What Grows in Cattle Creek, Colorado

USDA Zones 6a · 829 acres

Cattle Creek, Colorado, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

The conditions favor cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, and collard greens, among others — though every individual site edits that list with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

Even in Cattle Creek, 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 Cattle Creek 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 Cattle Creek — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Cattle Creek — the short answer

Cattle Creek, Colorado: USDA zone 6a, about 167 days between hard freezes, across 829 acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 28
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 12
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~167
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
829 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

6a6a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)
Your USDA zone 6aSee the zone map →

Zone 6a is Cattle Creek's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Cattle Creek's 167-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Cattle Creek

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

Season length

Measured

Cattle Creek runs about 167 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

Buying weeks at each end

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Cattle Creek sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a.

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.

How hardiness zones work

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Cattle Creek is in

Cattle Creek sits in the Southern Rockies — EPA Level III, inside the wider Northwestern Forested Mountains. That is read at Cattle Creek's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: Garfield County is mostly Colorado Plateaus. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Cattle Creek

Every plant below cleared Cattle Creek's own zone 6a and its 167-day season. Each card opens that plant's Colorado profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in ColoradoZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Colorado blackberry guideZones 5–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in ColoradoZones 6–10Cattle Creek's 6a is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Colorado growing notesZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Growing cranberry in ColoradoZones 2–7Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Colorado lavender guideZones 5–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in ColoradoZones 2–10Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Colorado growing notesZones 5–9Cattle Creek's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in ColoradoZones 3–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Colorado kale guideZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in ColoradoZones 5–9Cattle Creek's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Colorado growing notesCattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in ColoradoZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Colorado okra guideZones 2–12Cattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in ColoradoZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Colorado growing notesZones 3–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in ColoradoZones 2–11Cattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Colorado azalea guideZones 4–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in ColoradoZones 3–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Colorado growing notesZones 3–10Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in ColoradoCattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Colorado lilac guideZones 4–10Cattle Creek's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in ColoradoZones 3–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Colorado growing notesZones 6–8Cattle Creek's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in ColoradoZones 3–9Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Colorado ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Cattle Creek's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in ColoradoZones 2–7Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Colorado growing notesZones 2–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in ColoradoZones 2–10Cattle Creek's 167 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Colorado canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Cattle Creek's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Cattle Creek?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 31; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 28 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 12 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. The tail of the season still works: sixty-day crops into late summer, quick greens after, garlic last of all.

What's on the federal record near Cattle Creek

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

  1. MATTERHORN PAINTING INCBrownfields · 1600 ft
  2. GERBER COLLISION AND GLASSBrownfields · 1900 ft
  3. Bmc WestUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  4. UPS Glenwood Springs CenterUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  5. UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INCBrownfields · 2300 ft
  6. Gould ConstructionUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  7. GOULD CONSTRUCTION INC.Brownfields · 0.6 mi
  8. Thunder River MarketUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  9. NELSON'S AUTO BODY INCBrownfields · 0.7 mi
  10. Myles And Virginia HolubUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  11. MIDVALLEY AUTO BODYBrownfields · 0.8 mi
  12. EASY STREET PAINTINGBrownfields · 0.8 mi

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

Measured from Cattle Creek'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 Cattle Creek.

Total Sites

156

within ~10 miles of Cattle Creek

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

1 Toxics Release Inventory facility

Explore the live map
Underground Storage Tanks94Brownfields56Nitrate4Mining1Toxics Release Inventory1

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of Cattle Creek

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Cattle Creek

High0Moderate34Low122

Highest-Severity Sites

7-Eleven #17211
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7-Eleven #22088
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Alta Convenience #6019
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Alta Convenience #6020
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Alta Convenience #6318
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

Know Before You Grow

  • •Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • •Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
  • •On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
Explore the contamination map around Cattle Creek·Colorado Growing Guide
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Cattle Creek

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 Cattle Creek average

Your land is one point inside Cattle Creek

Everything above resolves to Cattle Creek as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 829 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 Cattle Creek Average

Cattle Creek Average

  • ●USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Cattle Creek
  • ●One soil character for all of Cattle Creek
  • ●Frost dates read at Cattle Creek's scale: Apr 28 to Oct 12

YOUR Parcel

  • ✓Your exact zone, not Cattle Creek's 6a
  • ✓Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • ✓Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Cattle Creek

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Cattle Creek averages 167Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Cattle Creek

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 Cattle Creek’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 Cattle Creek

When does frost risk typically end in Cattle Creek?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Cattle Creek typically lands around Apr 28, 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 May 19.

When is the first frost in Cattle Creek?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Cattle Creek typically arrives around Oct 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Sep 28, so the watching starts about Sep 12 — about 167 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Cattle Creek?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Cattle Creek sees about 167 frost-free days — roughly Apr 28 through Oct 12, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 19 to Sep 28, about 132 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Cattle Creek?

The federal record around Cattle Creek shows 156 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (94), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.3 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 Cattle Creek?

From about Sep 12 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 Oct 12 (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 Oct 12. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Cattle Creek's scale — its 6a band and its 167-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Cattle Creek'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 Cattle Creek’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Cattle Creek's own scale — its own ~167-day season between 28°F freezes, the 829 acres it covers and 156 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Cattle Creek's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Cattle Creek's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 28 and Oct 12 and the ~167-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 156 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Cattle Creek, the closest Brownfields record about 0.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Cattle Creek's boundary and the 829 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~167-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Cattle Creek sits in the Southern Rockies — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Cattle Creek's 829 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Garfield County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Garfield County
  • The growing challenges every Colorado grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Colorado
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Garfield County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Cattle Creek's 829 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of Cattle Creek you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 829 acresreading your own microclimate →
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 0.3 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 Cattle Creek-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in Colorado

Garfield County Growing Guide·Colorado Growing Guide

Wider growing context

What grows across Colorado

Cattle Creek sits outside our named growing regions, so Colorado as a whole is its closest context here.

USDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•US Census TIGER•PRISM Climate•EPA FRS