What Grows in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania

USDA Zones 6a · 1K acres

Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6a — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Crops well matched to these conditions include cabbage, blackberry, california poppy, 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 Eagles Mere, 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 Eagles Mere 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 Eagles Mere — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Eagles Mere — the short answer

Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania: USDA zone 6a, about 179 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
6a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 26
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 22
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~179
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

6a6a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)
Your USDA zone 6aSee the zone map →

Zone 6a is Eagles Mere's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Eagles Mere's 179-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Eagles Mere

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

Season length

Measured

Eagles Mere runs about 179 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.

Buying weeks at each end

NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals

Winter hardiness

Measured

Eagles Mere 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 Eagles Mere is in

Eagles Mere sits in the North Central Appalachians — EPA Level III, inside the wider Northern Forests. That is read at Eagles Mere's own centroid rather than borrowed from Sullivan County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Eagles Mere

Every plant below cleared Eagles Mere's own zone 6a and its 179-day season. Each card opens that plant's Pennsylvania profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Pennsylvania blackberry guideZones 5–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in PennsylvaniaZones 6–10Eagles Mere's 6a is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Growing cranberry in PennsylvaniaZones 2–7Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Pennsylvania lavender guideZones 5–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 5–9Eagles Mere's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Growing st. johns wort in PennsylvaniaZones 3–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
kale, photograph
Pennsylvania kale guideZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in PennsylvaniaZones 5–9Eagles Mere's 6a — 1 zone of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket: Pennsylvania growing notesEagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~90 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Pennsylvania okra guideZones 2–12Eagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in PennsylvaniaZones 2–11Eagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Pennsylvania azalea guideZones 4–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in PennsylvaniaZones 3–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 3–10Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in PennsylvaniaEagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Pennsylvania lilac guideZones 4–10Eagles Mere's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in PennsylvaniaZones 3–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 6–8Eagles Mere's 6a is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in PennsylvaniaZones 3–9Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Pennsylvania ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Eagles Mere's 6a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in PennsylvaniaZones 2–7Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Pennsylvania growing notesZones 2–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 4 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in PennsylvaniaZones 2–10Eagles Mere's 179 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Pennsylvania canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Eagles Mere's 6a — 3 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Eagles Mere?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 29; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 26 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 22 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Even past midsummer there is room for a true fall garden here, and garlic planted near the close carries the momentum into next year.

Documented around Eagles Mere

Spotted lanternfly documented 2 miles from Eagles Mere, first recorded 2019. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Eagles Mere

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

  1. EAGLES MERE INNUnderground Storage Tanks · 400 ft
  2. AMERICAN TOWERBrownfields · 550 ft
  3. CARL SVC CTRUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  4. WING WAYUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  5. EAGLESMEREUnderground Storage Tanks · 550 ft
  6. EAGLES MERE VOL FIRE COUnderground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  7. EAGLES MERE BOROUnderground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  8. SU 149Nitrate · 800 ft
  9. IPT RCAGUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  10. SU 150Nitrate · 1.1 mi
  11. SU 152Nitrate · 1.1 mi
  12. SU 157Nitrate · 1.2 mi

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

Measured from Eagles Mere'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 Eagles Mere.

Total Sites

87

within ~10 miles of Eagles Mere

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

2 concentrated animal feeding operations

Explore the live map
Nitrate44Underground Storage Tanks39Brownfields2CAFO2

Sources Checked

within ~10 miles of Eagles Mere

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Eagles Mere

High0Moderate53Low34

Highest-Severity Sites

Between Bridges
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bowers Endless Mtn Mkt
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Eng Dist 3 0 Laporte
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Laporte Gen Store
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Mccarty Mercantile
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Eagles Mere, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 44 sites within ~10 miles of Eagles Mere. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.

Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).

read your soil before you plantbuild soil that holds onto nitrogenSee what's flagged near Eagles Mere
Explore the contamination map around Eagles Mere·Pennsylvania Growing Guide
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Check your specific parcel in Eagles Mere

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 Eagles Mere average

Your land is one point inside Eagles Mere

Everything above resolves to Eagles Mere 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 Eagles Mere Average

Eagles Mere Average

  • ●USDA Zones 6a, averaged across Eagles Mere
  • ●One soil character for all of Eagles Mere
  • ●Frost dates read at Eagles Mere's scale: Apr 26 to Oct 22

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Eagles Mere

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Eagles Mere averages 179Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Eagles Mere

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 Eagles Mere’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 Eagles Mere

When does frost risk typically end in Eagles Mere?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Eagles Mere typically lands around Apr 26, 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 17.

When is the first frost in Eagles Mere?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Eagles Mere typically arrives around Oct 22, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 8, so the watching starts about Sep 22 — about 179 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Eagles Mere?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Eagles Mere sees about 179 frost-free days — roughly Apr 26 through Oct 22, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 17 to Oct 8, about 144 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Eagles Mere?

The federal record around Eagles Mere shows 87 documented sites, mostly Nitrate entries (44), 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 Eagles Mere?

From about Sep 22 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 22 (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 22. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Eagles Mere's scale — its 6a band and its 179-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Eagles Mere'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 Eagles Mere’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Eagles Mere's own scale — its own ~179-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,317 acres it covers and 87 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Eagles Mere's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Eagles Mere's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 26 and Oct 22 and the ~179-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 87 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Eagles Mere, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Eagles Mere's boundary and the 1,317 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6a and a ~179-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Eagles Mere's own centroid, the North Central AppalachiansUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Eagles Merelydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Eagles Mere's 1,317 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Sullivan County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Sullivan 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 Sullivan County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Eagles Mere's 1,317 acreswhy one lot differs from the next →
  • Which side of Eagles Mere you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,317 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 Eagles Mere-wide figureread your own land →
The next step finer is your own address

More in Pennsylvania

Sullivan County Growing Guide·Pennsylvania Growing Guide
USDA PHZM•NOAA Climate Normals•US Census TIGER•PRISM Climate•EPA FRS