It’s mid-May. The grass is green. We had snow last week. The neighbors north of us got four inches of HAIL a couple days ago. And this is totally normal.
There’s really no sense complaining about it, since that’s just how we roll in Wyoming. But hey, I figured this is perfect timing, so let’s talk about how you can garden in a cold climate. Because I’m proof that it’s possible! (Most years, at least…)
Our prairie homestead is in Southeast Wyoming and we are in garden zone five. I guess it could be worse, we don’t live in Alaska, but still… this is far from an easy place to garden.
I generally plant our cold-sensitive plants around Memorial Day or the first week of June (this year is extra-cool, so I’m waiting a bit longer than normal..) and we can have frosts as early as September sometimes. We have to be prepared to have the most important crops wrapped up by the middle of September, which doesn’t leave us very much time at all to grow our vegetables for the year.
I’ve had a lot of questions from readers about how to garden in a cold climate, and I want to encourage you that it can be done, it just takes a little bit more consideration and effort.
How to Garden in a Cold Climate
1. Know Your Garden Zone and Frost Dates.
Click here to see the USDA Plant Hardiness Map. In order to know what will and will not thrive in your area, it’s crucial that you understand your first and last frost dates. This is especially important if you are in a cold climate like we are and your garden-growing-window is especially small; you must maximize that window as much as possible.
2. Pick the Right Seeds.
I order my seeds in January and when I go through my seed catalog (these are my favorite heirloom seeds), I pay special attention to how many days it takes for the seeds to grow to maturity. I am pretty careful about picking the varieties of beans, peas, corn, squash, etc, that are going to take the shortest possible amount of growing time to mature. This ensures I have the best chance of a harvest before the frost hits.
3. Start Seeds Indoors.
A big part of gardening for us, and I’m sure for many of you (even if you’re in a less harsh climate than me) is the process of starting seeds indoors.
I’ve gotten better over the years at starting seeds and getting my seed starting system properly set up so it’s less hassle and stress compared to how it was at the beginning, and I can easily start several hundred seedlings in my basement on any given year. It saves me money and it makes sure I have a wider availability of vegetables that I wouldn’t have if I was only putting things direct in the soil. Here’s my video on how we set-up our seed starting equipment.
4. Use Season Extenders for Gardening.
One topic that always comes up as far as cold climate gardening goes is using season extenders or things like greenhouses, hoop houses, and/or cold frames. I do think those are very much worth looking into if you live in a harsh climate like we do (you can learn more about extending the garden season with these options in this post).
However, we haven’t quite gone that route yet, but we have toyed for years with the idea of building some sort of greenhouse. Now that we have our raised beds, we’ve also considered creating hoops and thick plastic to go over the tops to warm things up.
The main issue with building a greenhouse where we live is the hail, strong winds, and snow… Those cute little plastic greenhouse kits you see floating around? Those wouldn’t last a week here. Therefore, in lieu of building a seed-starting fortress that would outlast Armageddon, we’ve decided to hold off– at least for now.
UPDATE 2021: We have a greenhouse now! You can check it out in my greenhouse youtube video here. It’s a sturdy type that has (so far) done well in our Wyoming winds.
Also, it feels somewhat scandalous to admit this, but by the time October rolls around, I’m usually quite ready to put the garden to bed for the year and be done with it. I’m not really keen on figuring out how to creatively extend the growing season into the snow or into the cooler weather. That’s just me, but if you are a gardening-diehard and you want to garden all year, you should absolutely look into cold frames, hoop houses, and all that good stuff.
5. Garden with Raised Beds.
I get tons of questions in regards to our raised beds, and while cold-climate gardening wasn’t the only reason we built them, it was a factor in our decision. I talk more about why we started using raised beds in this post. Raised beds can increase the temperature of your soil a little bit and it might give you just enough of a leg up that it helps you get things started in the garden a little bit sooner.
