What Grows in Justice, West Virginia

USDA Zones 7a · 845 acres

Justice, West Virginia, sits in USDA hardiness zone 7a — room for a real mix of vegetables, fruit, and perennials matched to the local frost calendar.

On paper, cabbage, hazelnut, california poppy, and collard greens all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.

Score your parcel · free

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

No card required · your full report in seconds

Justice — the short answer

Justice, West Virginia: USDA zone 7a, about 219 days between hard freezes, across 845 acres of town.

USDA zone
7a
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Mar 31
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 5
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~219
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Town area
845 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 Justice's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Justice's 219-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Justice

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

Season length

Measured

Justice 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

Justice 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 Justice is in

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

What that means for soil

What Grows in Justice

Every plant below cleared Justice's own zone 7a and its 219-day season. Each card opens that plant's West Virginia profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in West VirginiaZones 2–11Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
West Virginia hazelnut guideZones 4–9Justice's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
California poppy in West VirginiaZones 6–10Justice's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: West Virginia growing notesZones 2–11Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Growing pawpaw in West VirginiaZones 5–9Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
West Virginia lavender guideZones 5–8Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in West VirginiaZones 2–10Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
pecan, photograph
Pecan: West Virginia growing notesZones 5–9Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in West VirginiaJustice's 219 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
West Virginia kale guideZones 2–11Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
prickly pear, photograph
Prickly pear in West VirginiaZones 5–10Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
lentil, photograph
Lentil: West Virginia growing notesZones 2–11Justice's 219 days clear the ~70 it needs.
apple, photograph
Growing apple in West VirginiaZones 3–8Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
okra, photograph
West Virginia okra guideZones 2–12Justice's 219 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in West VirginiaZones 2–11Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–10Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in West VirginiaZones 2–11Justice's 219 days clear the ~70 it needs.
holly, photograph
West Virginia holly guideZones 5–11Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in West VirginiaZones 3–8Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–8Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in West VirginiaJustice's 219 days clear the ~50 it needs.
lilac, photograph
West Virginia lilac guideZones 4–10Justice's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in West VirginiaZones 3–9Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: West Virginia growing notesZones 6–8Justice's 7a — 1 zone of cold margin.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in West VirginiaZones 3–9Justice's 7a — 4 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
West Virginia ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Justice's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in West VirginiaZones 2–7Justice's 7a — 5 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: West Virginia growing notesZones 4–10Justice's 7a — 3 zones of cold margin.
Japanese millet, photograph
Growing japanese millet in West VirginiaZones 5–10Justice's 219 days clear the ~45 it needs.
Eastern gamagrass, photograph
West Virginia eastern gamagrass guideZones 5–9Justice's 7a — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Justice?

Almost never — the real question is what to plant next. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 3; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Mar 31 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 5 — long-season crops need about 90 days of runway, quick greens only 30. A long window like this one runs successions deep into fall — and even its last weeks take quick greens and garlic.

Documented around Justice

Survey cells within 31 miles of Justice checked for spotted lanternfly, none carrying a detection — a surveyed negative, not an absence of looking. Nearest documented record 63 miles off. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Justice

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

  1. US CORPS OF ENGINEERS - R.D. BAILEY LAKEBrownfields · 0.6 mi
  2. JOYCE CUSTOM CARSBrownfields · 0.6 mi
  3. Wyo-0271Nitrate · 0.6 mi
  4. C & T ASHLANDUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.7 mi
  5. HEATH & CHRIS REALTYUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  6. FORMER CARL FULLER EXXONUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  7. S/S LOC #29261Underground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  8. R D BAILEY LAKEUnderground Storage Tanks · 0.9 mi
  9. LINCOLN COUNTY PRIMARY CARE CENTER, INC DBA HARLESS CENTER PHARMACYBrownfields · 1.8 mi
  10. HANOVER GROCERYUnderground Storage Tanks · 1.9 mi
  11. DOLLAR GENERAL STORE #2691Brownfields · 2.0 mi
  12. CAREWELL PHARMACY, LLCBrownfields · 2.0 mi

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

Measured from Justice'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 Justice.

Total Sites

193

within ~10 miles of Justice

Risk Level

Moderate

Highest-severity

25 brownfield sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Justice

High1Moderate75Low117

Highest-Severity Sites

Babe'S
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Bonnie'S Place INC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Chapman'S General Store
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
David Browning
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Heath & Chris Realty
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Justice, Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 58 sites within ~10 miles of Justice. That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.

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 Justice

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 Justice average

Your land is one point inside Justice

Everything above resolves to Justice as a whole — one PHZM band and one 28°F frost record, read across 845 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 Justice Average

Justice Average

  • USDA Zones 7a, averaged across Justice
  • One soil character for all of Justice
  • Frost dates read at Justice's scale: Mar 31 to Nov 5

YOUR Parcel

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

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Justice

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

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

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

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

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

How we know this about Justice

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 Justice’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 Justice

When does frost risk typically end in Justice?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Justice typically lands around Mar 31, 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 21.

When is the first frost in Justice?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Justice typically arrives around Nov 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 22, so the watching starts about Oct 6 — about 219 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Justice?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Justice sees about 219 frost-free days — roughly Mar 31 through Nov 5, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 21 to Oct 22, about 184 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Justice?

The federal record around Justice shows 193 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (109), the nearest Brownfields record about 0.6 miles out — a typical footprint for a growing area, and proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis of any one yard. It's worth seeing which recorded sites sit closest to where you grow, and testing the soil before new food beds near any of them.

How do I protect my plants from frost in Justice?

From about Oct 6 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 5 (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 5. Hardy greens and roots shrug off light frost and sweeten after it — leave them in.

Everything above is measured at Justice's scale — its 7a band and its 219-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Justice'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 Justice’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Justice's own scale — its own ~219-day season between 28°F freezes, the 845 acres it covers and 193 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Justice's own USDA hardiness band, zones 7aUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Justice's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Mar 31 and Nov 5 and the ~219-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 193 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Justice, the closest Brownfields record about 0.6 miles out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Justice's boundary and the 845 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 7a and a ~219-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Justice's own centroid, the Central AppalachiansUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • Lanternfly survey cells around Justice 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 Justice's 845 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Mingo County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Mingo 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 Mingo County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Justice's 845 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Justice you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 845 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Brownfields record about 0.6 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 Justice-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address