Updated at: 07-12-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

Gardening in southeast Idaho can be difficult and involves careful site selection and preparation, garden layout planning, and adherence to a planting schedule. Short-season, high-altitude zones in the southeast of the state necessitate techniques and plants that are able to adapt to the conditions they face. Southeastern Idaho has a hardiness zone rating of 3 to 5, making it vulnerable to the region’s harsh environment and weather.

Don’t let the limited frost-free zones and hardiness zones in some Southeast Idaho sites stop you from planting there. Gardening in a greenhouse is a great way to keep your crops safe from the effects of changing weather. Learn how to use a greenhouse all year round by visiting Krostrade.com.

Gardening Tips For Idaho

Many crops are grown in Idaho, and the state is well-known for its agricultural output. Agricultural production can continue to be profitable for many years because of the area’s rich and fertile soil, excellent irrigation, and ever-evolving technological advances. To ensure a successful harvest in southeast Idaho, however, additional planning and specific procedures are needed.

Gardening In Southeast Idaho - Krostrade

Gardening in southeast Idaho

In southeast Idaho, gardening is possible all year round. Site selection and preparation and garden plan design must be addressed first. After that, you can use the Idaho Falls Community Garden Association’s planting calendar to get a head start on the crops you’ve decided to grow where you are.

Site selection and preparation

Ideally, your plants should be placed in a location that receives 6 to 12 hours of direct sunlight each day. Warming and drying the site rapidly in spring will help avoid rot. Prior to doing any work, you must deal with any perennial weeds or tree rots in the region that are present.

Once you’ve decided on a spot, the following step is to do a soil test and prepare it. You don’t want it to be too squishy or gummy like play dough. Organic matter will help improve your garden soil, even if you can’t acquire a sandy loam soil that’s perfect.

Improve the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients by adding organic matter. Adding organic matter on a regular basis will improve the structure of your soil. The usage of commercial fertilizers on your plants may become unnecessary over time.

Garden layout designing

Once the space and soil have been prepared, you must plan the garden and the layout of your crops. Rototilling perennials on the opposite side of the garden is a good idea because you won’t have to worry about them. Make sure that tall plants don’t wind up shadowing low-growing crops.

Fast-growing crops should be separated from those that take longer to mature. You can reduce the amount of weeding by using whole rows. With raised beds, drainage and soil warming are both improved.

Intercropping, companion planting, and double cropping are all options for the plants themselves. Companion planting, on the other hand, is a method of arranging crops that benefit each other. Finally, double cropping is a method of planting crops in the same region after harvesting frost-hardy crops.

Planting calendar

Gardening all year round is possible in southeast Idaho with the help of the Idaho Falls Community Garden Association. However, from the middle of April through the middle of July, you can organize your plants into groups and then plant them together. Just keep in mind that some crops are better suited for growing indoors in a greenhouse rather than outside.

Begin planting hardy crops like asparagus and broccoli around the middle of April. This includes hardy vegetables such as kohlrabi and cabbage as well as kohlrabi and kale. A few hardy plants to get a head start on in the spring garden include: beets; cauli; cauliflower; celery; potatoes; radish; and Swiss chard, which may all be started in late April. After then, your choices will be limited to beans, maize, squash, and tomatoes until the middle of May.

Cantaloupe, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peppers, pumpkins, squash, and watermelon can all be grown in late May. Beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, onions, peas, and spinach would be your fall crops by mid-July. Consider your area before planting any of these crops, as they all have different requirements.

How to Start a Home Garden in Idaho (ID) from Scratch: For Indoors, Outdoors, Backyards, and Containers

What Planting Zone Is Southern Idaho?

USDA plant hardiness zones 3 to 5 encompass Southern Idaho. While much of southeast Idaho is in planting zone 4, Stanley city in the south-central part of the state has the fewest frost-free periods. To identify which plants will thrive in their particular climate, gardeners should take note of their planting zone.

You’ll be more prepared for the weather in Idaho if you know the state’s planting zone. After that, you’ll be able to locate crops that can thrive in your area. You can also get your plants ready for winter in the greenhouse and keep them there if required.

