One Kansas City gardener got tired of chasing planting info across a dozen websites. None of them knew what our springs actually look like. So I built one that does.
Every spring it was the same routine: five browser tabs open, none of them agreeing, none of them knowing that Kansas City’s last frost is April 15 or that our clay behaves nothing like the soil these guides were written for. National charts written for coastal climates. Planting schedules calibrated to zones that aren’t ours. Pest guides that list species that don’t live here.
I kept a folder of bookmarks that I’d work through each March. A frost date calculator here, a seed-starting chart there, a pest identification site that hadn’t been updated since 2011. None of it talked to each other. None of it was here.
So I Built the Tool I Always Needed
913KC Garden is a free planting almanac built specifically for the 913 area code, Kansas City, Kansas, Zone 6a. Everything on this site is calibrated to our actual last frost (April 15), our actual first frost (October 15), our 183-day growing season, and our specific version of Missouri clay.
Here’s what’s here right now: a Planting Calendar with month-by-month tasks, a Vegetable Guide, an Herb Guide, a Pest Guide, a Soil Guide focused on our clay, Native Plants, Berries, Fruit Trees, a Garden Planner, and more. Free accounts unlock a permanent Seed Vault and Garden Journal.
What’s Coming
This is a living site. More articles are already written and will publish weekly. An invasive species guide is in the works, along with expanded companion planting data and eventually a local food culture section. If you spot something wrong or have better local data, reach out. I’d genuinely rather have it right.
It’s March 21st. Peas and spinach are already in the ground here. If yours aren’t yet, now’s the time. Welcome to the 913.