Tag Archives: USDA Planting Zones

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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Click the link below to check if your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone assignment has changed; search by zip code. Half of the USA has been reclassified. In 1990 Ashland Oregon was Zone 7b: 5°F to 10°F, but in 2023 Ashland is now Zone 8a 10°F to 15°F. Knowing your zone is important for plant survival in your area.

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/

Below is a link to ‘A Way To Garden’ interview with Todd Rounsaville, USDA horticulturist and research scientist, where he explains this new USDA Zone map.

new usda plant hardiness zone map, with todd rounsaville

Below is a link to an Interesting 2018 article from Yale Environment 360 on how fast climate zones are shifting.

https://e360.yale.edu/features/redrawing-the-map-how-the-worlds-climate-zones-are-shifting

USDA Planting Zones

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To success in gardening, it’s important to know YOUR garden’s  USDA planting zone.
Every region has micro-climates, so they have different zones, for example:

Medford, Oregon is USDA Zone 8a, 10°F to 15°F
Ashland, Oregon is USDA Zone 7b, 5°F to 10°F

You can check your area with this interactive map, click on your city and the zone pops up.

http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-oregon-usda-plant-zone-hardiness-map.php

Always check USDA Zone on plants at the nursery, before you buy.

Sow Right!

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Spring is here, can I plant my seeds?

seed packet001

Fordhook Zucchini

Planting vegetable seeds depends on your last
average frost date and the temperature of your soil.

Your growing season,  which is determined by first frost (fall) and last frost (spring),  is the amount of time vegetables in your garden have to ripen before a fall frost.

For example:  Medford, Oregon, Zone 8a, Average Frost Dates  Spring 4/25, Fall 10/20. Average growing season 6 months
but Ashland, only 11 mile away…
Ashland, Oregon Zone 7b,                         Average Frost Date Spring  5/15, Fall 10/15. Average growing season  5 months

Check your local Extension Service for frost dates and USDA Zone.
Each zone has different planting schedules for different plants and your local extension service will have this information – often it’s online.  Then check the back of your seed packets. It tells you when to direct sow and days to harvest.

Check Page 7 of the Oregon State University pamphlet Growing Your Own for “Dates for planting vegetables in Oregon”. It’s a very handy booklet.
OSU Booklet_Growing Your Own

Soil Temperatures for Germination:  Soil Temps PDF

 

 

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