When Should I Start A Garden In Idaho?

Gardening can begin in Idaho at any time of the year. Soil health, seed starting, propagation, and upkeep are all part of the gardening process. It’s possible to sow in March and harvest in January, depending on the crops you have available.

If you reside in a warm climate, your gardening season may run as long as seven months. So, in Idaho, common layouts include intercropping and double cropping. Before planting warm-season crops, ensure sure the frost has thawed.

What Vegetables Grow Well In Idaho?

A wide variety of veggies and fruits can be grown in Idaho if you’re wondering what to plant there. Potatoes, barley, sugarbeets, onions, peas and lentils, beans, and mint are among the plants that can be grown in Idaho, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture. You shouldn’t be surprised if this tuber leads the list if you’re familiar with Idaho’s potato planting schedule.

In addition to potatoes, Idaho is noted for its barley production, and the state’s malting industries are among the best in the country. Sugar beets and onions of the Spanish Sweet variety, both of which are of exceptional quality, are also produced in Idaho in large quantities, with the state coming in second. Other vegetables grown in Idaho include peas, lentils, beans, and mint.

It’s Not Easy to Garden in Southeast Idaho

For the past 26 years, we’ve lived here in the upper Snake River valley. At the time of our purchase, the yard was at best subpar. Annual bedding plants cost me a fortune every year, and I’ve had a lot of bad luck with them. Perennials have also been an important addition. These are some of my favorites from this year.

It’s in front of our house, right outside the front door. Three levels of terracotta pots hold the pink and purple display. They are surrounded by a vivid yellow dahlia in the ground.

We have a self-watering pot with thunbergia (Thunbergia alata, annual), a peach begonia, coleus, and white petunia between our two garage doors! It was a big accomplishment for me that it survived numerous strong frosts.

I was trying to hide the neighbor’s old plank fence with the plants in this photograph. Tuberous begonias and annual impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) fill a hefty felt pocket in the container. To fill in the bottom of the garden, I substituted two petunias and a sweet potato vine because I was out of begonias and impatiens. However, the sweet potato vine didn’t like the shade on the north side of a fence between lilac trees, so I had to remove it. Doing that pocket again is a no-brainer!

Aquilegia chrysantha (Zone 3–9), a vivid yellow columbine. Because A. chrysantha is endemic to western North America, it flourishes in the region’s conditions.

A gorgeous rose in full bloom.

In Eastern Europe and western Asia, peonies’ wild relatives are found in the arid, harsh interiors, so it’s no surprise that they’re ideal for regions like Idaho, which have comparable weather.

In the meantime, we’re building a new house so that we can downsize and age in place, and I’m pondering how to design a low-maintenance garden and landscape using perennials and annuals that I can produce in my greenhouse. I’d be grateful for any ideas you have! Trying to find hardy perennials in Zone 4 at the base of the Teton Mountains isn’t an easy task!

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Want to show off some of your photography skills? Whether it’s one you’ve created yourself or one you’ve visited, we’d love to see photos of it.

[email protected] and include a brief description of the plants in the photos and where they were taken. Whether you’ve been gardening for a few years or have been doing it for decades, we’d love to hear about your successes and disappointments, your goals for the future, and your favorite plants.

Idaho Vegetable Planting Calendar/Guide (ID): Month Wise, Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, Zone 3, Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, and Zone 7

Sending images to the GPOD email box is perfectly OK.

Do you own a cell phone? Using the hashtag #FineGardening on social media is a great way to show off your gardening skills!

Conclusion

While gardening might be difficult, the rewards of your labor are worth it when you reap a bountiful harvest. In southeast Idaho, successful gardening involves careful site selection and preparation, as well as the planning and implementation of a planting calendar. To ensure that your crops are prepared for the changes ahead, follow these steps.

This region of Idaho is classified as having a hardiness zone rating of 3 to 5. As a result, climate and weather conditions might be extreme in some places. As a result of greenhouses’ development, it is feasible to shield plants from adverse weather conditions.

However, the fact that Idaho consistently ranks as the top producer of a wide range of crops shows that gardening can be a beneficial undertaking when done properly and with sufficient understanding.