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MHF 2010 Calendar

This useful, full featured, 11 x 17 wall calendar has all the information you need to succussfully time your vegetable plantings and keep track of all your household appointments. Created by Maple Heights Farm to solve the problem of hand writing volumes of gardening reminders into our annual wall calendar. This beautiful calendar is perfect for a kitchen wall where the photos will remind you why you shop for local food!

The proceeds from the sale of this calendar will help us restore our antique 1881 barn.   The price of the calendar is $9.00 with a $3.00 shipping charge.  This extra charge covers $0.50 for the envelope and about $2.50 for USPS mailing fee.  I am looking for a cheaper way to mail this and will adjust the prices when I find one.
 

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Frost Free Dates and the Length of Your Growing Season:

I live in Zone 5 most likely in zone 5b, but close to zone 5a, according to the map.  In zone 5b, the average annual minimum temperature is -10 to -15.  While I do remember some very cold mornings in the negative numbers, I have not experienced too many days over the years that have been near -15 which gives me a bit more confidence that I am, in fact, in zone 5b.  All that tells me is how cold it gets.  While that is very important when I am planting something that I want to survive the winter (asparagus, artichokes and some herbs), it doesn’t tell me much about my vegetables, almost all of which are annuals (except asparagus, artichokes and some herbs).  For that information, I need to know how long my frost-free growing season is.  There are places in Pennsylvania and Missouri that share my zone 5b, but I am quite certain they have a much longer growing season than I do.  That is because the sun warms them in the spring before it warms me!  So, now I must research the date of my last spring freeze and my last spring frost.  The USDA hardiness zone maps do not predict this for me.  You can always check with your Extension Service, but, for those of you that are just going to do what your parents did, I’ll make it easy for you to make sure that they were correct! 

A light freeze occurs when temperatures are between 29�F to 32� -- tender plants killed.  Not much effect on other plants.

A moderate freeze occurs when temperatures are between 25�F to 28� -- destructive to most plants.

A severe freeze is occurs when temperatures are 24�F and below – destructive to everything but the hardiest vegetables (such as kale).

Note that MANY vegetables can be planted outside in the garden long before we experience frost free days.  You will find all that information in the calendar.

To find the most accurate frost free dates for your garden, Google “last frost date garden”.  The best resource I have is the National Climactic Data Center.  Although it doesn’t include any weather stations in my neighborhood, it does include dozens of sites across Massachusetts.  I can estimate based on that. 

 

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