Zone, so what?

[Gary350]

I see a lot of posts that say, I am in zone 6. I am in zone 11. I am in zone 45. My next door neighbor is in zone 3 1/2 and I'm in zone 9. How does a person know what zone they are in and what difference does it make. When my soil drys out it is as hard as the cement driveway, August is 100+ degrees for a month with no rain at all, spring is 50 degrees with 2 months of non stop rain, elevation is 800 ft, what zone is that? Maybe I am in the Twilight Zone.

[!potatoes!]

USDA hardiness zones are more about perennial stuff/trees than veggies - it refers to the average lowest temperature hit in winter...there's a relationship there with how early/late frosts can be expected, but that's not really tied that closely to the zone 'rating'...

don't know about these 'sunset zones' I keep seeing referred to, I reckon some californ's could help with that one.

edit: here's a basic (wide-view) map I found with a quick look - I'm sure you could google-up something that closes in on your area a bit closer:
https://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/usda_hardiness_map.jpg

[cynthia_h]

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9595

why I can plant broccoli raab in November and pick it in February but had all kinds of trouble with eggplant last year, just as a for-instance.

Sunset zones are much more finely drawn and specific to the grower than the USDA Hardiness zones, which personally I've found to be of little use.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[!potatoes!]

I'm renting, and have a lot of shrubs and trees in pots...it has been handy to know how cold the coldest will be from a protection standpoint, as everything can handle a slightly different thing...but I can definitely see how more specific information could be helpful, as the hardiness zones don't really stick to bioregions very well at all.

[farmers tan]

If you have a county extension office you can call them and ask what zone you are in. In some areas there is are A zones and B zones. You can also ask the extension office the average minium temp. (this will make a difference for plants that are very temperature sensitive and have damage that will occur below a certain temp.), the last frost date, and they can even tell you the average temperature for the months, rainfall, etc. I have found my extension office to be a great resource. They also know the area well and can recommend plants that will thrive in that area. You should be able to do an internet search for the extension office in your county to find the phone no.