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Growing Zones 101:
How to find it and why it matters
One of the very first things to know when starting a garden is what growing zone you’re in.
I’ve said it before, but I believe that anyone can garden wherever they live. And by garden I don’t just mean vegetable gardening. I don’t even have a vegetable garden right now. By garden I mean grow a living plant. Indoors, outdoors, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, trees… the list goes on and on. It all counts as gardening.
If you want to garden outside, one of the very first things to know before you start planting things outside is what growing zone you live in. Basically a map is broken up into climate areas grouped into zones. This tells you what plants will grow best in your general climate based on temperature. It’s important because some plants won’t survive if it’s too cold or too hot where you live. There are a few ways to find this out but I like this link HERE. Click that link and put in your zip code. It will then tell you your zone. Remember that number and letter! It’s important. I’m in zone 7a.
This site is great because instead of trying to eyeball colors on a fuzzy although widely used MAP, this one just tells you the answer. I like that. If you’re feeling extra ambitious, sign up for a free account. It has so much good info that will most likely come in handy someday.
The other thing a growing zone is good for is knowing your climates planting and harvesting schedule. This is especially helpful if you want to grow food but it is also really important in knowing when to plant and cut certain flowers that will be killed by frost – dahlias specifically.
With this growing zone knowledge that you now have, you can look at any plant tag or seed packet and be able to tell if it will grow well outdoors where you live. If your zone falls in the range on the tag of the plant, you’re golden.
You would think that nursery’s wouldn’t sell plants that don’t do well in the climate they are located in but they do. They can be tricky sometimes. With that being said, I do have a few plants that I put outside in the summer and bring in once it gets too cold at night. I have a lemon tree and a few other citrus plants that do really well with this method. I do use a grow light in the winter but thats another lesson for another day.
HOMEWORK:
Find your growing zone https://garden.org/nga/zipzone/ and write it down on the top of the first page in your notebook along with your first and last frost date. Make a note of this in your phone (notes app) and screen shot it and add it to your photo album labeled “Gardening 101”.
Congrats on passing your first class!
Growing Zones 101 : A+
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. There are SO many gardeners who know a lot more than I do about gardening. BUT – I do know some things and I’m learning more and more every day. When I started out I wish I’d had someone to simply give me the basics and make it easy. There’s so much to know and it became overwhelming very quickly. I hope The Freshman Gardener is helpful. Thanks for being here. xo
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