What Grows in Moundsville, West Virginia

USDA Zones 6b · 2K acres

Moundsville, West Virginia, sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b — a band that supports both cool-season staples and warm-season crops chosen to fit the local frost window.

Well-matched crops include cabbage, hazelnut, lavender, and collard greens, and the gap between "grows in the area" and "grows in your yard" is closed by soil, sun, and drainage.

Score your parcel · free

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

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Moundsville — the short answer

Moundsville, West Virginia: USDA zone 6b, about 217 days between hard freezes, across 2K acres of city.

USDA zone
6b
USDA PHZM 2023
Last hard freeze (28°F)
Apr 5
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
First hard freeze (28°F)
Nov 8
NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, 28°F — this town
Days between freezes
~217
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

6b6b
3a (Cold)13b (Hot)

Zone 6b is Moundsville's average, not your lot's — a low corner or a tree line moves it. Against Moundsville's 217-day season, see what your own ground reads.

Soil varies lot by lot — soil types explained.

What this means for growing in Moundsville

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

Season length

Measured

Moundsville runs about 217 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

Moundsville sits in USDA hardiness zone 6b.

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 Moundsville is in

Moundsville sits in the Western Allegheny Plateau — EPA Level III, inside the wider Eastern Temperate Forests. That is read at Moundsville's own centroid rather than borrowed from Marshall County.

What that means for soil

What Grows in Moundsville

Every plant below cleared Moundsville's own zone 6b and its 217-day season. Each card opens that plant's West Virginia profile. How we score.

cabbage, photograph
Growing cabbage in West VirginiaZones 2–11Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
hazelnut, photograph
West Virginia hazelnut guideZones 4–9Moundsville's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
lavender, photograph
Lavender in West VirginiaZones 5–8Moundsville's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
collard greens, photograph
Collard greens: West Virginia growing notesZones 2–11Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blackberry, photograph
Growing blackberry in West VirginiaZones 5–8Moundsville's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
California poppy, photograph
West Virginia california poppy guideZones 6–10Moundsville's 6b is its exact cold limit.
garlic, photograph
Garlic in West VirginiaZones 2–10Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
blueberry, photograph
Blueberry: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–8Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Turkish rocket, photograph
Growing turkish rocket in West VirginiaMoundsville's 217 days clear the ~90 it needs.
kale, photograph
West Virginia kale guideZones 2–11Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
pawpaw, photograph
Pawpaw in West VirginiaZones 5–9Moundsville's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
angelica, photograph
Angelica: West Virginia growing notesZones 4–9Moundsville's 217 days clear the ~120 it needs.
lentil, photograph
Growing lentil in West VirginiaZones 2–11Moundsville's 217 days clear the ~70 it needs.
okra, photograph
West Virginia okra guideZones 2–12Moundsville's 217 days clear the ~50 it needs.
potato, photograph
Potato in West VirginiaZones 2–11Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
iris, photograph
Iris: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–10Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
sunflower, photograph
Growing sunflower in West VirginiaZones 2–11Moundsville's 217 days clear the ~70 it needs.
lilac, photograph
West Virginia lilac guideZones 4–10Moundsville's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
hops, photograph
Hops in West VirginiaZones 3–8Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
hosta, photograph
Hosta: West Virginia growing notesZones 3–8Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
French marigold, photograph
Growing french marigold in West VirginiaMoundsville's 217 days clear the ~50 it needs.
Apache plume, photograph
West Virginia apache plume guideZones 5–11Moundsville's 6b — 1 zone of cold margin.
Virginia creeper, photograph
Virginia creeper in West VirginiaZones 3–9Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
tulip, photograph
Tulip: West Virginia growing notesZones 6–8Moundsville's 6b is its exact cold limit.
American elm, photograph
Growing american elm in West VirginiaZones 3–9Moundsville's 6b — 3 zones of cold margin.
Ethiopian mustard, photograph
West Virginia ethiopian mustard guideZones 4–10Moundsville's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
Kentucky bluegrass, botanical illustration
Kentucky bluegrass in West VirginiaZones 2–7Moundsville's 6b — 4 zones of cold margin.
Douglas fir, photograph
Douglas fir: West Virginia growing notesZones 4–10Moundsville's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.
alfalfa, photograph
Growing alfalfa in West VirginiaZones 2–10Moundsville's 217 days clear the ~100 it needs.
Indian grass, photograph
West Virginia indian grass guideZones 4–9Moundsville's 6b — 2 zones of cold margin.

Is it too late to plant in Moundsville?

Too late for some crops, right on time for others — a growing season is a sequence, not a deadline. Cool-season crops can go in from around Mar 8; tender transplants wait until two to three weeks after the last 28°F hard freeze, which lands near Apr 5 (NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals); and from midsummer, planting counts back from the first fall freeze around Nov 8 — 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.

Documented around Moundsville

Spotted lanternfly documented 12 miles from Moundsville, first recorded 2023. What to watch for.