6. Pay Attention to Where You Get Your Plants.
One of my very best tips that I have learned more recently is to pay attention to where you’re getting your plants if you live in a cold climate. For years, I would lean heavily on the generic stores like Lowes and Home Depot for my plant purchases. I realized last year after talking to local gardening experts that you’re going to be much better off going with a local gardening store that understands your area.
I discovered that while Lowes and Home Depot do carry plants rated for our zone, there are different variations for Zone Five. In contrast, our local gardening store have a better understanding of which plants are rated for OUR type of Zone Five and they are far more knowledgeable in helping one understand the nuances of the area.
Take my currant bush for example. When I go to a generic store, they sell fruit trees and berries, but I’ve never had great luck with those options. Last year, I started researching currants and talked to some local gardening experts, and I learned that this particular currant variety is designed to thrive in our harsh prairie climates. Bingo.
Sure enough, my currant bush started blooming in April and it’s super happy, even though everything else is still pretty much dormant (if you’re growing currants too, you’ve gotta try my Honey Currant Jam recipe).
Moral of the story? Talk to people who have been in your area a long time and don’t blindly trust the labels on those generic store plants.
Another example of where we found success with this concept was with our tree row. Instead of just going to a big box store and buying random trees, we worked with local tree experts to find the right varieties to plant in our protective tree row. Pinpointing the hardiest species of trees for this area has saved as a lot of money and heartache in dead trees.
(Just in case you were wondering, we planted Austrian and Ponderosa Pines, native plums, lilacs, and then some cottonwood and ash trees mixed in the back row. They are slower to mature but they’ll provide wonderful protection in years to come.)
7. Look for Sheltered Areas on Your Land
As you are planning out gardens in your yard or around your homestead, keep your eyes peeled for the locations with extra shelter.
For example, we have a little herb garden up against the house and this particular area is far more sheltered than the other garden against the wind. It also captures the southern light against the house and it is slightly warmer than other areas of the yard.
If I have plants that are rated for Zone Five but need a little extra TLC, they go in this sheltered area since it’s a little more protected.
Side Note: Dealing with Spring Fever…
One of the hardest parts about living in an area with a late spring is getting the gardening itch in mid-April and not being able to really do much out here until end of May. What have I been doing to quell my spring fever? We put fresh soil in some of the raised beds that were getting a little compacted, I’ll be testing the soil, We’ve dug up some of the beds and fluffed everything up, and we’re going to be putting some fresh mulch in the pathways. So I may be wearing a sweatshirt and dodging snowstorms, but at least I’m still outside digging in the dirt.
You CAN garden (almost) anywhere…
If I can garden in the wide-open, windy, and hail-prone prairie of southeast Wyoming, you can do it where you’re at with just a few extra considerations. It might take a little more effort than someone living in the deep South who has a long growing season and very little frost but we can do hard things and it is worth the effort, I promise.
More Gardening Tips for You:
- How Many Plants Per Person in the Garden
- Seed Starting Guide
- How We Built Our Raised Beds
- 7 Simple Ways to Improve Garden Soil
From Northern Michigan… if you save your seeds year to year, they will evolve to adjust to your climate.
We are zone 3, yeah, not a lot of time for growing stuff.
Yes! Next month, I’m moving from (urban) zone 4b to (rural) zone 5a. I don’t plan to garden this year, both because of the late start and because I need to see what the property is like to determine the best spot. Hopefully I will be satisfied with a few pots for now, and putting in beds this fall. I don’t have to worry about high winds and hail, but I’m in the woods and will have animals to contend with, as well as late frosts and just finding that sunny patch of yard. Thanks for the encouragement!
We’re in Northern AZ in the mountains above 7K feet. Not fun or easy to garden here either. I was wondering where you found your Ponderosa pines? We have them naturally in our area but would love to put some more on our property. Do you have a good source? Thanks!
