What's My Hardiness Zone?The USDA provides hardiness zone information for all of the USA. This information incorporates data such as first and last freeze dates and length of the growing season in order to determine which plants can or can't grow in a particular area. Knowing your zone will also tell you when to plant. To determine your zone
click here
Now that you know your zone, you can check to see if what you want to grow can be grown in your area. The back of a seed packet often has a crude zone map coded to planting dates. For more accurate information on when to plant, consult
the National Climatic Data Center.
Enter your state. A PDF will load. Find your city on the list. Here you will get the last spring freeze date in the first column.
I have circled the 50% probability columns for spring and fall freeze. I am using 32 degrees in the left hand column as my threshold. My 50% probability dates of a freeze at 32 degrees for are : May 31 for spring and Oct 4 for fall. 
Using the back of your seed packet again, there should be "days to maturity" or "days to harvest" listed. Check this against the third column of the chart. This is freeze free days. For example, where I reside, I've got a 90% probability that I'll get 100 days above 32 degrees. Looking at the back of my early-bearing pumpkin packet, days to maturity is 95. So I can barely get these guys in. What I generally do is put the young plants out and cover them with plastic for 3 weeks so I can be sure they have enough time to mature. When I lived a mere 18 miles away, but 2,000 feet lower in elevation, I had 139 days. This kind of information can be critical. If looking at charts and trying to calculate days is too confusing, ask at your local garden center. They'll let you know what you can and can't plant and when.
Related topics:High elevation gardeningHow to build cold frames Return from Hardiness Zone to Organic Vegetable Gardening
|
