Regional guide

Wyoming Statewide Short-Season Vegetable Garden

University of Wyoming Extension statewide short-season guide for gardens where growing seasons range from short to very short.

Climate signals

• Growing Vegetables in Wyoming, B-1115R, by Karen Panter, revised April 2020, frames statewide Wyoming vegetable gardening around growing seasons that range from short to very short.
• The source lists Wyoming problems as cool and variable temperatures, untimely frost, high and steady winds, low relative humidity, poor native soils, possible low quantity or quality water, and hailstorms.
• Poor native soils may be alkaline, low organic, shallow, rocky, and cold, so soil improvement and local site choice matter before crop choice.
• Full-sun gentle south, southeast, or southwest slopes warm sooner in spring and drain cold air, as long as no lower-side barrier blocks cold-air drainage.
• The south side of buildings may mature vegetables sooner because reflected heat and wind protection warm the planting area.

Planning notes

• Windbreaks protect downwind roughly 10 times their height, but avoid tree and shrub root competition by keeping vegetable beds away from roots that pull moisture and nutrients.
• Choose quick-maturing cool-weather crops such as radishes, leaf lettuce, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, head lettuce, spinach, beets, carrots, and peas.
• Hot-weather long-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, melons, winter squash, pumpkins, and sweet corn need heat and a long season, so they need the warmest sites and shortest reliable varieties.
• Short-maturity or northern U.S. and Canadian-developed varieties are usually best for Wyoming, and days to harvest vary between cooler and warmer parts of Wyoming; some varieties will not mature where the season is short.
• Indoor starts and transplants can add days or weeks to the season, but sweet corn, cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumpkins need careful transplanting because root damage slows recovery.
• Frost protection options include plastic covers, water-filled tubes, fabric row covers, clear plastic tunnels, and cold frames; row covers raise air and soil temperatures, and clear plastic tunnels can boost tomatoes and peppers.
• For organic matter, add 2 inches of high-quality composted organic matter and incorporate it at least 6 inches deep; do not add sand to clay soil.
• Irrigation necessary anywhere in Wyoming: most vegetables need at least 1.5 inches weekly near maturity.
• Drip or trickle irrigation keeps foliage dry and often uses less water; mulch only after soil warms in late spring or early summer.
• Cool-season crops tolerate light frost and can repeat in late summer or early fall; examples include beets, carrots, lettuce, onions, peas, radishes, spinach, and turnips.
• Warm-season crops are damaged by late spring or early fall frosts; examples include tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, and sweet corn.
• Cucumbers, eggplant, muskmelons, okra, winter squash, peppers, tomatoes, and watermelons are not recommended above 6,500 feet.
• The priority seeds are exact cool-season or season-fit source variety matches where possible: Long Island Improved maps to the Long Island Brussels sprouts catalog entry, and parsnip is for the warmest areas only because Hollow Crown needs at least 100 days.
• Warm-season exact variety matches such as Roma tomato, Waltham Butternut winter squash, and Sugar Baby watermelon are not priority links here because those crop groups are not recommended above 6,500 feet.

Catalog crop examples

These catalog entries match crops covered by the regional timing source; variety-specific details remain tied to each seed entry's own source.

• Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
• Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
• Sugar Snap Pea Vegetable · Cool · 62 days
• Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
• Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
• Hollow Crown Parsnip Vegetable · Cool · 120 days
• Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
• American Purple Top Rutabaga Vegetable · Cool · 90 days

Related regional guides

• Idaho Zone and Microclimate Vegetable Garden University of Idaho Extension spring vegetable guide for Idaho gardeners using USDA zones, local microclimates, frost-free days, and zone-specific crop windows.
• New Mexico Growing-Zone Vegetable Garden A New Mexico guide for USDA zones 5a-8b, frost-free-day ranges, site variability, direct seeding, transplant timing, and spring/fall windows.
• Montana Frost-Window Vegetable Garden An MSU frost-window guide for Montana's short-season vegetable schedules, local frost dates, direct seeding, transplants, and succession rows.

Source: University of Wyoming Extension Growing Vegetables in Wyoming