These came through our local conservation district. They were tiny when we got them, but have done well
I live in Texas but plan to move up north soon. This article was very helpful. One thing you might not realize is that my growing zone, 7 and 8 comes with unique challenges as well. Sometimes the growing season is wonderful. In fact we have two. Spring and fall. However, they are often both cut short and have a total loss of our crops due to an early frost or an early heat wave of 100 degree temps. Both of those things happened to me last year. Cutting both spring into only 6 weeks before it was a 100 degrees for several days in a row just doesn’t work. And then the same thing happened in the fall, only 6 weeks into the season, we had 4 days of freezing temperatures. Everything was destroyed. Zone 7 and 8 can be just as difficult as zone 5
Most encouragin . . . it’s taken me several years to wise up, but that’s the beauty of gardening. I live on a sandbar / peninsula, edge of the mighty Pacific, WA state, and though my particular area IS Zone 9, for the most part, good luck with all that. Deer, raccoons, and little brown bunnies are plentiful; everything of value must be caged. City property by the sea, basically, so no hunting, no chickens or any pastured animals. The coastal climate, winds, and sandy soil are overcome by raised beds, amendments, plus the significant use of hedgerows for windbreaks and to attract pollinators. So here we are, one day before summer, with inspiring growth in the main garden and other areas, with sunny sunshine no less, all before the fog attack or who knows what. First harvest is typically mid-September, right when the weather gets dicey, bipolar. October harvests are rare, only in special beds or cold frames. Long story short, I’m a true believer good gardening can be done most anywhere with a little care, determination, thoughtfulness, and fortitude. Smarter, not harder. Thanks for the inspiration!
Growing citrus in cold climates is a challenge! But it’s been done for centuries!
https://uscitrus.com/pages/our-story
My daughter does live in alaska, wasilla, outside of anchorage. She grows lots of radishes lettuce rhubarb pumpkins,etc. She has a green hand not just a green thumb. She grows avocados indoors.
WOW!! This is so cool! Your daughter is talented, to be sure! Thanks for sharing!
I just ready your post and now am energized about this coming summer and our garden. We live just north of you in Sundance, WY and definitely share your struggles with gardening. Your post was great!
So glad you found the post helpful! We wish you all the best with your garden this year! 🙂
In northern VT, zone 4a, I am still waiting for my last patches of snow and ice to melt and the ground to warm up. I only get some small hail from time to time, but more often have to deal with gusty winds and widely fluctuatinjg temperatures. One interesting thing I read is that while the growing season gets shorter the further you are from the equator, the hours of daylight are longer during the summer, which can actually help plants grow faster.
I understand what you are saying about those cute greenhouse kits. Last year I decided to build a greenhouse frame out of 1/2 inch iron plumbing pipe. I haven’t figured out what I will cover it with yet, and will likely only leave it covered for a short time in the spring and fall, but at least I think the bare frame should hold up in the wind and snow. That will be one of my projects to work on this spring.
I also have been planting heirloom varieties for several years and saving seeds from one year to the next. The tomatoes have become totally awesome as a result, quite productive and hard to kill.
Thank you for this! I am in Zone 5 also, in Michigan. I get so jealous of hearing about 200 growing days. I want to grow all the things too! But alas, I’ve tried and the disappointment of those crops failing, isn’t worth it. I grow what I know I can, and I am content with that.
Good article! Thanks! I am in zone 5 in Bitterroot Valley, MT with lots of wind. Can you tell me what type of currants you planted?
115 growing days in Calgary. Highly alkaline soil, and very cool nights. Yet a few hours east of here has the best corn in Canada. We were recently changed from 4a to 4b. So exciting. But lately our springs are super early, and fall has been super late. We usually plant most vegetables on May long weekend (first Monday of the month that is later than the 19th). I wouldn’t even try citrus. I have a nice apple tree though! And I was successful with cantaloupe and watermelons in cold frames. I enjoy the challenge of working in such a unique climate. It really makes you think of ways to work around it. I think that Alaska, and northern Canada will have 24 hours of sun at some point. I think that it would be a completely different challenge – late spring, early fall, but lots of sun.