What Grows in North Star, Ohio

USDA Zones 6a · 328 acres

North Star, Ohio, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Growers here do well with cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens — with the usual caveat that any single yard's soil, sun, and drainage cast the deciding vote.

Score your parcel · free

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

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North Star — the short answer

North Star, Ohio: USDA zone 6a, about 210 days between hard freezes, across 328 acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 7
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 3
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~210
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
328 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)
Your USDA zone 6aSee the zone map →

Zone 6a is North Star's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against North Star's 210-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in North Star

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

Season length

Measured

North Star runs about 210 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.

Making the most of a long season

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

North Star 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.

How hardiness zones work

USDA PHZM 2023

The kind of country North Star is in

North Star sits in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at North Star's own centroid rather than borrowed from Darke County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in North Star

Every plant below cleared North Star's own zone 6a and its 210-day season. Each card opens that plant's Ohio profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in OhioZones 2–11North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Ohio hazelnut guideZones 4–9North Star's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in OhioZones 5–8North Star's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Ohio growing notesZones 2–11North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Growing blueberry in OhioZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Ohio california poppy guideZones 6–10North Star's 6a is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in OhioZones 2–10North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
apple, photograph
Apple: Ohio growing notesZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in OhioZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Ohio kale guideZones 2–11North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Blackberry in OhioZones 5–8North Star's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Ohio growing notesNorth Star's 210 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in OhioZones 2–11North Star's 210 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Ohio okra guideZones 2–12North Star's 210 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in OhioZones 2–11North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Ohio growing notesZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in OhioZones 2–11North Star's 210 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Ohio azalea guideZones 4–8North Star's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in OhioZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Ohio growing notesZones 3–10North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in OhioNorth Star's 210 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Ohio lilac guideZones 4–10North Star's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in OhioZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Ohio growing notesZones 6–8North Star's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in OhioZones 3–9North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Ohio ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10North Star's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in OhioZones 2–7North Star's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Ohio growing notesZones 4–10North Star's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in OhioZones 2–10North Star's 210 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Ohio canada wild rye guideZones 3–8North Star's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in North Star?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 10; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 7 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 3 — 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 North Star

Survey cells within 31 miles of North Star checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 46 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near North Star

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

  1. GAVIT PAVING, INC.Underground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  2. HAPPY CORNER GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  3. PAK-A-SAK #38Underground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  4. STUCKE FARMS, IONC.Underground Storage Tanks · 3.0 mi
  5. AT&TUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  6. FORMER WALLS ASPHALT COUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  7. MAURICE BRUNSWICKUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  8. OSGOOD BRANCH OF MINSTER FARMERSUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  9. MARIA STEIN SERVICE CENTER, INC.Underground Storage Tanks · 4.1 mi
  10. HIERHOLSER GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.3 mi
  11. TUENTE TRUCKING, INC.Underground Storage Tanks · 4.4 mi
  12. SMITH CHEVROLETUnderground Storage Tanks · 4.8 mi

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

Measured from North Star'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 North Star.

Total Sites

79

within ~10 miles of North Star

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

1 Toxics Release Inventory facility

Explore the live map
Underground Storage Tanks60Brownfields17CAFO1Toxics Release Inventory1

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of North Star

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of North Star

High0Moderate19Low60

Highest-Severity Sites

Casey'S General Store #3551
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Centurylink
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Darke County Airport
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Harold J. Pohl, INC.
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
M & M'S Petrol N Pantry
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around North Star, Underground Storage Tanks runs higher than the national average — 60 sites within ~10 miles of North Star. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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

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

build up with a clean-soil raised bedread your soil before you plantSee what's flagged near North Star
Explore the contamination map around North Star·Ohio Growing Guide
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in North Star

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 North Star average

Your land is one point inside North Star

Everything above resolves to North Star as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 328 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 North Star Average

North Star Average

  • ●USDA Zones 6a, averaged across North Star
  • ●One soil character for all of North Star
  • ●Frost dates read at North Star's scale: Apr 7 to Nov 3

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in North Star

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — North Star averages 210Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about North Star

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 North Star’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 North Star

When does frost risk typically end in North Star?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in North Star typically lands around Apr 7, 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 28.

When is the first frost in North Star?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in North Star typically arrives around Nov 3, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 20, so the watching starts about Oct 4 — about 210 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in North Star?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, North Star sees about 210 frost-free days — roughly Apr 7 through Nov 3, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 28 to Oct 20, about 175 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in North Star?

The federal record around North Star shows 79 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (60), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 North Star?

From about Oct 4 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 3 (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 3. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at North Star's scale — its 6a band and its 210-day season. Your yard writes its own version of North Star'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 North Star’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at North Star's own scale — its own ~210-day season between 28°F freezes, the 328 acres it covers and 79 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • North Star's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • North Star's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 7 and Nov 3 and the ~210-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 79 documented contamination sites on the federal record near North Star, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • North Star's boundary and the 328 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~210-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at North Star's own centroid, the Eastern Corn Belt PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around North Star 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 North Star's 328 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Darke County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Darke 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 Darke County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among North Star's 328 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of North Star you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 328 acresreading your own microclimate →
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 North Star-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in Ohio

Darke County Growing Guide·Ohio Growing Guide

Wider growing context

What grows across Ohio

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

USDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•US Census TIGER•PRISM Climate•EPA FRS