What Grows in Morgan, Utah

USDA Zones 5b · 2K acres

Morgan, Utah, sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Expect cabbage, cranberry, 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 Morgan, 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 Morgan 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 Morgan — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Morgan — the short answer

Morgan, Utah: USDA zone 5b, about 160 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of city.

USDA zone
5b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
May 2
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
~160
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
City 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

5b5b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 5b is Morgan's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Morgan's 160-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Morgan

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

Season length

Measured

Morgan runs about 160 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

Morgan sits in USDA hardiness zone 5b.

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 Morgan is in

Morgan sits in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains — EPA Level III, inside the wider Northwestern Forested Mountains. That is read at Morgan's own centroid rather than borrowed from Morgan County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Morgan

Every plant below cleared Morgan's own zone 5b and its 160-day season. Each card opens that plant's Utah profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in UtahZones 2–11Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
cranberry, photograph
Utah cranberry guideZones 2–7Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in UtahZones 5–8Morgan's 5b is its exact cold limit.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: Utah growing notesZones 2–11Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in UtahZones 5–8Morgan's 5b is its exact cold limit.
St. Johns wort, photograph
Utah st. johns wort guideZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in UtahZones 2–10Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw: Utah growing notesZones 5–9Morgan's 5b is its exact cold limit.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in UtahMorgan's 160 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
Utah kale guideZones 2–11Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan in UtahZones 5–9Morgan's 5b is its exact cold limit.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: Utah growing notesZones 2–11Morgan's 160 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
Growing okra in UtahZones 2–12Morgan's 160 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Utah potato guideZones 2–11Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
pumpkin, photograph
Pumpkin in UtahZones 3–11Morgan's 160 days clear the ~40 it needs.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: Utah growing notesZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in UtahZones 2–11Morgan's 160 days clear the ~70 it needs.
azalea, photograph
Utah azalea guideZones 4–8Morgan's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in UtahZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: Utah growing notesZones 3–10Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in UtahMorgan's 160 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
Utah lilac guideZones 4–10Morgan's 5b — 1 zone of cold margin.
American bittersweet, photograph
American bittersweet in UtahZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Canada anemone, photograph
Canada anemone: Utah growing notesZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in UtahZones 3–9Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Utah alfalfa guideZones 2–10Morgan's 160 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in UtahZones 2–7Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
blue spruce, photograph
Blue spruce: Utah growing notesZones 2–8Morgan's 5b — 3 zones of cold margin.
annual ryegrass, photograph
Growing annual ryegrass in UtahZones 3–10Morgan's 160 days clear the ~90 it needs.
Canada wild rye, photograph
Utah canada wild rye guideZones 3–8Morgan's 5b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Morgan?

Usually not — gardeners here simply switch what goes in the ground as the season moves. Cool-season crops can go in from around Apr 4; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near May 2 (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. As the window narrows, the plantings just get faster — fall brassicas, then greens, then garlic to finish.

What's on the federal record near Morgan

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

  1. MORGAN COUNTY ROAD SUPT.Underground Storage Tanks · 1400 ft
  2. CHICKEN HUT SINCLAIRUnderground Storage Tanks · 1500 ft
  3. P.J. JERSEY FARM PARTNERSHIPUnderground Storage Tanks · 1600 ft
  4. NEBCO SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1700 ft
  5. EXCEL PARKSIDEUnderground Storage Tanks · 1700 ft
  6. MORGAN VALLEY METALSUnderground Storage Tanks · 1800 ft
  7. 7-ELEVENUnderground Storage Tanks · 1800 ft
  8. BUS GARAGEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2000 ft
  9. (A- 4- 2)36cbd- 1Nitrate · 2100 ft
  10. HEINER FORDUnderground Storage Tanks · 2200 ft
  11. MORGAN CITY SHOPUnderground Storage Tanks · 2300 ft
  12. MORGAN YARDUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.5 mi

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

Measured from Morgan'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 Morgan.

Total Sites

62

within ~10 miles of Morgan

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

4 Toxics Release Inventory facilities

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Morgan

High9Moderate28Low25

Highest-Severity Sites

Carbonate Gem
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Carbonate Gem
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Carbonate Gem Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Carbonate Hill Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer
Carbonate Hill Mine
Mining Sites · Past Producer

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Morgan, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Morgan — Mining (25 sites) and Toxics Release Inventory (4 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

Mining: Mining sites — both historic and active — can leach heavy metals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury) into soil and water for centuries after operations cease.

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

Test soil for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury) — this is essential near any mining site.

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

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Morgan

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 Morgan average

Your land is one point inside Morgan

Everything above resolves to Morgan 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 city 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 Morgan Average

Morgan Average

  • USDA Zones 5b, averaged across Morgan
  • One soil character for all of Morgan
  • Frost dates read at Morgan's scale: May 2 to Oct 9

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Morgan's 5b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Morgan

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Morgan averages 160Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Morgan

The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, read at this city’s own centroid; hard-freeze dates from NOAA 1991–2020 28°F normals at Morgan’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 city grain anywhere on this page — there is no city-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 Morgan

When does frost risk typically end in Morgan?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Morgan typically lands around May 2, 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 23.

When is the first frost in Morgan?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Morgan 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 160 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Morgan?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Morgan sees about 160 frost-free days — roughly May 2 through Oct 9, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer May 23 to Sep 25, about 125 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Morgan?

The federal record around Morgan is a meaningful one — 62 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (26), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.3 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 Morgan?

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 Morgan's scale — its 5b band and its 160-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Morgan'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 Morgan’s own scale

6 of the readings below were taken at Morgan's own scale — its own ~160-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,953 acres it covers and 62 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Morgan's own USDA hardiness band, zones 5bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Morgan's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about May 2 and Oct 9 and the ~160-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 62 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Morgan, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.3 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Morgan's boundary and the 1,953 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 5b and a ~160-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Morgan's own centroid, the Wasatch and Uinta MountainsUS EPA Level III Ecoregions

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Morgan's 1,953 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Morgan County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Morgan County
  • The growing challenges every Utah grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom Utah
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Morgan County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Morgan's 1,953 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Morgan you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,953 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.3 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 Morgan-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address

More in Utah

Wider growing context

What grows across Utah

Morgan sits outside our named growing regions, so Utah as a whole is its closest context here.