What Grows in Peaster, Texas

USDA Zones 8a · 1K acres

Peaster, Texas, sits in USDA hardiness zone 8a — 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, fig, 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 Peaster, 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 Peaster 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 Peaster — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Peaster — the short answer

Peaster, Texas: USDA zone 8a, about 249 days between hard freezes, across 1K acres of town.

USDA zone
8a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 12
Parker County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 16
Parker County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Days between freezes
~249
Parker County normal — NOAA 1991–2020, nearest to this town
Town area
1K acres
US Census TIGER/Line 2025

Every figure names the dataset it came from. No 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid, so the hard-freeze dates are Parker County’s — the closest measured record, labelled as such rather than passed off as local.

Hardiness Zone Range

8a8a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 8a is Peaster's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Peaster's 249-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Peaster

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

Season length

From county records

Peaster runs about 249 days between hard freezes (read from Parker County, the closest normal to Peaster) — 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

Peaster sits in USDA hardiness zone 8a.

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 Peaster is in

Peaster sits in the Cross Timbers — EPA Level III, inside the wider Great Plains. That is read at Peaster's own centroid rather than borrowed from Parker County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Peaster

Every plant below cleared Peaster's own zone 8a and its 249-day season. Each card opens that plant's Texas profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in TexasZones 2–11Peaster's 8a — 6 zones of cold margin.
fig, photograph
Texas fig guideZones 6–10Peaster's 8a — 2 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in TexasZones 6–10Peaster's 8a — 2 zones of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Peaster's 8a — 6 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Growing prickly pear in TexasZones 5–10Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Texas lavender guideZones 5–8Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in TexasZones 2–10Peaster's 8a — 6 zones of cold margin.
grape, photograph
Grape: Texas growing notesZones 6–9Peaster's 8a — 2 zones of cold margin.
rosemary, photograph
Growing rosemary in TexasZones 8–10Peaster's 8a is its exact cold limit.
kale, photograph
Texas kale guideZones 2–11Peaster's 8a — 6 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
Hazelnut in TexasZones 4–9Peaster's 8a — 4 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Texas growing notesZones 2–11Peaster's 249 days clear the ~70 it needs.
loquat, photograph
Growing loquat in TexasZones 7–10Peaster's 8a — 1 zone of cold margin.
okra, photograph
Texas okra guideZones 2–12Peaster's 249 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in TexasZones 2–11Peaster's 8a — 6 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Texas growing notesZones 3–10Peaster's 8a — 5 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in TexasZones 2–11Peaster's 249 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
Texas apache plume guideZones 5–11Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in TexasZones 3–8Peaster's 8a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Texas growing notesZones 3–8Peaster's 8a — 5 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in TexasPeaster's 249 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
Texas holly guideZones 5–11Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Carolina jessamine, photograph
Carolina jessamine in TexasZones 7–10Peaster's 8a — 1 zone of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: Texas growing notesZones 6–8Peaster's 8a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Growing douglas fir in TexasZones 4–10Peaster's 8a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
Texas ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Peaster's 8a — 4 zones of cold margin.
ajuga, photograph
Ajuga in TexasZones 5–11Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
redbud, photograph
Redbud: Texas growing notesZones 5–11Peaster's 8a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in TexasZones 5–10Peaster's 249 days clear the ~45 it needs.
blue grama, photograph
Texas blue grama guideZones 3–10Peaster's 249 days clear the ~90 it needs.

Is it too late to plant in Peaster?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Feb 12; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 12 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 16 — 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.

What's on the federal record near Peaster

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

  1. PEASTER GROCERY & GRILLUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.4 mi
  2. CITY OF WEATHERFORDPFAS · 1.8 mi
  3. UP-32-10-204Nitrate · 3.0 mi
  4. QUICK TRACK 47Underground Storage Tanks · 4.0 mi
  5. UP-32-02-801Nitrate · 5.0 mi
  6. PENSKE TRUCK LEASING CO., LPBrownfields · 5.3 mi
  7. LAMBERT SWITCH SHAMROCKUnderground Storage Tanks · 5.4 mi
  8. BURNS COUNTRY PALACEUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.0 mi
  9. PROVIMI NA INCToxics Release Inventory · 6.1 mi
  10. READY SEAL, INC.Toxics Release Inventory · 6.1 mi
  11. POWER SERVICE VIGORTONE MANUFACTURING AND TANK FARToxics Release Inventory · 6.2 mi
  12. QUICK PICKUnderground Storage Tanks · 6.3 mi

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

Measured from Peaster'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 Peaster.

Total Sites

197

within ~10 miles of Peaster

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Peaster

High2Moderate57Low138

Highest-Severity Sites

City of Weatherford
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Walnut Creek Sud
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
594 C O Lyric 4 Bldg T36238
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Amt Food and Gas 1
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Amt Food and Gas 2
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Peaster, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Peaster — Underground Storage Tanks (153 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (14 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

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

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

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

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Peaster

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 Peaster average

Your land is one point inside Peaster

Everything above resolves to Peaster as a whole — one PHZM band, read across 1K acres, with hard-freeze dates borrowed from Parker County’s record because no 30-year normal resolves at this town’s own centroid. 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 Peaster Average

Peaster Average

  • USDA Zones 8a, averaged across Peaster
  • One soil character for all of Peaster
  • Frost dates read at Peaster's scale: Mar 12 to Nov 16

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Peaster's 8a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Peaster

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Peaster averages 249Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Peaster

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 Parker County’s record, because none resolves here; 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 Peaster

When does frost risk typically end in Peaster?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Peaster typically lands around Mar 12, 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 2.

When is the first frost in Peaster?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Peaster typically arrives around Nov 16, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Nov 2, so the watching starts about Oct 17 — about 249 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Peaster?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Peaster sees about 249 frost-free days — roughly Mar 12 through Nov 16, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 2 to Nov 2, about 214 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Peaster?

The federal record around Peaster is a meaningful one — 197 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (153), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 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 Peaster?

From about Oct 17 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 16 (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 16. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Peaster's scale — its 8a band and its 249-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Peaster'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 Peaster’s own scale

5 of the readings below were taken at Peaster's own scale — the 1,454 acres it covers and 197 documented sites around it; 5 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Peaster's own USDA hardiness band, zones 8aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • 197 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Peaster, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Peaster's boundary and the 1,454 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 8a and a ~249-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Peaster's own centroid, the Cross TimbersUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • The 28°F hard-freeze dates — Peaster has no normal of its own, so its county's is the closest measured readfrom Parker County
  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Peaster's 1,454 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Parker County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Parker County
  • The growing challenges every Texas grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Texas
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Parker County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Peaster's 1,454 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Peaster you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,454 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 1.4 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 Peaster-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address