What Grows in Hammondville, Alabama

USDA Zones 7b · 3K acres

Hammondville, Alabama, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Reliable performers under these conditions include cabbage, prickly pear, california poppy, and collard greens; what your own ground favors still comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Hammondville, no two yards are alike.

A low spot, a south-facing slope, or a stand of trees moves the frost date and sun across a single Hammondville lot. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.

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

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Hammondville — the short answer

Hammondville, Alabama: USDA zone 7b, about 225 days between hard freezes, across 3K acres of town.

USDA zone
7b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 26
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 6
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~225
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
3K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. Hard-freeze dates are this town’s own 28°F normals: light frosts run a few weeks past them, and tender transplants usually wait 2–3 weeks after the last hard freeze.

Hardiness Zone Range

7b7b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7b is Hammondville's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Hammondville's 225-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Hammondville

Each reading below is measured for Hammondville itself — here is what it means for a garden here, and the move an experienced grower makes about it.

Season length

Measured

Hammondville runs about 225 days between hard freezes — a long growing season.

There is slack for succession plantings and slow-finishing crops: many vegetables can be sown twice, and the heat-lovers have time to ripen fully.

Plan a second sowing of quick crops after the first comes out, and use the fall window most gardeners let sit idle.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Hammondville sits in USDA hardiness zone 7b.

The zone sets which perennials, shrubs, and fruit trees live through an average winter here — a plant rated for a colder zone is a safe bet, one rated warmer needs winter protection or gets treated as an annual.

Match perennials and fruit to the zone before you buy, so nothing you plant is a gamble against the cold.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Hammondville is in

Hammondville sits in the Ridge and Valley — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Hammondville's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: DeKalb County is mostly Southwestern Appalachians. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Hammondville

Every plant below cleared Hammondville's own zone 7b and its 225-day season. Each card opens that plant's Alabama profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in AlabamaZones 2–11Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Alabama prickly pear guideZones 5–10Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in AlabamaZones 6–10Hammondville's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Alabama growing notesZones 2–11Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Growing fig in AlabamaZones 6–10Hammondville's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Alabama lavender guideZones 5–8Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in AlabamaZones 2–10Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: Alabama growing notesZones 6–9Hammondville's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in AlabamaHammondville's 225 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Alabama kale guideZones 2–11Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in AlabamaZones 4–9Hammondville's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Alabama growing notesZones 2–11Hammondville's 225 days clear the ~70 it needs.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in AlabamaZones 5–9Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Alabama okra guideZones 2–12Hammondville's 225 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in AlabamaZones 2–11Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Alabama growing notesZones 3–10Hammondville's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in AlabamaZones 2–11Hammondville's 225 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Alabama apache plume guideZones 5–11Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in AlabamaZones 3–8Hammondville's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Alabama growing notesZones 3–8Hammondville's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in AlabamaHammondville's 225 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Alabama holly guideZones 5–11Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in AlabamaZones 3–9Hammondville's 7b — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Alabama growing notesZones 6–8Hammondville's 7b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in AlabamaZones 4–10Hammondville's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Alabama ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Hammondville's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in AlabamaZones 2–7Hammondville's 7b — 5 zones of cold margin.
western red cedar, photograph
Western red cedar: Alabama growing notesZones 4–10Hammondville's 7b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in AlabamaZones 5–10Hammondville's 225 days clear the ~45 it needs.
ajuga, photograph
Alabama ajuga guideZones 5–11Hammondville's 7b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Hammondville?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 26; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 26 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 6 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.

What's on the federal record near Hammondville

Closest first, within ~10 miles of Hammondville. Listing isn't leaking, and distance isn't exposure.

