Minnesota spans USDA hardiness zones 3a-4b, with a growing season of about 150 frost-free days — a season that fits spring and fall plantings of cool-weather crops around a solid warm-season core.
The climate hand here is 19-34 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 2,250 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,950 winter chill hours for tree fruit — the numbers that decide what ripens comfortably and what runs out of runway. Underfoot it's mostly prairie loam, clay, sandy outwash, and peat — and how those drain decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Growers here do well with honeycrisp apple, wild rice, tomato, and grape (marquette) — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.
Grounded inUSDA PHZM 2023•NOAA Climate Normals•USDA NRCS SSURGO•GDD aggregate (Cornell CALS)•Chill-hour aggregate (MSU Extension)•EPA FRS•USDA PLANTS•Growable Ground suitability scoring
Minnesota spans zones 3a-4b, but your yard sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,112 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Distinct growing regions within Minnesota — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
3a-4b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 25 - May 30
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Sep 10 - Oct 10
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
19-34 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Minnesota. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Minnesota — how each drains decides more about crop success than almost anything else. Tap any soil to learn what it is and how to work with it.
Drainage
Good. The crumb structure that prairie roots built lets water in and holds it like a sponge, releasing it steadily through the season.
What thrives
This is some of the most productive crop ground on Earth — corn, beans, squash, brassicas, and nearly any vegetable you plant. Prairie natives like coneflower and big bluestem are, unsurprisingly, right at home.
Drainage
Slow. Water enters clay reluctantly and leaves it the same way, so wet springs keep it cold and unworkable longer than lighter soils.
What thrives
Once established, heavy feeders prosper — brassicas, beans, corn, and many fruit trees ride clay’s nutrient supply and summer moisture reserve. Daylilies, roses, and prairie perennials handle it without complaint.
See the glacial-outwash profile — sandy outwash is the same meltwater-sorted sand and gravel.
Drainage
Very fast, often to considerable depth — outwash rarely holds a puddle.
What thrives
Potatoes are the classic outwash crop, along with carrots, asparagus, and bush fruits. Pines and oaks dominate the native cover for the same reason: they handle the droughtiness.
Drainage
Saturated by default — peat forms precisely because water excludes the oxygen decomposition needs. Drained peat holds moisture beautifully but can stay cold late into spring.
What thrives
Acid-lovers are at home: blueberries and cranberries are the classic peatland crops, with rhododendrons, azaleas, and bog natives alongside.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Minnesota's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across Minnesota, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 14, with the middle half of counties between Apr 10 and Apr 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 25 and Oct 31 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Late in the year the fall bench takes over — quick greens, radishes, and garlic that repays you next summer.
The plants Minnesota put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Pink and white lady's slipper
Cypripedium reginae
Designated 1902.
Pinus resinosa
Designated 1953. In our plant library — see its full growing profile.
Honeycrisp apple
Designated 2006.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Minnesota — a real per-state range, not just a zone match. Presence is statewide, so a plant may still be uncommon in your specific county; your state’s Cooperative Extension or a native-plant society is the local authority.
US-native plants whose hardiness range overlaps Minnesota’s USDA zones 3a-4b but which USDA PLANTS doesn’t map to a single state range here. Zone overlap is a starting filter, not a range map.
What an experienced grower plans around here — each one has a move.
Extreme cold (zone 3a: -40F) limits many species
Plant to zone 3 realities and the garden thrives — the hardy-plant palette here is deeper than most catalogs suggest.
Short growing season (100-140 frost-free days)
Start transplants indoors and add a cold frame — the standard Minnesota moves that stretch a short season into a full one.
Heavy clay soils in the Red River Valley
Valley clay grows world-class crops once drainage is handled — raised beds do it instantly, compost does it permanently.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Minnesota — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Minnesota — 59,092 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 172 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Minnesota carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Severity Distribution
across Minnesota
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Minnesota, two things run higher than the national average — CAFO (1,010 sites) and Brownfields (29,697 sites). It's not cause for alarm — it's worth knowing, and there's a sensible way to grow around it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
Brownfields: Brownfield sites are former commercial or industrial properties where legacy soil contamination (heavy metals, PAHs, petroleum compounds) may persist.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Check EPA brownfield remediation status — many sites have completed cleanup with institutional controls.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
State averages sketch the shape. Your soil, sun exposure, drainage, and microclimate decide what actually takes. Pull a site-specific report for your exact parcel.
Enter your address. We read your soil, sun, drainage, and frost dates, then score 1,112 plants against the real conditions on your land.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
Minnesota spans USDA hardiness zones 3a-4b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Across Minnesota, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Apr 14, with the middle half of counties between Apr 10 and Apr 20 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Oct 25 and Oct 31 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Late in the year the fall bench takes over — quick greens, radishes, and garlic that repays you next summer.
Across Minnesota, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Apr 10 and Apr 20, with a county median near Apr 14 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost — light frosts can still bite for a few more weeks, so tender transplants usually wait another 2–3 weeks.
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, growing seasons across Minnesota's counties mostly run about 188 to 203 days, with a county median near 197 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender crops get a somewhat shorter practical window, since lighter frosts reach a few weeks past the hard-freeze dates on both ends.
Minnesota's zones 3a-4b support a wide range — strong performers include Honeycrisp Apple, Wild Rice, Tomato, Grape (Marquette), and Red Pine. What actually takes on any one site comes down to its soil, sun, and drainage, and we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
Officially, Minnesota spans USDA zones 3a-4b (USDA PHZM 2023) — but a zone is a 30-year average of winter's coldest night across an area, and it can't see any one yard. A south-facing slope, a tree line, or a low frost pocket can shift a single site by half a zone either way, which is why neighboring gardeners often quote different numbers. We read the conditions at your exact address — soil, sun, slope, and frost — and score 1,112 plants against what's actually there.
The federal record across Minnesota runs heavier than most — 59,092 documented sites — so test the soil before planting food in the ground, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well in the meantime. Even here, proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard; the contamination map shows exactly what's recorded and where.
Start with three facts. Minnesota spans USDA zones 3a-4b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Apr 10 to Apr 20 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 59,092 documented sites sit on the federal record here, so a soil test before food beds is the smart first step. From there, matching plants to your actual soil and sun is the fun part.
Everything on this page is a Minnesota average. Your yard writes its own version — we read soil, sun, drainage, and frost at your exact address. Try it for 14 days — no card required.
Explore growing conditions by county — each has its own zone range and land area.
Explore growing conditions by city or town in Minnesota.
Minnesota shares its dominant growing region with these states — a useful comparison if you're weighing where a crop will behave the same way.
