Understanding Your Gardening Zone or Hardiness Zone: Vegetable Garden Planning!
The United States and the rest of the world are divided up in many ways. The gardening zone or hardiness zone is on way. This is just two ways of saying the same thing which is what is the average annual low temperature of the area in which you live.
This is important because it helps you decide what perennial plants (plants that come back every year) you can grow in your area based on whether or not they can survive the cold of your winters. It may be perennial flowers, perennial vegetables (like asparagus) or fruit trees or vines.
Each plant can only survive a specific amount of cold or (typically) freeze through the winter season. For instance I can grow apple trees but not orange trees. Grapes and asparagus will come back every year in my garden. I have a kiwi vine that comes back every year (but it has not fruited). Understanding your zone will make your garden more successful. Fig trees are another garden plant that are zone specific.
I am in Maryland Garden/Hardiness Zone 7. My video explains the zones in more detail and it talks about cool and warm season crops. Your hardiness zone will let you know what will survive the annual low temperatures of you area and give you an idea on how to time the planting of many garden vegetables.
Each zone also has its routine of spring, summer, fall and winter. This is something you see and experience. Most vegetables can be planted during your warm times because they are annual plants. You plant them, they grow and you harvest vegetables. When the cold comes, they die and you start again come spring.
When you are buying plants that come back year after year (perennials), plant tags often tell you which hardiness zone they are best suited, for best growth. You can look up your hardiness zone here if you want: USDA Hardiness Zone Finder.
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