I live in Zone 6a/5b

I live in zone 6a/5b up here on the Northern coast of Ohio just east of Cleveland. This means Zone 5's average dates for the last frost are 30 March to 30 April Average dates the first frost - 30 September to 30 October.

Zone 6 Average dates the last frost - 30 Mach to 30 April Average dates the first frost - 30 September to 30 October.

So, I'm already behind. Good thing we are going with plant statrs this year on most things. :)

Gardeners need a way to compare their garden climates with the climate where a plant is known to grow well. That's why climate zone maps were created. Zone maps are tools that show where various permanent landscape plants can adapt. If you want a shrub, perennial, or tree to survive and grow year after year, the plant must tolerate year-round conditions in your area, such as the lowest and highest temperatures and the amount and distribution of rainfall.

April 2009: Pre-cleanup raised garden beds

Over the past decade I have used the squarefoot gardening method and liked it. However, I didn't want to build my raised beds out of treated wood and contaminate my veggies so these raised beds need to be rebuilt about every 4 to 5 years and this year we just can not afford it because of the economy.

We are going to be eliminating the three center raised beds and tilling a regular garden into that area of the yard.