Last updated 22 June 2005
This page summarizes information received in answer to a question posed by Jon Bosak on the FL-PERMACULTURE mailing list 21 May 2005. The following people responded:
Daniel Cook
Craig Cramer
f. d. crow
Joel Gagnon
Marty Hiller
Pat Meadows
Margaret McCasland
Rebekah Rice
Micheal Wheeler
According to the USDA Hardiness Zone map at
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/weather/zones.html [CC]
most of Tompkins County is in Zone 5a, with the northern edge in Zone 5b.
In practice, the Zone varies by the microclimate, ranging from 4 in colder valleys to 6 in protected spots near the lake. There is a piece on microclimates at the Cornell Gardening resource website:
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/weather/microcli.html [CC]
The effective zone depends partly on wind patterns and orientation to the sun. There may be some warmth from the lake [MH]. Downtown Ithaca has parts that are Zone 6, getting heat leaks from dense buildings, warmth from the lake, etc. There may be microclimates that are 7 downtown, but nowhere else [MM].
Min-max thermometers are invaluable for determining the actual conditions for a given location. It's best to buy for a full growing zone colder than the area averages out to be [fdc].
Safest is to grow nothing but Zone 4-hardy plants, even though the area is theoretically in Zone 5 [PM]. It is possible to have an entire month in this area where the temperatures never rise above -26 F [fdc, PM]. We hit minus 29 in the winter of 91-92 [JG]. Even the Zone 5 hardy varieties are susceptible to extreme weather; we should err on the side of hardy plants [MM].
The long-term climate in the area is hard to predict because of global warming, which could raise the temperature to Zone 6 or 7, or (if the Gulf Stream is weakened) drop it to Zone 4 or 3. In choosing trees, it might be best to concentrate on the hardiest varieties and let go of the desire for the ones that are stretching to make it here [MH].
It's not that the trees can't withstand winter so much as the timing of freezes and blooming [RC].
In Northern PA, peaches and apricot trees will survive, but they will not fruit because late frosts kills the buds. We can have frosts as late as mid-June [PM].
The Zone number only tells you one thing: and that is (the USDA's idea of) the average minimum winter temperature you can expect (and that not very accurately). But there are other factors, as well, involved in what fruit you can/cannot grow:
In Schuyler County at 1535 feet, the following are not a problem to grow [DC]:
blackberries
red raspberries
black raspberries
In Tioga County, PA, south of Ithaca but at a higher elevation, blackberries and black raspberries are winter-killed, but the following will grow [PM]:
red raspberries
rhubarb
blueberries
jostaberries
currants
gooseberries
hardy kiwi - the VERY hardy kind - Actinidia kolomikta
Organic farms in Tompkins and adjacent counties grow the following.
Tompkins County Organic Farm Products
apples
barley
beef
blueberries
buckwheat
clover seed
field corn
field peas
flowers
garlic
hairy vetch seed
hay
herbs
mixed veg
oats
pasture
pears
plums
raspberries
rye
small grains
soybeans
straw
strawberries
sunchokes
Cayuga County Organic Farm Products
alfalfa
apples
asparagus
barley (winter and spring)
beets
blueberries
brussels sprouts
buckwheat
cherries
currants
dairy
dry beans
elderberries
field corn
garlics
grapes
greens
hay
herbs
mixed veg
oats
onions, heirloom
pears
plums
potatoes
raspberries
rhubarb
rye
shallots
soybeans
strawberries
tomatoes
Cortland County Organic Farm Products
apricots
asparagus
barley
beef
black and red currants
blueberries
bosch and bartlett pears
cherries
dairy
field corn
garlic
gooseberries
gourds
greens
hay
herbs
hops
horseradish
jerusalem artichokes
mixed veg
onions
peaches
pears
plums
potatoes
rhubarb
rye
strawberries
sweet corn
triticale
Schuyler County Organic Farm Products
barley
clover
field corn
field peas
grapes
hay
legumes
pasture
soybeans
timothy
triticale
St. Lawrence Nurseries [RR, PM, MW]
325 State Highway 345
Potsdam, NY 13676
315-265-6739
trees@sln.potsdam.ny.us
http://www.sln.potsdam.ny.us/
Miller Nurseries [PM]
5060 West Lake Road
Canandaigua, NY 14424-8904
1-800-836-9630
info@millernurseries.com.
http://www.millernurseries.com/
Oikos Tree Crops
P.O. Box 19425
Kalamazoo MI 49019-0425
269-624-6233 (Phone)
269-624-4019 (Fax)
Oak24@aol.com
http://oikostreecrops.com/
Edible Landscaping [PM]
361 Spirit Ridge Ln.
Afton, VA 22920
info@ediblelandscaping.com
http://www.eat-it.com
NYSDEC Saratoga Tree Nursery
2369 Route 50
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 581-1439
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dlf/privland/nursery/
Lee Reich, Uncommon Fruit for Every Garden [PM]
Mel Bartholomew, Square Foot Gardening [PM]
Eliot Coleman, Four Season Harvest [PM, JB]
Nancy Bubel, New Seed Starter's Handbook [PM]
This is a place to put miscellaneous more-or-less related stuff until such time as I reorganize the entire page.
More Recommended ReadingFrom my own inexpert research, not corroborated by anyone else on the list.
John W. Bartok, Greenhouses for Homeowners and Gardeners (Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES) Cooperative Extension, Ithaca)More data for Tompkins County (precise, from tables)
Cornell Guide to Growing Fruit at Home (Cornell Cooperative Extension Information Bulletin 156, Revised Edition)
Degree-days (55 °F base), Ithaca: 4023 (Bartok, adapted from American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc., Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning Guide, 1956)
More data for Tompkins County (rough, from maps)Winter outside design temperature ("an average of the coldest days of the year"): Between 0 and +10 °F (Bartok, no source given)
USDA first fall frost dates: Between 9/30 and 10/10 (Coleman, USDA)
Mean annual number of days minimum temperature 32 °F and below: Between 120 and 150 (Coleman, no source given)
Average depth of frost penetration, 1899-1938: > 30 inches (Coleman, from "unofficial sources")