- Zone
- 7b/8a
Whenever we (myself included) meet a new gardener online, especially those who are looking for help, the first question is usually "what zone are you in?".
We've all been told that knowing you're in zone 7b, or 8a, is the key to success. But as I've learned over the last few years, the USDA map really only tells you one thing, which is how cold it gets in the winter. It doesn't tell you a lick about the things that actually kill our plants in the summer.
For those of you joining us from outside the southwest, I wanted to start a thread to talk about the "other" defining factors for your region.
First/Last Frost Dates: Your zone tells you the "minimum" temp, but it doesn't tell you when your growing season starts or ends.
Humidity & Rainfall: This is a big one for disease. A "zone 7 garden" in the desert is a completely different animal than a "zone 7 garden" in the swampy southeast.
Where are you gardening from?
Drop your city/state and your USDA zone below but also, more importantly, tell us the one thing about your region that the maps don't show. Is it the wind? The humidity? The rocks?
Let's see how diverse our "general region" gardeners really are.
We've all been told that knowing you're in zone 7b, or 8a, is the key to success. But as I've learned over the last few years, the USDA map really only tells you one thing, which is how cold it gets in the winter. It doesn't tell you a lick about the things that actually kill our plants in the summer.
For those of you joining us from outside the southwest, I wanted to start a thread to talk about the "other" defining factors for your region.
The 3 Things Your USDA Zone Doesn't Tell You:
Heat Zones: You can be in zone 8 in Texas and zone 8 in the pacific northwest. One is a humid furnace, and the other is a cool mist. The plant tag says it'll survive in zone 8, but it'll actually scorch in the Texas sun.First/Last Frost Dates: Your zone tells you the "minimum" temp, but it doesn't tell you when your growing season starts or ends.
Humidity & Rainfall: This is a big one for disease. A "zone 7 garden" in the desert is a completely different animal than a "zone 7 garden" in the swampy southeast.
Where are you gardening from?
Drop your city/state and your USDA zone below but also, more importantly, tell us the one thing about your region that the maps don't show. Is it the wind? The humidity? The rocks?
Let's see how diverse our "general region" gardeners really are.
