Gardening & Farming
Agriculture is a top industry in Virginia with an estimated $70 billion to the economy annually. Virginia has nearly 44,800 farms spreading across nearly 8.1 million acres of land. Weather plays a critical role in the success of farming and gardening. We’ve put together a list of seasonal links that may be helpful.
The U.S. Drought monitor is issued each Thursday morning and is compiled from rainfall up to the Tuesday before the report. [MORE: State Drought Monitor]
Soil moisture is the water that is held in the spaces between soil particles. Surface soil moisture is the water that is in the upper 4 inches of soil, whereas root zone soil moisture is the water that is available to plants, which is generally considered to be in the upper 6 feet of soil.
Selecting appropriate planting dates is a critical component of successful gardening. Below are some links that you may find helpful when planning when to plant your garden.
- Download Planting Chart from Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension Office
- Planting guide from the National Gardening Association
- Average High, Low and Precipitation by month
- Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension Office Resources: Lawn & Garden | Home Vegetable Gardening |
FROST & FREEZE
FROST can occur when the “surface” air temperature (officially measured at 5 or so feet above ground) is below 36°, however, the air near the ground may be below 32°. Several weather factors that encourage frost formation are clear skies, moisture, and calm or light winds.
FREEZE occurs when the surface air temperature falls to/below 32°. Frost may or may not form,
- Light freeze (between 29°-32°) can kill tender plants.
- Moderate freeze (28°-25°), sometimes called a hard freeze, can cause wide destruction to most plants.
- Severe freeze (Below 24°), often called a killing freeze, causes heavy damage to most plants. Very few can survive a severe freeze.
|NEAREST CLIMATE STATION||ALTITUDE||LAST SPRING FROST||FIRST FALL FROST||AVG. GROWING SEASON|
|Roanoke||1174′||APR 15||OCT 21||188 DAYS|
|Lynchburg||741′||APR 27||OCT 14||169 DAYS|
|Bedford||974′||APR 16||OCT 22||188 DAYS|
|Danville||410′||APR 14||OCT 27||195 DAYS|
|Galax||2385′||MAY 5||OCT 4||151 DAYS|
|Blacksburg||2099′||MAY 5||OCT 3||150 DAYS|
|New Castle||1190′||APR 21||OCT 19||180 DAYS|
|Covington||1230′||MAY 3||OCT 9||158 DAYS|
|Lexington||1125′||MAY 3||OCT 10||159 DAYS|
|Hot Springs||2237′||MAY 6||OCT 5||151 DAYS|
Last and first frost dates are 30% probability. Calculated using 1981-2010 Climate Normals.
PLANTING BY THE MOON
Copyright 2020 WDBJ. All rights reserved.