What Grows in Evergreen Colony, South Dakota

USDA Zones 4b · 638 acres

Evergreen Colony, South Dakota, sits in USDA hardiness zone 4b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

These conditions suit cabbage, cranberry, turkish rocket, and collard greens — a starting list any specific site will trim or extend with its own soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Evergreen Colony — the short answer

Evergreen Colony, South Dakota: USDA zone 4b, about 165 days between hard freezes, across 638 acres of town.

USDA zone
4b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 27
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Oct 9
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~165
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
638 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

4b4b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 4b is Evergreen Colony's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Evergreen Colony's 165-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Evergreen Colony

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

Season length

Measured

Evergreen Colony runs about 165 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

Evergreen Colony sits in USDA hardiness zone 4b.

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 Evergreen Colony is in

Evergreen Colony sits in the Northwestern Glaciated Plains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Evergreen Colony's own centroid rather than borrowed from Faulk County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Evergreen Colony

Every plant below cleared Evergreen Colony's own zone 4b and its 165-day season. Each card opens that plant's South Dakota profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in South DakotaZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
South Dakota cranberry guideZones 2–7Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Turkish rocket in South DakotaEvergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~90 it needs.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: South Dakota growing notesZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Growing hazelnut in South DakotaZones 4–9Evergreen Colony's 4b is its exact cold limit.
cilantro, photograph
South Dakota cilantro guideZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~35 it needs.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in South DakotaZones 2–10Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: South Dakota growing notesZones 3–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
dill, photograph
Growing dill in South DakotaZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~100 it needs.
kale, photograph
South Dakota kale guideZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
apple, photograph
Apple in South DakotaZones 3–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: South Dakota growing notesZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in South DakotaZones 2–12Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
South Dakota potato guideZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
rhubarb, photograph
Rhubarb in South DakotaZones 2–8Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~60 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: South Dakota growing notesZones 3–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in South DakotaZones 2–11Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
South Dakota azalea guideZones 4–8Evergreen Colony's 4b is its exact cold limit.
hops, photograph
Hops in South DakotaZones 3–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: South Dakota growing notesZones 3–10Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in South DakotaEvergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
South Dakota lilac guideZones 4–10Evergreen Colony's 4b is its exact cold limit.
riverbank grape, photograph
Riverbank grape in South DakotaZones 2–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Siberian squill, photograph
Siberian squill: South Dakota growing notesZones 2–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Growing blue spruce in South DakotaZones 2–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
South Dakota alfalfa guideZones 2–10Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in South DakotaZones 2–7Evergreen Colony's 4b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
American elm: South Dakota growing notesZones 3–9Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.
field pea, photograph
Growing field pea in South DakotaZones 2–10Evergreen Colony's 165 days clear the ~60 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
South Dakota canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Evergreen Colony's 4b — 1 zone of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Evergreen Colony?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 30; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 27 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Oct 9 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. The tail of the season still works: sixty-day crops into late summer, quick greens after, garlic last of all.

What's on the federal record near Evergreen Colony

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

  1. 120N67W31ABC2Nitrate · 5.5 mi
  2. BENNINGS AUTO SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.7 mi
  3. 118N68W19BAAANitrate · 5.8 mi
  4. CRESBARD SCHOOLBrownfields · 5.9 mi
  5. 118N68W15BNitrate · 5.9 mi
  6. SD DEPT OF TRANSPORTATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.0 mi
  7. DAKOTA AG SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.0 mi
  8. FAULK COUNTY HWY DEPARTMENTUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.0 mi
  9. 118N68W23BCBBNitrate · 7.1 mi
  10. FAULKTON MUNICIPAL AIRPORTUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.1 mi
  11. BERMACUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.2 mi
  12. VOGEL'SUnderground Storage Tanks · 7.2 mi

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

Measured from Evergreen Colony'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 Evergreen Colony.

Total Sites

41

within ~10 miles of Evergreen Colony

Risk Level

Low

Highest-severity

3 brownfield sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Evergreen Colony

High0Moderate30Low11

Highest-Severity Sites

118n67w16dbcc
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
118n67w16dbcc
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
118n68w15b
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
118n68w15b
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
118n68w19baaa
Nitrate Monitoring · Well

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Evergreen Colony, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 26 sites within ~10 miles of Evergreen Colony. Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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).

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Evergreen Colony

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 Evergreen Colony average

Your land is one point inside Evergreen Colony

Everything above resolves to Evergreen Colony as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 638 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 Evergreen Colony Average

Evergreen Colony Average

  • USDA Zones 4b, averaged across Evergreen Colony
  • One soil character for all of Evergreen Colony
  • Frost dates read at Evergreen Colony's scale: Apr 27 to Oct 9

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Evergreen Colony's 4b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Evergreen Colony

Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in Evergreen Colony, South Dakota — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, and scored plant recommendations.

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Evergreen Colony averages 165Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Evergreen Colony

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 Evergreen Colony’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 Evergreen Colony

When does frost risk typically end in Evergreen Colony?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Evergreen Colony typically lands around Apr 27, 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 18.

When is the first frost in Evergreen Colony?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Evergreen Colony typically arrives around Oct 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Sep 25, so the watching starts about Sep 9 — about 165 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Evergreen Colony?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Evergreen Colony sees about 165 frost-free days — roughly Apr 27 through Oct 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 18 to Sep 25, about 130 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Evergreen Colony?

The federal record around Evergreen Colony is light — 41 documented sites across the 9 federal source types we checked, mostly Nitrate entries (26), the nearest Nitrate record about 5.5 miles out — and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. Growing food here starts from a strong position; a soil test before new food beds settles any site-specific question.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Evergreen Colony?

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

Everything above is measured at Evergreen Colony's scale — its 4b band and its 165-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Evergreen Colony'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 Evergreen Colony’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Evergreen Colony's own scale — its own ~165-day season between 28°F freezes, the 638 acres it covers and 41 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Evergreen Colony's own USDA hardiness band, zones 4bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Evergreen Colony's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 27 and Oct 9 and the ~165-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 41 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Evergreen Colony, the closest Nitrate record about 5.5 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Evergreen Colony's boundary and the 638 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 4b and a ~165-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Evergreen Colony's own centroid, the Northwestern Glaciated PlainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Evergreen Colony's 638 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Faulk County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Faulk County
  • The growing challenges every South Dakota grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom South Dakota
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Faulk County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Evergreen Colony's 638 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Evergreen Colony you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 638 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Nitrate record about 5.5 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 Evergreen Colony-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in South Dakota

Wider growing context

What grows across South Dakota

Evergreen Colony sits outside our named growing regions, so South Dakota as a whole is its closest context here.