t: Charleston averages just 16.0 days a year at 90 F or hotter, which keeps…
Pepper Varieties That Ripen in a West Virginia Season
West Virginia peppers ripen reliably in most seasons, but the window is tighter than the calendar suggests.