Ohio spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-6b, with a growing season of about 190 frost-free days — room for most garden staples, with a calendar tight enough that frost dates still call the shots.
In practice the season is written by 34-42 inches of annual rainfall, a median of roughly 3,200 growing-degree days (base 50°F), and about 1,350 winter chill hours for tree fruit. Dig almost anywhere and you'll meet glacial till, clay loam, silt loam, and muck; how quickly they shed water is the first thing to learn about them. Expect tomato, sweet corn, apple, and pawpaw to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.
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
Ohio spans zones 5b-6b, 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.
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Distinct growing regions within Ohio — each has its own zones, soils, and signature crops.
USDA Zones
5b-6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last Frost
Apr 15 - May 15
NOAA 30-yr Normals
First Frost
Sep 30 - Oct 30
NOAA 30-yr Normals
Annual Rainfall
34-42 inches
NOAA Climate Normals
Zone maps are averages across Ohio. Your yard's slope, trees, and frost pockets shift what actually grows — see your land's exact reading.
The soil types that dominate Ohio — 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
Variable by the shovelful. Sandy till drains freely; dense, compacted till (hardpan) can perch water above it after snowmelt and heavy rain.
What thrives
Apples, stone fruits, brambles, and the whole northern vegetable garden do well on till — much of New England and the upper Midwest farms it. Deep-rooted perennials work through the stony structure happily.
No verified open-license photo yet — this loam is close kin to the loam and silt-loam profiles above.
Drainage
Slow to moderate. Water lingers in the root zone longer than in loam, which is a gift in dry summers and a challenge in wet springs.
What thrives
Heavy feeders that appreciate steady moisture — brassicas, corn, beans, and many fruit trees. Perennials with strong root systems establish well once they are through the first season.
Drainage
Moderate. Silt holds water well and releases it steadily, though the fine particles can crust after hard rain and compact under traffic.
What thrives
The full vegetable garden does well here, and small grains, corn, and leafy greens are classic silt-loam crops. Its steady moisture suits shallow-rooted plants that dislike drought stress.
Drainage
It holds water like a sponge by nature; farmed muck is managed with ditches and water control, and it can dry, shrink, and even blow when left bare.
What thrives
Muck is celebrated vegetable ground — onions, celery, carrots, lettuce, and greens grow to prize quality in it. Its loose, black tilth is what root and leaf crops dream of.
No verified open-license photo yet — clayey, plate-littered ground; see the limestone profile for the rock-born register.
Drainage
Two-natured: the clay fraction holds water while the shale fragments and fractured bedrock open channels, so hillside shale soils often drain better than their texture suggests.
What thrives
Orchards and vineyards have long favored shale hillsides — the drainage and the heat the rock holds suit deep roots. Brambles, asparagus, and hardy perennials establish well.
Soil data: USDA NRCS SSURGO · Soil types explained
Plants well-suited to Ohio's climate, soils, and growing season — each links to its full growing profile.
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Ohio, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 24, with the middle half of counties between Mar 19 and Mar 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 19 and Nov 22 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.
The plants Ohio put its name on — cultural emblems, not growing recommendations.
Scarlet carnation
Dianthus caryophyllus
Designated 1953.
Ohio buckeye
Aesculus glabra
Designated 1953.
Tomato
Designated 2009.
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in Ohio — 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 Ohio’s USDA zones 5b-6b 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.
Heavy clay soils across much of northern Ohio require amendment for drainage
A raised bed fixes the drainage in one weekend — and amended clay repays the effort as some of the richest soil there is.
Variable spring weather with late frost risk through mid-May
Watch your local last-frost normal, not the region's — holding tender plants two extra weeks beats replanting a bed.
Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms are common garden pests
Hand-pick early, row-cover young plants, and skip broad sprays — extension IPM guides keep the beneficial insects on your side.
Wet springs can delay planting and promote root rot
Raised or mounded rows shed spring water and warm earlier — where puddles linger, drainage is the first project worth doing.
For cultivar selection, pest pressure, and planting-time guidance specific to Ohio, the Ohio State University Extension is the authoritative local source.
Safe to Grow Here?What the federal record shows across Ohio — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Ohio — 49,306 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 669 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Ohio 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 Ohio
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Ohio, two things run higher than the national average — Toxic Release Inventory (4,234 sites) and Superfund (669 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Toxic Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.
Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.
Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.
Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).
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.
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Ohio spans USDA hardiness zones 5b-6b, per the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 weather data.
Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Across Ohio, cool-season planting typically opens about four weeks before the local last hard freeze — county medians put that freeze near Mar 24, with the middle half of counties between Mar 19 and Mar 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals). Tender transplants wait two to three weeks past it, and fall planting counts back from first freezes mostly between Nov 19 and Nov 22 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.
Across Ohio, the middle half of counties see their last hard freeze (28°F) between about Mar 19 and Mar 27, with a county median near Mar 24 (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 Ohio's counties mostly run about 238 to 249 days, with a county median near 242 (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.
Ohio's zones 5b-6b support a wide range — strong performers include Tomato, Sweet Corn, Apple, Pawpaw, and Buckeye. 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, Ohio spans USDA zones 5b-6b (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 Ohio runs heavier than most — 49,306 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. Ohio spans USDA zones 5b-6b, which sets what survives winter; last hard freezes range from about Mar 19 to Mar 27 across its counties (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and 49,306 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 Ohio 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 Ohio.
