What Grows in Williamsburg, Indiana

USDA Zones 6a · 201 acres

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

Crops well matched to these conditions include cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Williamsburg — the short answer

Williamsburg, Indiana: USDA zone 6a, about 202 days between hard freezes, across 201 acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 10
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 29
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~202
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
201 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)

Zone 6a is Williamsburg's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Williamsburg's 202-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Williamsburg

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

Season length

Measured

Williamsburg runs about 202 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

Williamsburg 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.

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country Williamsburg is in

Williamsburg sits in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Williamsburg's own centroid rather than borrowed from Wayne County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Williamsburg

Every plant below cleared Williamsburg's own zone 6a and its 202-day season. Each card opens that plant's Indiana profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in IndianaZones 2–11Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Indiana hazelnut guideZones 4–9Williamsburg's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in IndianaZones 5–8Williamsburg's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Indiana growing notesZones 2–11Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Growing blueberry in IndianaZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Indiana california poppy guideZones 6–10Williamsburg's 6a is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in IndianaZones 2–10Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry: Indiana growing notesZones 5–8Williamsburg's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in IndianaZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Indiana kale guideZones 2–11Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Cranberry in IndianaZones 2–7Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Indiana growing notesWilliamsburg's 202 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in IndianaZones 2–11Williamsburg's 202 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Indiana okra guideZones 2–12Williamsburg's 202 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in IndianaZones 2–11Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Indiana growing notesZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in IndianaZones 2–11Williamsburg's 202 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Indiana azalea guideZones 4–8Williamsburg's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in IndianaZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Indiana growing notesZones 3–10Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in IndianaWilliamsburg's 202 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Indiana lilac guideZones 4–10Williamsburg's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in IndianaZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Indiana growing notesZones 6–8Williamsburg's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in IndianaZones 3–9Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Indiana ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Williamsburg's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in IndianaZones 2–7Williamsburg's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Indiana growing notesZones 4–10Williamsburg's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in IndianaZones 2–10Williamsburg's 202 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Indiana canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Williamsburg's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Williamsburg?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 13; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 10 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 29 — 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 Williamsburg

Survey cells within 31 miles of Williamsburg checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 57 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Williamsburg

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

  1. GREENE TOWNSHIP VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTUnderground Storage Tanks · 400 ft
  2. Crop Production ServicesUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.2 mi
  3. MILLERSUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.1 mi
  4. Eggers Auto ServiceUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  5. TONYS AUTO SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.2 mi
  6. MarathonUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.3 mi
  7. Morrill Motors IncorporatedUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.4 mi
  8. AMVETS 38Underground Storage Tanks · 4.6 mi
  9. CHARLES GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.7 mi
  10. KITTS ECONOMY SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.8 mi
  11. WILLIAMS GARAGEBrownfields · 5.2 mi
  12. MATTHEWS INT`L CORP LYNN CASKET FACILITYToxics Release Inventory · 5.3 mi

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

Measured from Williamsburg'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 Williamsburg.

Total Sites

269

within ~10 miles of Williamsburg

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

3 Superfund sites (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Williamsburg

High0Moderate85Low184

Highest-Severity Sites

Belden Wire & Cable Company
Toxics Release Inventory · 47374bldnw350no
Bus Garage Richmond Community School
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Carpenter Industries, Incorporated
Toxics Release Inventory · 47374WYNCRINDUS

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Williamsburg, Toxics Release Inventory runs higher than the national average — 31 sites within ~10 miles of Williamsburg. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Williamsburg

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 Williamsburg average

Your land is one point inside Williamsburg

Everything above resolves to Williamsburg as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 201 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 Williamsburg Average

Williamsburg Average

  • USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Williamsburg
  • One soil character for all of Williamsburg
  • Frost dates read at Williamsburg's scale: Apr 10 to Oct 29

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Williamsburg

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Williamsburg averages 202Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Williamsburg

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 Williamsburg’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 Williamsburg

When does frost risk typically end in Williamsburg?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Williamsburg typically lands around Apr 10, 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 1.

When is the first frost in Williamsburg?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Williamsburg typically arrives around Oct 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 15, so the watching starts about Sep 29 — about 202 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Williamsburg?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Williamsburg sees about 202 frost-free days — roughly Apr 10 through Oct 29, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 1 to Oct 15, about 167 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Williamsburg?

The federal record around Williamsburg is a meaningful one — 269 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (154), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out — so a soil test before new food beds is a sensible precaution here, not a reason to hold back from growing. Remember that proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what sits where.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Williamsburg?

From about Sep 29 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 29 (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 29. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Williamsburg's scale — its 6a band and its 202-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Williamsburg'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 Williamsburg’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Williamsburg's own scale — its own ~202-day season between 28°F freezes, the 201 acres it covers and 269 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Williamsburg's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Williamsburg's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 10 and Oct 29 and the ~202-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 269 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Williamsburg, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Williamsburg's boundary and the 201 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~202-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Williamsburg's own centroid, the Eastern Corn Belt PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Williamsburg checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Williamsburg's 201 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Wayne County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Wayne 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 Wayne County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Williamsburg's 201 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Williamsburg you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 201 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Williamsburg-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Indiana

Wider growing context

What grows across Indiana

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