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Question for Farmers, Gardeners, etc.

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posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 08:31 PM
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I was wondering, with all the talk about global warming , global cooling, & climate change in the past few years, why haven't the growing zones changed?

I live in Zone 9, but with the harsh winter we just had here, shouldn't we be changed to zone 8?

Maybe they want our plants to fail?
Maybe it's too complicated to change?


Have any of you bought plants for a different growing zone other than the one you live?

I'd love some feed back on this.

Thanks & take care everyone!


[edit on 9-4-2010 by Afterthought]



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 08:37 PM
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No I have not changed anything. This year we had a long cold winter, so I waited till Apr.1 to start my garden...some years are earlier, some later. Here in NC, many people won't start until after Easter.

I will have to see a decided and definite weather change over several years consistantly to consider a change. I'm 47 and have seen Xmas at 65 degrees, and I have seen snow on 1st day of May. In 2000, we had a week of 60-70 degree days, and a week later...2 feet of snow.



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 08:42 PM
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reply to post by AlreadyGone
 


Thanks for your input. Here in Florida, our weather is really screwed up. Our rainy season is pretty much non-existant. I remember coming here to visit my grandparents when I was 10 & it would rain every afternoon around 4, then quit after a half hour or so. Anymore, it's so hot & dry that I can't even keep my plants watered enough. Very dusty soil conditions, too!



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 08:58 PM
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reply to post by Afterthought
 

I did not know any zones have been changed. Have they?
I don't have many varieties of plants or seeds and it's too early to tell
but I think the changes may affect many crops and ornamentals. Here
in Florida the weather has been a little cooler than it was t his time last
year I think. Actually many areas can get frost ( maybe not here )
up until the last part of April. Some around here say it used to get cold
and stay cold here until spring. They said something about the water being
warmer and that we could have more intense? storms ( hurricanes ) or
perhaps just more of them in 2010.
I think they blame elnino or lanina for these
changes but that would not explain some things going on. Some things
might even grow better than before ( things that once a person would
not have planted using their zone and soil as a guideline ). With all these
changes I would suspect that all could look good for awhile until some
unexpected weather front occured caused by any number of things.
( IE: numerous volcanic eruptions could trigger cooler temps )
Changes might include changes in the insect number and kind as well.
Just a thought.
I'm just working early as possible in case it does get hotter than blazes.



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 09:06 PM
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No change in Ohio. Alot of us plant on good friday every year. Garden does well every year. Global warming is a scam. Global climate change is just a way to frighten people by giving weather patterns a scary name.



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 09:22 PM
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reply to post by AlreadyGone
 


Like AlreadyGone said nothing really changes for the gardeners and farmers. The USDA hardiness zone map is just an average of low temperatures from what I understand. So because of that it may be outdated like you asked. This is because it was last updated in 1990. So I say the USDA could be held responsible for lost crops in 2011 if they don't update the 20 year old growing guide,



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 10:12 PM
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funny you bring this up.

i don't have first-hand knowledge because i'm not a gardener, but my parents, who live in central virginia and my aunts and uncles (i have 22; 2 of which own a commercial wholesale nursery) who are in the georgia/south carolina area have been talking on and on for years about how things are different from when they grew up (all in central west georgia).

they mostly talk about how the growing season for a certain thing is much more narrow. or how you have to try and fool something into growing earlier because if you planted it when you used to, it wouldn't work.

i wish i had the details. i just visited them recently and helped them in the garden and they mentioned they weren't growing something this year because it didn't work anymore.

my parents also raise and cultivate irises and they've thrown out the rulebook for blooming season because it can fluctuate so much.

interesting post. makes me want to visit an ats-like gardening board and see a consensus.



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 10:23 PM
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reply to post by beaverg
 


I didn't know that it was updated then. Thanks for the info!
Should I retain an attorney now, or wait?



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 10:24 PM
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reply to post by Hadrian
 


My sister lives in Northern VA. Do you recall what wouldn't grow anymore for them?



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 10:39 PM
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reply to post by Afterthought
 


No, like I said, I don't remember. But I just shot them off an e-mail. I'll see if they have anything to say.



posted on Apr, 9 2010 @ 10:43 PM
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reply to post by Hadrian
 


Thanks for sending them an email. Keep me posted. I do really like your idea of a garden forum!



posted on Apr, 10 2010 @ 12:50 AM
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I don't really grow any fruits or veggies (soil is extraordinarily lousy on my property, even fertilizer and topsoil doesn't help) but I do have lots of flowers and herbs. Where I live (which is still considered to be zone 6, some eastern/southern parts of the state are in zone 7, though) it is generally advised that one should wait until the day of the Preakness horse race to plant tender vegetables outside. That is usually around May 15th, though some crops can be planted earlier than that. That is also considered to be the last date in which a frost can occur.

I have seen years where (like last fall) my plants will stay green and keep on blooming until nearly Thanksgiving in November (my asters were still going strong then), but I have also seen years where there are killing frosts very early, in late September and early October. Also, it can also depend on where you have your plants planted and if you provide some sort of protection for them from cold. That will give an artificial extension on growing time, of course. I planted some oregano in my back yard three years ago, and Oregano is a herb that is considered an annual and dies off at first hard frost. But yet that oregano keeps coming back. The two winters before this past one were mild, but this past winter has been bone chillingly cold. The herb survived temps near 0 degrees F because I left the cover of fall leaves on top of it all winter, + there was a ton of snow that protected it for weeks.

I just go by the current zones when buying plants and plan on planting things as I always have.



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