What's on the federal record near Moundsville

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

  1. SHEAR FRIENDS BEAUTY SALONUnderground Storage Tanks · 75 ft
  2. CHUCK GILLINGHAMUnderground Storage Tanks · 250 ft
  3. GILLINGHAM BUICKUnderground Storage Tanks · 250 ft
  4. SAM YANE FORD SALES INCUnderground Storage Tanks · 300 ft
  5. TSP 816Underground Storage Tanks · 450 ft
  6. BOB PRICE PROPERTY/NO FORMS/PAHUnderground Storage Tanks · 500 ft
  7. ANDERSON FUNERAL HOMEUnderground Storage Tanks · 700 ft
  8. LAYMANS AUTO REPAIRUnderground Storage Tanks · 800 ft
  9. WALGREENS DBA RITE AID #699Brownfields · 800 ft
  10. S/S LOC #23964Underground Storage Tanks · 850 ft
  11. LIMESTONE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft
  12. WASHINGTON LANDS ELEMENTARY SCHOUnderground Storage Tanks · 1000 ft

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

Measured from Moundsville'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 Moundsville.

Total Sites

424

within ~10 miles of Moundsville

Risk Level

Elevated

Highest-severity

8 Superfund sites

Severity Distribution

within ~10 miles of Moundsville

High5Moderate94Low325

Highest-Severity Sites

Marshall County Psd 1
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Marshall County Psd 4
PFAS Sampling · PFAS Detected
Aep - Mitchell Plant
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Astons Pleasant Vally Store LLC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)
Butch'S Corner INC
Underground Storage Tanks · Open UST(S)

A note from Gnorman

What an experienced grower watches for around here

In and around Moundsville, two things run higher than the national average within ~10 miles of Moundsville — Superfund (8 sites) and PFAS (5 sites). Knowing it is half the work — and it's nothing a thoughtful grower can't plan for.

Superfund: Superfund sites represent the most severe contamination in the federal system.

PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.

Commission professional soil testing before any food production (test for heavy metals, VOCs, and SVOCs).

Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.

Free Report

Check your specific parcel in Moundsville

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 Moundsville average

Your land is one point inside Moundsville

Everything above resolves to Moundsville 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 Moundsville Average

Moundsville Average

  • USDA Zones 6b, averaged across Moundsville
  • One soil character for all of Moundsville
  • Frost dates read at Moundsville's scale: Apr 5 to Nov 8

YOUR Parcel

  • Your exact zone, not Moundsville's 6b
  • Your SSURGO soil type & pH
  • Your sun exposure, cast in 3D

See MY Growing Report

Free Report

Read your specific parcel in Moundsville

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

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

Your soil pHYour frost-free days — Moundsville averages 217Your sun & shade

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

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

How we know this about Moundsville

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 Moundsville’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 Moundsville

When does frost risk typically end in Moundsville?

The last hard freeze (28°F) in Moundsville typically lands around Apr 5, 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 26.

When is the first frost in Moundsville?

The first hard freeze (28°F) in Moundsville typically arrives around Nov 8, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals — the point tender summer crops finish. Lighter frosts run ahead of it, near Oct 25, so the watching starts about Oct 9 — about 217 days after the spring freeze cleared.

How long is the growing season in Moundsville?

Measured between 28°F hard freezes, Moundsville sees about 217 frost-free days — roughly Apr 5 through Nov 8, per NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals. Tender crops work a shorter one: nearer Apr 26 to Oct 25, about 182 days.

Is the soil safe to grow vegetables in Moundsville?

The federal record around Moundsville is a meaningful one — 424 documented sites, mostly Underground Storage Tanks entries (234), the nearest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Moundsville?

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

Everything above is measured at Moundsville's scale — its 6b band and its 217-day season. Your yard writes its own version of Moundsville'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 Moundsville’s own scale

7 of the readings below were taken at Moundsville's own scale — its own ~217-day season between 28°F freezes, the 1,860 acres it covers and 424 documented sites around it; 4 are borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.

Measured here

  • Moundsville's own USDA hardiness band, zones 6bUSDA PHZM 2023
  • Moundsville's own 28°F hard-freeze dates, about Apr 5 and Nov 8 and the ~217-day span between themNOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals
  • 424 documented contamination sites on the federal record near Moundsville, the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile out from the town centreFederal environmental registers
  • Moundsville's boundary and the 1,860 acres inside itUS Census TIGER/Line 2025
  • Which of 1,086 plants clear zones 6b and a ~217-day seasonGrowable Ground crop-matching engine
  • The ecoregion at Moundsville's own centroid, the Western Allegheny PlateauUS EPA Level III Ecoregions
  • A documented spotted-lanternfly record within reach of Moundsvillelydemapr (De Bona & Helmus), 10 km survey lattice

Inherited from a wider read

  • Soil character — no town-scale survey exists, so Moundsville's 1,860 acres read through its county's SSURGO summaryfrom Marshall County
  • Growing-degree days and winter chill — measured county-wide only, so the county page carries themfrom Marshall 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 Marshall County

What this page can’t tell you

  • The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on any one lot among Moundsville's 1,860 acreswhy one lot differs from the next
  • Which side of Moundsville you're on — a low spot frosts first and a south wall warms early, and one normal is being asked to speak for all 1,860 acresreading your own microclimate
  • How close that record sits to YOUR lot — the closest Underground Storage Tanks record under a tenth of a mile 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 Moundsville-wide figureread your own land
The next step finer is your own address