What Grows in Comfort, West Virginia

USDA Zones 7a · 643 acres

Comfort, West Virginia, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.

Expect cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, 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 Comfort, 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 Comfort 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 Comfort — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.

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Comfort — the short answer

Comfort, West Virginia: USDA zone 7a, about 222 days between hard freezes, across 643 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 30
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 7
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~222
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
643 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

7a7a
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 7a is Comfort's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Comfort's 222-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Comfort

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

Season length

Measured

Comfort runs about 222 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

Comfort sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a.

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 Comfort is in

Comfort sits in the Central Appalachians — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Comfort's own centroid rather than borrowed from Boone County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Comfort

Every plant below cleared Comfort's own zone 7a and its 222-day season. Each card opens that plant's West Virginia profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in West VirginiaZones 2–11Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
West Virginia hazelnut guideZones 4–9Comfort's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in West VirginiaZones 6–10Comfort's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: West Virginia growing notesZones 2–11Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in West VirginiaZones 5–9Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
West Virginia lavender guideZones 5–8Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in West VirginiaZones 2–10Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: West Virginia growing notesZones 5–9Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in West VirginiaComfort's 222 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
West Virginia kale guideZones 2–11Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in West VirginiaZones 5–10Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: West Virginia growing notesZones 2–11Comfort's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in West VirginiaZones 3–8Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
West Virginia okra guideZones 2–12Comfort's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in West VirginiaZones 2–11Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–10Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in West VirginiaZones 2–11Comfort's 222 days clear the ~70 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
West Virginia apache plume guideZones 5–11Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in West VirginiaZones 3–8Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–8Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in West VirginiaComfort's 222 days clear the ~50 it needs.
holly, photograph
West Virginia holly guideZones 5–11Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in West VirginiaZones 3–9Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: West Virginia growing notesZones 6–8Comfort's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in West VirginiaZones 3–9Comfort's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
West Virginia ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Comfort's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in West VirginiaZones 2–7Comfort's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: West Virginia growing notesZones 4–10Comfort's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in West VirginiaZones 5–10Comfort's 222 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
West Virginia eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Comfort's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Comfort?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 2; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 30 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 7 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. Here the season winds down slowly: late sowings, a real autumn harvest, and garlic in the ground before the first hard freeze.

Documented around Comfort

Survey cells within 31 miles of Comfort checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 88 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Comfort

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

  1. HERBERT MIDKIFFUnderground Storage Tanks · 1100 ft
  2. THOMAS SERVICE STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2400 ft
  3. LITTLE GENERAL STORE #4000Brownfields · 2400 ft
  4. LITTLE GENERAL STORE # 4000Underground Storage Tanks · 2500 ft
  5. V-MARTUnderground Storage Tanks · 2600 ft
  6. Boo-0259Nitrate · 0.9 mi
  7. TERRY D & TERRI M JUSTICEBrownfields · 1.7 mi
  8. K & S EXXONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.1 mi
  9. SHERMAN FUELING STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.1 mi
  10. SETH COMPRESSOR STATIONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.1 mi
  11. B & B AUTO PARTS & SERVICEUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi
  12. CANTLEY BROS. EXXONUnderground Storage Tanks · 2.5 mi

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

Measured from Comfort'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 Comfort.

Total Sites

253

within ~10 miles of Comfort

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

1 Superfund site (none NPL-listed)

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Comfort

High0Moderate86Low167

Highest-Severity Sites

Boo-0143
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Boo-0143
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Boo-0149
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Boo-0149
Nitrate Monitoring · Well
Boo-0248
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.
  • On a private well, test for nitrates: above 10 mg/L the water needs treatment before irrigating.
Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Comfort

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 Comfort average

Your land is one point inside Comfort

Everything above resolves to Comfort as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 643 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 Comfort Average

Comfort Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Comfort
  • One soil character for all of Comfort
  • Frost dates read at Comfort's scale: Mar 30 to Nov 7

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Comfort's 7a
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Comfort

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Comfort averages 222Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Comfort

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 Comfort’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 Comfort

When does frost risk typically end in Comfort?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Comfort typically lands around Mar 30, 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 20.

When is the first frost in Comfort?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Comfort typically arrives around Nov 7, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 24, so the watching starts about Oct 8 — about 222 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Comfort?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Comfort sees about 222 frost-free days — roughly Mar 30 through Nov 7, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 20 to Oct 24, about 187 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Comfort?

The federal record around Comfort is a meaningful one — 253 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (131), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Comfort?

From about Oct 8 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 7 (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 7. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Comfort's scale — its 7a band and its 222-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Comfort'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 Comfort’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Comfort's own scale — its own ~222-day season between 28°F freezes, the 643 acres it covers and 253 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Comfort's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Comfort's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 30 and Nov 7 and the ~222-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 253 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Comfort, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Comfort's boundary and the 643 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~222-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Comfort's own centroid, the Central AppalachiansUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Comfort checked, none carrying a detectionlydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Comfort's 643 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Boone County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Boone County
  • The growing challenges every West Virginia grower plans around — written at state scale, so they stay on the state guidefrom West Virginia
  • Butterfly and beetle records, and the farmland pesticide estimate — all published county-widefrom Boone County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Comfort's 643 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Comfort you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 643 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record about 0.2 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 Comfort-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address