A guide for every part of the country

Container gardening across the US

Find your state. Then find your city. Real NOAA data — frost dates, USDA zones, Köppen climate — for every guide we publish.

50 states + DC 100 cities with built guides 33 states live

West

13 states · 10 live

Desert, Mediterranean, oceanic, alpine, and tropical climates from the Pacific to the Rockies. The widest climate spread of any region.

CA California 16 cities with guides See the cities OR Oregon 1 city with guides See the city WA Washington 1 city with guides See the city NV Nevada 4 cities with guides See the cities AZ Arizona 7 cities with guides See the cities
UT Utah no cities yet
ID Idaho 1 city with guides See the city
MT Montana no cities yet
WY Wyoming no cities yet
CO Colorado 3 cities with guides See the cities NM New Mexico 1 city with guides See the city AK Alaska 1 city with guides See the city HI Hawaii 1 city with guides See the city

Midwest

12 states · 9 live

Continental climates with hard winters, hot humid summers, and short focused growing seasons. Container heat management matters as much as cold protection.

ND North Dakota no cities yet
SD South Dakota no cities yet
NE Nebraska 2 cities with guides See the cities KS Kansas 1 city with guides See the city MN Minnesota 2 cities with guides See the cities
IA Iowa no cities yet
MO Missouri 2 cities with guides See the cities WI Wisconsin 2 cities with guides See the cities IL Illinois 1 city with guides See the city MI Michigan 1 city with guides See the city IN Indiana 2 cities with guides See the cities OH Ohio 4 cities with guides See the cities

South

15 states · 9 live

Long growing seasons, humid subtropical pressure, and a real second harvest most national guides ignore. The fall plant-out is where the South wins.

TX Texas 13 cities with guides See the cities OK Oklahoma 2 cities with guides See the cities
AR Arkansas no cities yet
LA Louisiana 1 city with guides See the city
MS Mississippi no cities yet
AL Alabama no cities yet
TN Tennessee 2 cities with guides See the cities KY Kentucky 2 cities with guides See the cities FL Florida 6 cities with guides See the cities GA Georgia 1 city with guides See the city
SC South Carolina no cities yet
NC North Carolina 5 cities with guides See the cities VA Virginia 5 cities with guides See the cities
WV West Virginia no cities yet
DC Washington, D.C. no cities yet

Northeast

11 states · 5 live

Cool springs, humid summers, and frost windows tight enough that variety choice matters more than technique. Patio and balcony culture is the norm.

PA Pennsylvania 2 cities with guides See the cities NY New York 4 cities with guides See the cities NJ New Jersey 2 cities with guides See the cities
CT Connecticut no cities yet
RI Rhode Island no cities yet
MA Massachusetts 1 city with guides See the city
VT Vermont no cities yet
NH New Hampshire no cities yet
ME Maine no cities yet
MD Maryland 1 city with guides See the city
DE Delaware no cities yet

More cities, more states, every release

We started with the 100 largest US metros by population — that's the MVP set you see linked here. Every release we cut deeper into the long tail of US cities and towns, prioritising the ones with the most distinctive climates. If your city isn't here yet, the nearest covered city in the same state is usually the closest match.

Each state page lists the cities we currently cover, with their USDA zone, Köppen climate code, last and first frost dates, and the local city hub. Use those to plan a season — they're tuned to NOAA averages, not retail seed-packet generalisations.

— the Real Food Grower editorial team