“June-uary”? Climate Changes Affect Local Gardens

Less need for cold frames for your winter lettuce crop? Tomatoes and eggplants fresh from the garden to your Thanksgiving table?

These are only a few of the changes local gardeners have noticed over the last several years convincing them climate change is upon us.

In fact, suspicions were confirmed last Wednesday, Jan. 25 when the USDA released a new plant hardiness zone map. This map is the standard by which gardeners and growers determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location.

The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature over the past 30 years, divided into 10-degree F zones. Much of our Chesapeake Bay region including lower Delaware is now in a warmer zone which in the past had only gone as far north as Tidewater, VA. For example, many areas of Virginia and Maryland are now in Zone 7. Prior to the map change, these states were in the colder Zone 6, along with much of the Appalachian piedmont.

Not only does this impact a longer growing season for fruits and vegetables, but it also provides longer bloom time for garden natives into late fall and an earlier flowering of spring bulbs.

However, the new USDA zone map is only a guide and each garden site should also take into account the affect of nearby buildings, soil drainage and other factors that affect plant success. The map does not indicate rainfall and is not used to officially track climate change.

This weather change provided fresh picked sage, rosemary and thyme harvested out the kitchen door for our New Year’s dinner.