Know your Zone

When my friends ask me for gardening advice, I always ask the same question - When did you plant it? It seems I’m regularly advising people that contrary to the typical Rochester, NY expression, “Don’t plant any vegetables until after Memorial Day”, if you plant the wrong veggie at the wrong time, it will likely fail in some way. This is where Planting Zones come in. Officially known as the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones (https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/).

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which perennial plants are most likely to thrive at a location, AND when annual plants (like most vegetables and many flowers) can be planted. The map is based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature, and allows you to see what the typical temp is day and night on any day of the year.

For instance, Rochester, NY is currently Zone 6b. I say ‘currently’ because, not long ago, we were Zone 6a (which is slightly colder than 6b), but climate change has recently shifted our Zone. Knowing that my garden is in Zone 6b allows me to determine that I can, in fact, plant tomatoes prior to Memorial Day, and that sugar snap peas planted after Memorial Day will definitely not do as well as peas planted in March.

Knowing your planting zone also allows you to read a plant tag.