What Grows in Twelve Mile, Indiana

USDA Zones 6a · 407 acres

Twelve Mile, Indiana, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

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

Score your parcel · free

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

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Twelve Mile — the short answer

Twelve Mile, Indiana: USDA zone 6a, about 207 days between hard freezes, across 407 acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 9
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 2
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~207
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
407 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 Twelve Mile's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Twelve Mile's 207-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Twelve Mile

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

Season length

Measured

Twelve Mile runs about 207 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.

Making the most of a long season

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Twelve Mile 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 Twelve Mile is in

Twelve Mile sits in the Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Twelve Mile's own centroid, and it is not what its county reads: Cass County is mostly Eastern Corn Belt Plains. The wider page above you is answering a different question about different ground.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Twelve Mile

Every plant below cleared Twelve Mile's own zone 6a and its 207-day season. Each card opens that plant's Indiana profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in IndianaZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Indiana hazelnut guideZones 4–9Twelve Mile's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in IndianaZones 5–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Indiana growing notesZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Growing blueberry in IndianaZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Indiana california poppy guideZones 6–10Twelve Mile's 6a is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in IndianaZones 2–10Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry: Indiana growing notesZones 5–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in IndianaZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Indiana kale guideZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Cranberry in IndianaZones 2–7Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Indiana growing notesTwelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in IndianaZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Indiana okra guideZones 2–12Twelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in IndianaZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Indiana growing notesZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in IndianaZones 2–11Twelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Indiana azalea guideZones 4–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in IndianaZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Indiana growing notesZones 3–10Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in IndianaTwelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Indiana lilac guideZones 4–10Twelve Mile's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in IndianaZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Indiana growing notesZones 6–8Twelve Mile's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in IndianaZones 3–9Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Indiana ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Twelve Mile's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in IndianaZones 2–7Twelve Mile's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Indiana growing notesZones 4–10Twelve Mile's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in IndianaZones 2–10Twelve Mile's 207 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Indiana canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Twelve Mile's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Twelve Mile?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 12; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 9 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 2 — 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.

Documented around Twelve Mile

Spotted lanternfly documented 12 miles from Twelve Mile, first recorded 2023. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Twelve Mile

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

  1. OVERWAY PETROLEUM COMPANY INCORPORATEDUnderground Storage Tanks · 900 ft
  2. HEWITTS GROCERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  3. ROBBINS & DAWALT INCORPORATEDUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  4. JUDY & LEE HEWITUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  5. DAVIDSON CONSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT COMPANY INCORPORATEDUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  6. Moss Fertilizer Service IncorporatedUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  7. SLIFER MOTORS HOWARD SLIFER JRUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  8. PROVIDENCE DAIRY LLCCAFO · 1.2 mi
  9. MOSS FERTILIZER PLANT IIUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.5 mi
  10. LIPPERT COMPONENTS, INC. - DENVER, INToxics Release Inventory · 4.0 mi
  11. DAN COFFINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  12. CHARLES E BURNSUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.3 mi

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

Measured from Twelve Mile'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 Twelve Mile.

Total Sites

81

within ~10 miles of Twelve Mile

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

6 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Explore the live map
Underground Storage Tanks62Brownfields12Toxics Release Inventory6CAFO1

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of Twelve Mile

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Twelve Mile

High0Moderate20Low61

Highest-Severity Sites

Cass County Highway Department
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Express Stop
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Logansport Community School Corporation
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Mcclure Oil Corporation
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Speedway 6060
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Twelve Mile, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Twelve Mile — Underground Storage Tanks (62 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (6 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Underground Storage Tanks: Underground storage tanks are the single most common source of soil contamination near homes and gardens.

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

Use raised beds with imported soil — this eliminates the primary soil-contact pathway.

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

build up with a clean-soil raised bedread your soil before you plantgrow under coverSee what's flagged near Twelve Mile
Explore the contamination map around Twelve Mile·Indiana Growing Guide
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Check your specific parcel in Twelve Mile

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 Twelve Mile average

Your land is one point inside Twelve Mile

Everything above resolves to Twelve Mile as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 407 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 Twelve Mile Average

Twelve Mile Average

  • ●USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Twelve Mile
  • ●One soil character for all of Twelve Mile
  • ●Frost dates read at Twelve Mile's scale: Apr 9 to Nov 2

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Twelve Mile

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Twelve Mile averages 207Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Twelve Mile

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 Twelve Mile’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 Twelve Mile

When does frost risk typically end in Twelve Mile?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Twelve Mile typically lands around Apr 9, 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 30.

When is the first frost in Twelve Mile?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Twelve Mile typically arrives around Nov 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 19, so the watching starts about Oct 3 — about 207 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Twelve Mile?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Twelve Mile sees about 207 frost-free days — roughly Apr 9 through Nov 2, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 30 to Oct 19, about 172 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Twelve Mile?

The federal record around Twelve Mile shows 81 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (62), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Twelve Mile?

From about Oct 3 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 2 (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 2. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Twelve Mile's scale — its 6a band and its 207-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Twelve Mile'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 Twelve Mile’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Twelve Mile's own scale — its own ~207-day season between 28°F freezes, the 407 acres it covers and 81 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Twelve Mile's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Twelve Mile's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 9 and Nov 2 and the ~207-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 81 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Twelve Mile, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Twelve Mile's boundary and the 407 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~207-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • Twelve Mile sits in the Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains — not the ecoregion its county mostly readsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Twelve Milelydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Twelve Mile's 407 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Cass County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Cass County
  • The growing challenges every Indiana grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Indiana
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Cass County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Twelve Mile's 407 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of Twelve Mile you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 407 acresreading your own microclimate →
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Twelve Mile-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in Indiana

Cass County Growing Guide·Indiana Growing Guide

Wider growing context

What grows across Indiana

Twelve Mile sits outside our named growing regions, so Indiana as a whole is its closest context here.

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