What Grows in Millfield, Ohio

USDA Zones 6b · 363 acres

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

A short list that earns its place here — cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens — with any one site's soil, sun, and drainage making the final cut.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Millfield — the short answer

Millfield, Ohio: USDA zone 6b, about 198 days between hard freezes, across 363 acres of town.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 13
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 28
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~198
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
363 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 Millfield's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Millfield's 198-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Millfield

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

Season length

Measured

Millfield runs about 198 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

Millfield 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 Millfield is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Millfield

Every plant below cleared Millfield's own zone 6b and its 198-day season. Each card opens that plant's Ohio profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OhioZones 2–11Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Ohio hazelnut guideZones 4–9Millfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in OhioZones 5–8Millfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Ohio growing notesZones 2–11Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in OhioZones 5–8Millfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Ohio california poppy guideZones 6–10Millfield's 6b is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OhioZones 2–10Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Ohio growing notesZones 5–9Millfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in OhioMillfield's 198 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Ohio kale guideZones 2–11Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in OhioZones 5–9Millfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: Ohio growing notesZones 4–9Millfield's 198 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in OhioZones 2–11Millfield's 198 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Ohio okra guideZones 2–12Millfield's 198 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OhioZones 2–11Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Ohio growing notesZones 3–10Millfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OhioZones 2–11Millfield's 198 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Ohio lilac guideZones 4–10Millfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OhioZones 3–8Millfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Ohio growing notesZones 3–8Millfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OhioMillfield's 198 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Oregon grape, photograph
Ohio oregon grape guideZones 5–8Millfield's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in OhioZones 3–9Millfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Ohio growing notesZones 6–8Millfield's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OhioZones 3–9Millfield's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Ohio ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Millfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OhioZones 2–7Millfield's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Ohio growing notesZones 4–10Millfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in OhioZones 2–10Millfield's 198 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
Ohio indian grass guideZones 4–9Millfield's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Millfield?

For most of the year, no — what changes is which crops still fit the days remaining. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 16; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 13 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 28 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. As the window narrows, the plantings just get faster — fall brassicas, then greens, then garlic to finish.

Documented around Millfield

Survey cells within 31 miles of Millfield checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 41 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Millfield

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

  1. SUNDAY CREEK VALLEY WATER PWSPFAS · 1.3 mi
  2. OLD STEAK HOUSEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.7 mi
  3. GLOUSTER CITGOUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.9 mi
  4. CERTIFIED GAS STATION #223Underground Storage Tanks · 3.0 mi
  5. CHAUNCEY SERVICE STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.1 mi
  6. JOHN'S OIL COMPANYUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.2 mi
  7. ATHENS CITY SCHOOL BUS LOTUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.2 mi
  8. TEXAS EASTERN CHAUNCEY WAREHOUSEUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.2 mi
  9. ATHENS-HOCKING RECYCLING CENTERS, INC.Toxics Release Inventory · 3.2 mi
  10. DOVER TWP TRUSTEESUnderground Storage Tanks · 3.3 mi
  11. WEST MAIN STREET CHAUNCEYBrownfields · 3.4 mi
  12. KROGER #831Brownfields · 3.4 mi

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

Measured from Millfield'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 Millfield.

Total Sites

203

within ~10 miles of Millfield

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Millfield

High2Moderate40Low161

Highest-Severity Sites

Athens Pws
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Nelsonville Pws
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
At-10 Municipal Well 2A Athens Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
At-10 Municipal Well 2A Athens Oh
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, INC.
Toxics Release Inventory · TRI_Offsite_183

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Millfield, PFAS runs higher than the national average — 5 sites within ~10 miles of Millfield. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Millfield

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 Millfield average

Your land is one point inside Millfield

Everything above resolves to Millfield as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 363 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 Millfield Average

Millfield Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Millfield
  • One soil character for all of Millfield
  • Frost dates read at Millfield's scale: Apr 13 to Oct 28

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Millfield

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Millfield averages 198Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Millfield

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 Millfield’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 Millfield

When does frost risk typically end in Millfield?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Millfield typically lands around Apr 13, 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 4.

When is the first frost in Millfield?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Millfield typically arrives around Oct 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 14, so the watching starts about Sep 28 — about 198 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Millfield?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Millfield sees about 198 frost-free days — roughly Apr 13 through Oct 28, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 4 to Oct 14, about 163 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Millfield?

The federal record around Millfield is a meaningful one — 203 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (111), the nearest PFAS record about 1.3 miles 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 Millfield?

From about Sep 28 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 28 (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 28. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Millfield's scale — its 6b band and its 198-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Millfield'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 Millfield’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Millfield's own scale — its own ~198-day season between 28°F freezes, the 363 acres it covers and 203 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Millfield's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Millfield's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 13 and Oct 28 and the ~198-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 203 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Millfield, the closest PFAS record about 1.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Millfield's boundary and the 363 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~198-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Millfield's own centroid, the Western Allegheny PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Millfield 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 Millfield's 363 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Athens County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Athens 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 Athens County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Millfield's 363 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Millfield you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 363 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest PFAS record about 1.3 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 Millfield-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address