What Grows in Baden, Pennsylvania

USDA Zones 6b · 1K acres

Baden, Pennsylvania, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

Crops well matched to these conditions include cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens — though what thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Baden — the short answer

Baden, Pennsylvania: USDA zone 6b, about 219 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 6
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 11
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~219
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
1K 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 Baden's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Baden's 219-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Baden

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

Season length

Measured

Baden runs about 219 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.

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Baden 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 Baden is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Baden

Every plant below cleared Baden's own zone 6b and its 219-day season. Each card opens that plant's Pennsylvania profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Pennsylvania hazelnut guideZones 4–9Baden's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in PennsylvaniaZones 5–8Baden's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 2–11Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in PennsylvaniaZones 5–8Baden's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
Pennsylvania california poppy guideZones 6–10Baden's 6b is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–8Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in PennsylvaniaBaden's 219 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Pennsylvania kale guideZones 2–11Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in PennsylvaniaZones 5–9Baden's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 4–9Baden's 219 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Baden's 219 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Pennsylvania okra guideZones 2–12Baden's 219 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–10Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Baden's 219 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Pennsylvania lilac guideZones 4–10Baden's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in PennsylvaniaZones 3–8Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–8Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in PennsylvaniaBaden's 219 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Pennsylvania apache plume guideZones 5–11Baden's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in PennsylvaniaZones 3–9Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 6–8Baden's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in PennsylvaniaZones 3–9Baden's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Pennsylvania ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Baden's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in PennsylvaniaZones 2–7Baden's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 4–10Baden's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Baden's 219 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
Pennsylvania indian grass guideZones 4–9Baden's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Baden?

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 9; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 6 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 11 — 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.

Documented around Baden

Spotted lanternfly documented 1 miles from Baden, first recorded 2019. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Baden

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

  1. BADEN BORO BEAVER CNTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  2. BADEN TIRE & SVC CTRUnderground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  3. SISTERS OF ST JOSEPH CONVENTUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi
  4. FORMER GAS STAUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.6 mi
  5. ITELY HAIRFASHION NA INCBrownfields · 0.7 mi
  6. BADEN CTL OFCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  7. TRAVIS AMOCO SVCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  8. HARVEYS AUTO BODYBrownfields · 0.9 mi
  9. SHEETZ 223Underground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  10. SHEETZ, INC (STORE #223)Brownfields · 1.0 mi
  11. SPEEDWAY 2912Brownfields · 1.0 mi
  12. SPEEDWAY 2912Underground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi

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

Measured from Baden'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 Baden.

Total Sites

1,049

within ~10 miles of Baden

Risk Level

High

Highest-severity

2 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Baden

High10Moderate247Low792

Highest-Severity Sites

Beaver Boro Muni Auth
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Monaca Boro Water Dept
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Mun Water Auth of Aliquippa
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
New Sewickley Twp Muni Auth
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
204 Todd Road LLC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Baden, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Baden — PFAS (17 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (71 sites). 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.

Toxics Release Inventory: TRI facilities report annual chemical releases to air, water, and land.

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

Check prevailing wind direction — downwind parcels face higher exposure than upwind or crosswind locations.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Baden

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 Baden average

Your land is one point inside Baden

Everything above resolves to Baden as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 1K 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 Baden Average

Baden Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Baden
  • One soil character for all of Baden
  • Frost dates read at Baden's scale: Apr 6 to Nov 11

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Baden

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Baden averages 219Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Baden

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 Baden’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 Baden

When does frost risk typically end in Baden?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Baden typically lands around Apr 6, 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 27.

When is the first frost in Baden?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Baden typically arrives around Nov 11, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 28, so the watching starts about Oct 12 — about 219 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Baden?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Baden sees about 219 frost-free days — roughly Apr 6 through Nov 11, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 27 to Oct 28, about 184 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Baden?

The federal record around Baden runs heavier than most — 1,049 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (523), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out — 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.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Baden?

From about Oct 12 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 11 (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 11. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Baden's scale — its 6b band and its 219-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Baden'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 Baden’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Baden's own scale — its own ~219-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,447 acres it covers and 1,049 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Baden's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Baden's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 6 and Nov 11 and the ~219-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 1,049 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Baden, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Baden's boundary and the 1,447 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~219-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Baden's own centroid, the Western Allegheny PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Badenlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Baden's 1,447 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Beaver County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Beaver County
  • The growing challenges every Pennsylvania grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Pennsylvania
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Beaver County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Baden's 1,447 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Baden you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,447 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.4 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 Baden-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address