What Grows in Gastonville, Pennsylvania

USDA Zones 6b · 2K acres

Gastonville, Pennsylvania, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a zone band wide enough that plant choice, not possibility, is the interesting question.

Expect cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens to be strong candidates here; the deciding factors on any one parcel stay local — soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Gastonville — the short answer

Gastonville, Pennsylvania: USDA zone 6b, about 219 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of town.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 4
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 9
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~219
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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Gastonville's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Gastonville's 219-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Gastonville

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

Season length

Measured

Gastonville 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

Gastonville 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 Gastonville is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Gastonville

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

Is it too late to plant in Gastonville?

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 7; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 4 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 9 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. With a season this long, “too late” mostly means “switch crops” — second sowings and a full fall garden are the norm, with garlic closing the year.

Documented around Gastonville

Spotted lanternfly documented 1 miles from Gastonville, first recorded 2018. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Gastonville

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

  1. LSL ENTERPRISESUnderground Storage Tanks · 650 ft
  2. BOBS AUTO BODYBrownfields · 900 ft
  3. BERTS SVCUnderground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  4. RICHARD LAWSON EXCAVATING INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  5. PAARNG FINLEYVILLE ARMORYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  6. QUALITY MILLWORK INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.8 mi
  7. SIKE TIRE SVCUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  8. WS 137Nitrate · 1.0 mi
  9. SUNOCO SVC STAUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  10. FINLEYVILLE AMOCOUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.0 mi
  11. CRUM D AUTO APPEARANCE CTRBrownfields · 1.1 mi
  12. GASTONVILLE ARMORYBrownfields · 1.1 mi

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

Measured from Gastonville'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 Gastonville.

Total Sites

1,392

within ~10 miles of Gastonville

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

8 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Gastonville

High2Moderate262Low1,128

Highest-Severity Sites

Pa Amer Water CO-Pittsburgh
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
7 Eleven 35900
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
7 Eleven 36157
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Ag 622
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Ag 622
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

Know Before You Grow

  • Underground tanks leak petroleum as they age — near a former filling station, test the soil.
  • Near a brownfield, raised beds of imported soil give your food clean ground.
  • TRI facilities report what they release. Check the wind — downwind beds catch more of it.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Gastonville

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 Gastonville average

Your land is one point inside Gastonville

Everything above resolves to Gastonville 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 Gastonville Average

Gastonville Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Gastonville
  • One soil character for all of Gastonville
  • Frost dates read at Gastonville's scale: Apr 4 to Nov 9

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Gastonville

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

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

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

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

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

How we know this about Gastonville

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 Gastonville’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 Gastonville

When does frost risk typically end in Gastonville?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Gastonville typically lands around Apr 4, 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 25.

When is the first frost in Gastonville?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Gastonville typically arrives around Nov 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 26, so the watching starts about Oct 10 — about 219 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Gastonville?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Gastonville sees about 219 frost-free days — roughly Apr 4 through Nov 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 25 to Oct 26, about 184 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Gastonville?

The federal record around Gastonville is a meaningful one — 1,392 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (703), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 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 Gastonville?

From about Oct 10 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 9 (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 9. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

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

7 of the readings below were taken at Gastonville's own scale — its own ~219-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,746 acres it covers and 1,392 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Gastonville's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Gastonville's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 4 and Nov 9 and the ~219-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 1,392 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Gastonville, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.1 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Gastonville's boundary and the 1,746 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 Gastonville's own centroid, the Western Allegheny PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Gastonvillelydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Gastonville's 1,746 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Washington County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Washington 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 Washington County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Gastonville's 1,746 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Gastonville you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,746 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 Gastonville-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address