goose foot (Eleusine indica), photographi

Can I Grow Goose Foot in Wyoming?

USDA Zones 3b-6a · Plant zone range 5-12

Generally — Most Areas

goose foot (zones 5-12) suits most of Wyoming (3b-6a) — zones 5-6 are in range, and the rest of the state is the exception.

Goose Foot in Wyoming — the short answer

Goose Foot in Wyoming: hardy in zones 5–12, full sun, against a state median of ~151 frost-free days.

Plant zones
5-12
Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
Wyoming zones
3b-6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Frost window
May 4 - May 13 – Sep 30 - Oct 7
NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
Shortest county season
79 days
NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.

Score your parcel · free

Your yard isn't the whole zone.

Wyoming spans zones 3b-6a, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score goose foot against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Wyoming is not one climate

A single Wyoming answer averages 23 counties whose growing seasons are 87 days apart — from 79 frost-free days in Teton County to 166 in Big Horn County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what goose foot can finish before the first hard freeze.

79 daysTeton County166 daysBig Horn County

The middle half of 23 counties runs 136155 days, with a median of 151 days — a 87-day span end to end.

Measured across 23 Wyoming counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.

Where in Wyoming Fits Best

Goose Foot is rated for zones 512 — a cold floor USDA puts at -20 to -10°F. Against Wyoming’s 23 counties that band holds in 17 of them, and the line runs at Campbell County (zone 5a), the coldest county still inside it.

Inside zones 5–12

17 counties

3 of 17 shown

Below the zone 5 floor

6 counties

3 of 6 shown

Winter cold is the limit here — the same plant works in a container that comes under cover.

County hardiness zones: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023, per county. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so the floor above is the band the plant's rating denotes, not a single measured kill point. Slope, shelter and cold-air drainage routinely move a site half a zone either way from its county figure — which is the part only your address resolves.

Even within Wyoming's zones 3b-6a, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for goose foot (USDA PHZM 2023):

Zone Comparison

Goose Foot Needs

  • USDA Zones: 5-12
  • Frost-Free Days: 120+
  • Sun: Full Sun
  • Picking window: ~30 days of harvest

Wyoming Has

  • USDA Zones: 3b-6a
  • Last Hard Freeze (28°F): May 4 - May 13
  • First Hard Freeze (28°F): Sep 30 - Oct 7
  • Annual Rainfall: 6-20 inches
  • Common Soils: Sandy loam, Clay, Alkaline

Plant Zone Range (zones 5-12)

5a
12b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Preferred Soil pH

3.5 (Acidic)7.0 (Neutral)9.0 (Alkaline)
Highlighted range: pH 4.38.4

Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.

When to Plant Goose Foot in Wyoming

The frost window

Across Wyoming, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between May 4 and May 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Sep 30 and Oct 7 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 140-day window you can count on — up to 156 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.

When to start the seed

Goose Foot is direct-sown where it grows rather than started under cover, so there is no seed-tray head start to bank — Wyoming's dates above are the whole calendar for it. That makes the last-freeze date the binding constraint, and a warmer pocket of your own yard is worth more to this crop than it is to a transplanted one.

Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.

Growing Season Fit

The zone check says goose foot survives winter in part of Wyoming, not across all of it. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.

Frost-free days

Goose Foot wants 120+ frost-free days; a typical Wyoming site sees ~151 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves a workable window — start indoors to bank time.

GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.

Soil + Drainage Fit

Goose Foot tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.3-8.4) — 4.1 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Wyoming. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 5.5 and 6.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Wyoming soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Wyoming site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.

Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Wyoming soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.

Before you plant goose foot for food

Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before goose foot goes in. What follows is Wyoming’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.

Safe to Grow Here?

What the federal record shows across Wyoming — and how to grow with it.

Federal record: High

We checked the federal record across Wyoming10,910 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.

The most significant on record: 64 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.

Wyoming carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.

Know before you grow — the guide

Sources Checked

across Wyoming

Severity Distribution

across Wyoming

High42Moderate5,938Low4,930

Highest-Severity Sites

Mining Sites · Past Producer
Superfund · Superfund NPL
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Wyoming, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 4,750 sites across Wyoming. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

Sources: EPA, USGS1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.

What Else to Consider for Goose Foot in Wyoming

Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Wyoming growers also need to think about:

Extremely short growing season (60-90 frost-free days)

Very low rainfall requires irrigation

Persistent high winds desiccate and damage plants

What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Wyoming grower, not just goose foot — is covered on the Wyoming growing guide.

Timing shifts within Wyoming

Goose Foot needs about 120 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. 19 of Wyoming’s 23 counties give it that outright. The tightest that does is Uinta County at 132 frost-free days — 12 to spare. Below that line you are transplanting or extending the season, not direct-sowing.

Across Wyoming’s 23 counties the frost-free season runs from 79 days in Teton County to 166 days in Big Horn County — a spread of 87 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Wyoming county sees 151 frost-free days, leaving goose foot about 31 days of slack on a typical parcel — room for a second sowing where the season runs long.

County last-freeze dates and frost-free day counts: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). Goose Foot's 120-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.

Wyoming Cooperative Extension

For Wyoming-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for goose foot, the canonical source is University of Wyoming Extension. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.

Is Goose Foot native to Wyoming?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Goose Foot as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Wyoming's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Wyoming natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

Looking for plants that belong here? The Wyoming growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.

Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.

Common Questions About Growing Goose Foot in Wyoming

When can I plant Goose Foot in Wyoming?

Wyoming's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between May 4 and May 13, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Sep 30 and Oct 7 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.

What hardiness zone is Goose Foot grown in across Wyoming?

Wyoming spans USDA hardiness zones 3b-6a (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Goose Foot carries a range of zones 5-12, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.

How many frost-free days does a typical Wyoming site have?

A typical Wyoming site sees ~151 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Goose Foot needs 120+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date.

Is Goose Foot native to Wyoming?

No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Goose Foot as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Wyoming's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Wyoming natives keeps local pollinators fed too.

How should I amend the soil for Goose Foot in Wyoming?

Goose Foot tolerates pH 4.3-8.4 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4.1-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Wyoming site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.

Will Goose Foot actually grow on my specific land in Wyoming?

State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores goose foot against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Wyoming

State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores goose foot against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.

Three things about your lot that Wyoming goose foot averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Wyoming averages 151Your sun & shade

We read public map data around Wyoming — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Wyoming goose foot average

Explore More

Explore Wyoming county by county

Wyoming carries 23 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for goose foot there:

Where else goose foot grows

Goose Foot's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Wyoming in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.

More to grow in Wyoming

Wyoming has a growing page for 806 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.

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