  1. SHAW INDUSTRIES INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  2. CONTINENTAL TELEPHONE OF THE SOUTHUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.1 mi
  3. GREGS FEED SUPPLYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.2 mi
  4. DISCOUNT FOOD MART #515Underground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  5. TRIANGLE GAS & GROCERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  6. VALLEY HEAD HIGH SCHOOLBrownfields · 1.4 mi
  7. FRITZ STRUCTURAL STEEL INCToxics Release Inventory · 1.5 mi
  8. RUBY'S VARIETY STOREUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi
  9. VALLEY HEAD HIGH SCHOOLUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi
  10. SHAW INDUSTRIES GROUP, INC. PLANT 14Brownfields · 1.6 mi
  11. HAMMONDVILLE QUICK STOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.0 mi
  12. BILL BLACKBURNUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.2 mi

6 more sites are on the record inside the same radius. See them on the map

Measured from Hammondville's center, not your beds. Run your own address for what's upwind of you specifically.

Environmental Intelligence

The counts behind that headline — every source type on the record near Hammondville.

Total Sites

184

within ~10 miles of Hammondville

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

8 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Hammondville

High0Moderate67Low117

Highest-Severity Sites

Al0086
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bellsouth Fort Payne Main - 11229
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Discount Food Mart #145
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Discount Food Mart #157
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Discount Food Mart #158
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Hammondville, CAFO runs higher than the national average — 40 sites within ~10 miles of Hammondville. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.

Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.

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Check your specific parcel in Hammondville

Get exact proximity distances to contamination sources for your specific parcel — plus soil, sun, drainage, and 1,086 plant recommendations.

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Hammondville average

Your land is one point inside Hammondville

Everything above resolves to Hammondville as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 3K acres. Your parcel is one point inside that footprint. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at town scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better local average.

Your Lot vs the Hammondville Average

Hammondville Average

  • USDA Zones 7b, averaged across Hammondville
  • One soil character for all of Hammondville
  • Frost dates read at Hammondville's scale: Mar 26 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Hammondville's 7b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Hammondville

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Hammondville, Alabama — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

Three things about your lot that Hammondville averages can't show:

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Hammondville averages 225Your sun & shade

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

25+ data sources read at your address, not the Hammondville average

How we know this about Hammondville

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this town’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Hammondville’s own record; boundaries and acreage from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination records from the federal sources named in their beats above. Soil is not read at town grain anywhere on this page — there is no town-resolution survey in our data, which is why you will find no soil grid here rather than a statewide one wearing a local label. The resolution ledger below names every figure this page inherited.

Common questions about Hammondville

When does frost risk typically end in Hammondville?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Hammondville typically lands around Mar 26, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — earlier than the light-frost dates most charts quote. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — lighter frosts keep biting past it, which is why tender transplants here wait until about Apr 16.

When is the first frost in Hammondville?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Hammondville typically arrives around Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 23, so the watching starts about Oct 7 — about 225 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Hammondville?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Hammondville sees about 225 frost-free days — roughly Mar 26 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 16 to Oct 23, about 190 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Hammondville?

The federal record around Hammondville shows 184 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (94), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.1 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Hammondville?

From about Oct 7 the job here turns from planting to protecting — the last start even a 30-day crop can finish. As the season closes around the first 28°F hard freeze near Nov 6 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals), three moves buy time: row cover or an old sheet over tender plants on still, clear nights; water the soil the afternoon before a freeze, so it holds warmth overnight; and harvest tomatoes, peppers and basil before Nov 6. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Hammondville's scale — its 7b band and its 225-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Hammondville's numbers: we read soil, sun, drainage and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.

What this page reads at Hammondville’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Hammondville's own scale — its own ~225-day season between 28°F freezes, the 3,103 acres it covers and 184 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Hammondville's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Hammondville's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 26 and Nov 6 and the ~225-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 184 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Hammondville, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Hammondville's boundary and the 3,103 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7b and a ~225-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Hammondville sits in the Ridge and Valley — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Hammondville's 3,103 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom DeKalb County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom DeKalb County
  • The growing challenges every Alabama grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Alabama
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom DeKalb County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Hammondville's 3,103 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Hammondville you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 3,103 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.1 miles out, measured from the town centrehow we read the record
  • Where cold air settles, which slopes face the sun, and which way the wind runs on your own ground — measured at your address, and averaged away by any Hammondville-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address