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Post by brownrexx on Mar 21, 2015 10:25:07 GMT -5
I can't believe this. I am constantly recommending that people list their zone on their postings and I have been posting mine WRONG for I don't know how long! Duh!
I am in zone 6b NOT 7b.
Here is the USDA website to identify your plant hardiness zone by just entering your zip code:
planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 21, 2015 10:45:38 GMT -5
According to this plant hardiness map it says I am in 5b. Then I looked up last frost date it said April 15th which means last killing frost. But we can have snow up to near end of May. So can I plant tomatoes in the garden April 16th?
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 21, 2015 10:58:58 GMT -5
April 16 would be an AVERAGE last frost date so there will be a certain % probability of having days above average and a certain % probability having of days below average.
You can always give April 16 a try but then you will have to constantly watch for those nights when frost can happen and protect the plants by covering them just like we do in the Fall.
Here's a chart of the probability of frost on certain dates by zip code:
davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 21, 2015 11:02:24 GMT -5
I have been collecting the plastic milk containers that I could put over them for the while that might happen. I have never planted them so early before but worth experimenting. I might try it with a few this first year and see what happens.
I tried a really early one last year for comparison and I found that although it didn't die, it just sat there and didn't grow either. The ones I put out 2 weeks later grew just as big and produced tomatoes on the exact same day.
Let us know how yours turns out. It's always fun to experiment.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 21, 2015 11:03:47 GMT -5
Pea, we typed over each other. Look up at my updated posting. I added a chart of frost dates by zip code.
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Post by OregonRed on Mar 21, 2015 11:04:07 GMT -5
the zip code I entered for here says I'm 8b, that's a bit warm for here, maybe on a good year... (this is shaping up to be a good year)
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 21, 2015 11:16:36 GMT -5
On my Mac it said ERROR 404, File Not Found
Anyway, I did look that up earlier. Thx tho.
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Post by desertwoman on Mar 21, 2015 11:34:06 GMT -5
Here in the Santa Fe area, zone 6b, the last average frost date is listed anytime between May10-26!!
I never put my tomatoes and chiles in the ground before June 1. I've tried earlier, they don't do anything but sit there if the soil and air temps aren't warm enough. The later planted ones do every bit as well and usually pass up the earlier planted ones.
And all if took was a second experience of losing all my starts because I planted right on the average date (which in those days was solidly stated as May 15) to a good frost that arrived May 30 and June 2.
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Post by lisaann on Mar 21, 2015 11:45:16 GMT -5
I still believe and go by the Original Chart without the a's and b's.
And that's what I am sticking with.
That global warming chart does not impress me.
I am Zone 6. Yes indeedy!
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 21, 2015 11:49:09 GMT -5
Yes....there is a difference between a hard freeze and a light frost. I pulled up the farmer's almanac www.almanac.com/content/us-frost-chartand here is what it says there: according to the planting dates chart it says tomatoes go in the ground mid May into June. Also that May 2 was the last frost date in my area.
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Post by claude on Mar 21, 2015 11:59:19 GMT -5
I'm 6a....used to be 5 tomatoes don't go in until Memorial Day unless they have addl protection. Sweet potatoes not until after June 15th. sometimes we can still be harvesting until sept 15th..we have a much shorter season.
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Post by brownrexx on Mar 21, 2015 13:05:00 GMT -5
DW, you and I are in the same zone. I never would have guessed that!
I usually plant my tomatoes outside at the end of May too.
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Post by octave on Mar 21, 2015 13:18:00 GMT -5
No way I am zone 6a! This year we had the coldest winter on record, one morning it was colder here than in the Arctic...
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Post by wheelgarden1 on Mar 21, 2015 13:44:06 GMT -5
I like the subdivision of zones, at least as it pertains to zone 7 in my part of the country. Here in N. Georgia the mountainous regions with cooler temps and later last-frost dates are 7a, while valley and plains regions (like mine) are 7b. There is quite a distinct difference in climate between the two. My next-door neighbors are from zone 7 (a&b) Oregon and they often remark about the similar climate here and there, although there's more summer heat and humidity here, a bit more cloudy and rainy there. Zone 7 is a remarkable zone --- snakes east-to-west from Maryland, dips south, crosses the lower Midwest, then shoots up to the Pacific Northwest into British Columbia.
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Post by gridgardener on Mar 21, 2015 13:46:48 GMT -5
except for winter crops usda zone is basically useless since is not helpful with vegetables since all zone tells you is the coldest winter temps on average.
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