What Grows in Loudonville, Ohio

USDA Zones 6a · 2K acres

Loudonville, Ohio, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a range where zone-matched perennials and frost-aware annual timing set what succeeds.

Among the crops suited to this profile: cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens. The site-level story — soil, sun, drainage — decides the rest.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Loudonville — the short answer

Loudonville, Ohio: USDA zone 6a, about 188 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 18
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 23
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~188
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
2K 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 Loudonville's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Loudonville's 188-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Loudonville

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

Season length

Measured

Loudonville runs about 188 days between hard freezes — a moderate growing season.

There is room for the full run of cool-season crops plus a warm-season main crop, but the calendar is tight enough that a late spring or early fall frost still decides how much finishes.

Time warm-season transplants to your last hard freeze, and a few weeks of season extension turns a near-miss harvest into a sure one.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Loudonville 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 Loudonville is in

Loudonville sits in the Erie Drift Plain — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Loudonville's own centroid rather than borrowed from Ashland County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Loudonville

Every plant below cleared Loudonville's own zone 6a and its 188-day season. Each card opens that plant's Ohio profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OhioZones 2–11Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Ohio hazelnut guideZones 4–9Loudonville's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in OhioZones 5–8Loudonville's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Ohio growing notesZones 2–11Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in OhioZones 5–8Loudonville's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Ohio california poppy guideZones 6–10Loudonville's 6a is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OhioZones 2–10Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Cranberry: Ohio growing notesZones 2–7Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in OhioZones 3–8Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Ohio kale guideZones 2–11Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in OhioZones 5–9Loudonville's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Ohio growing notesLoudonville's 188 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in OhioZones 2–11Loudonville's 188 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Ohio okra guideZones 2–12Loudonville's 188 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OhioZones 2–11Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Ohio growing notesZones 3–8Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OhioZones 2–11Loudonville's 188 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Ohio azalea guideZones 4–8Loudonville's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OhioZones 3–8Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Ohio growing notesZones 3–10Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OhioLoudonville's 188 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Ohio lilac guideZones 4–10Loudonville's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in OhioZones 3–8Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Ohio growing notesZones 6–8Loudonville's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OhioZones 3–9Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Ohio ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Loudonville's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OhioZones 2–7Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Ohio growing notesZones 2–8Loudonville's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in OhioZones 2–10Loudonville's 188 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Ohio canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Loudonville's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Loudonville?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 21; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 18 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 23 — 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.

Documented around Loudonville

Survey cells within 31 miles of Loudonville checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 48 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Loudonville

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

  1. LOUDONVILLE CEMETERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  2. LOUDONVILLE PARK MAINT BUILDINGUnderground Storage Tanks · 850 ft
  3. LOUDONVILLE FIRE DEPTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  4. LOUDONVILLE MOTOR CO.Underground Storage Tanks · 1400 ft
  5. HEFFELFINGER MARATHONUnderground Storage Tanks · 1500 ft
  6. LOUDONVILLE MICKEY MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 1700 ft
  7. GOLF BALL REFURBISHERSBrownfields · 1800 ft
  8. SAMARITAN REGIONAL HEALTH SYSTEMUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  9. MOHICAN YOUTH CENTERUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  10. LOUDONVILLE DRIVE THRU & GASUnderground Storage Tanks · 2100 ft
  11. BP EXPLORATION & OIL INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  12. SOHIO LOUDENVILLE BULK 078Brownfields · 2300 ft

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

Measured from Loudonville'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 Loudonville.

Total Sites

81

within ~10 miles of Loudonville

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

7 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Loudonville

High0Moderate24Low57

Highest-Severity Sites

As-43 Nr Loudenville Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
As-43 Nr Loudenville Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
As-44 Nr Loudenville Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
As-44 Nr Loudenville Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
As-61 Pas-02
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Loudonville, Toxics Release Inventory runs higher than the national average — 7 sites within ~10 miles of Loudonville. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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 Loudonville

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 Loudonville average

Your land is one point inside Loudonville

Everything above resolves to Loudonville as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 2K 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 Loudonville Average

Loudonville Average

  • USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Loudonville
  • One soil character for all of Loudonville
  • Frost dates read at Loudonville's scale: Apr 18 to Oct 23

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Loudonville

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Loudonville averages 188Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Loudonville

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 Loudonville’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 Loudonville

When does frost risk typically end in Loudonville?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Loudonville typically lands around Apr 18, 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 9.

When is the first frost in Loudonville?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Loudonville typically arrives around Oct 23, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 9, so the watching starts about Sep 23 — about 188 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Loudonville?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Loudonville sees about 188 frost-free days — roughly Apr 18 through Oct 23, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 9 to Oct 9, about 153 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Loudonville?

The federal record around Loudonville shows 81 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (43), 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 Loudonville?

From about Sep 23 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 23 (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 23. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Loudonville's scale — its 6a band and its 188-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Loudonville'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 Loudonville’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Loudonville's own scale — its own ~188-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,742 acres it covers and 81 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Loudonville's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Loudonville's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 18 and Oct 23 and the ~188-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 81 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Loudonville, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Loudonville's boundary and the 1,742 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~188-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Loudonville's own centroid, the Erie Drift PlainUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Loudonville 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 Loudonville's 1,742 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Ashland County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Ashland County
  • The growing challenges every Ohio grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Ohio
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Ashland County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Loudonville's 1,742 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Loudonville you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,742 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 Loudonville-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Ohio

Wider growing context

What grows across Ohio

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