What Grows in Bloomfield, Kentucky

USDA Zones 6b · 922 acres

Bloomfield, Kentucky, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

On paper, cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Bloomfield — the short answer

Bloomfield, Kentucky: USDA zone 6b, about 220 days between hard freezes, across 922 acres of city.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 31
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
~220
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City area
922 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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Bloomfield's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Bloomfield's 220-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Bloomfield

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

Season length

Measured

Bloomfield runs about 220 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

Bloomfield sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

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 Bloomfield is in

Bloomfield sits in the Interior Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Bloomfield's own centroid rather than borrowed from Nelson County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Bloomfield

Every plant below cleared Bloomfield's own zone 6b and its 220-day season. Each card opens that plant's Kentucky profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in KentuckyZones 2–11Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Kentucky hazelnut guideZones 4–9Bloomfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in KentuckyZones 5–8Bloomfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Kentucky growing notesZones 2–11Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in KentuckyZones 5–8Bloomfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Kentucky california poppy guideZones 6–10Bloomfield's 6b is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in KentuckyZones 2–10Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: Kentucky growing notesZones 3–8Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in KentuckyBloomfield's 220 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Kentucky kale guideZones 2–11Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in KentuckyZones 5–9Bloomfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: Kentucky growing notesZones 4–9Bloomfield's 220 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in KentuckyZones 2–11Bloomfield's 220 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Kentucky okra guideZones 2–12Bloomfield's 220 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in KentuckyZones 2–11Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Kentucky growing notesZones 3–10Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in KentuckyZones 2–11Bloomfield's 220 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Kentucky lilac guideZones 4–10Bloomfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in KentuckyZones 3–8Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Kentucky growing notesZones 3–8Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in KentuckyBloomfield's 220 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Kentucky apache plume guideZones 5–11Bloomfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in KentuckyZones 3–9Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Kentucky growing notesZones 6–8Bloomfield's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in KentuckyZones 3–9Bloomfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Kentucky ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Bloomfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in KentuckyZones 2–7Bloomfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Kentucky growing notesZones 4–10Bloomfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in KentuckyZones 2–10Bloomfield's 220 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
Kentucky indian grass guideZones 4–9Bloomfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Bloomfield?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 3; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 31 (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. There is slack in a calendar like this — late plantings, second rounds of favorites, and a fall bench that keeps beds working.

Documented around Bloomfield

Survey cells within 31 miles of Bloomfield checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 61 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Bloomfield

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

  1. Bobs Small EngineUnderground Storage Tanks · 600 ft
  2. Blazers Food Mart LLCUnderground Storage Tanks · 950 ft
  3. Creekside Service CenterUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  4. F18B0007Nitrate · 1200 ft
  5. Bloomfield Minit MartUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  6. Big 3 Tractor Co IncUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  7. JLSB Inc DBA Barts Mart MarathonUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  8. F18A0007Nitrate · 3.8 mi
  9. Floyd E Kelien PropertyUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.9 mi
  10. Service Station 11-D BP 059Underground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  11. Tyagi Enterprises LLCUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  12. F18C0010Nitrate · 4.6 mi

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

Measured from Bloomfield'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 Bloomfield.

Total Sites

91

within ~10 miles of Bloomfield

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

7 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Bloomfield

High2Moderate38Low51

Highest-Severity Sites

Bloomfield Water & Sewer Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
American Fuji Seal
Toxics Release Inventory · 4000wmrcnf151bb
American Fuji Seal
Toxics Release Inventory · 40004wnsll1051b
American Fuji Seal
Toxics Release Inventory · 4000wmrcnf151bl
American Greetings Corp
Toxics Release Inventory · 40004mrcng800am

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Bloomfield, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Bloomfield — Toxics Release Inventory (7 sites) and Underground Storage Tanks (67 sites). 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.

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

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Bloomfield

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 Bloomfield average

Your land is one point inside Bloomfield

Everything above resolves to Bloomfield as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 922 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 city 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 Bloomfield Average

Bloomfield Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Bloomfield
  • One soil character for all of Bloomfield
  • Frost dates read at Bloomfield's scale: Mar 31 to Nov 6

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Bloomfield

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Bloomfield averages 220Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Bloomfield

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Bloomfield’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 city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-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 Bloomfield

When does frost risk typically end in Bloomfield?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Bloomfield typically lands around Mar 31, 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 21.

When is the first frost in Bloomfield?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Bloomfield 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 220 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Bloomfield?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Bloomfield sees about 220 frost-free days — roughly Mar 31 through Nov 6, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 21 to Oct 23, about 185 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Bloomfield?

The federal record around Bloomfield shows 91 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (67), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 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 Bloomfield?

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 Bloomfield's scale — its 6b band and its 220-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Bloomfield'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 Bloomfield’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Bloomfield's own scale — its own ~220-day season between 28°F freezes, the 922 acres it covers and 91 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Bloomfield's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Bloomfield's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 31 and Nov 6 and the ~220-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 91 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Bloomfield, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Bloomfield's boundary and the 922 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~220-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Bloomfield's own centroid, the Interior PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Bloomfield 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 Bloomfield's 922 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Nelson County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Nelson County
  • The growing challenges every Kentucky grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Kentucky
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Nelson County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Bloomfield's 922 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Bloomfield you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 922 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 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 Bloomfield-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Kentucky

Wider growing context

What grows across Kentucky

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