Useful Link: Growing Degree Day Maps

Faithful readers of this blog, all five of you including two inmates in a Hungarian penitentiary, know that I'm about as big into phenology as one could be. See?

Plants grow best at temperatures above 50 degrees. So, instead of looking at the calendar to see where your plants should be, it's better to see how often it's been above 50 degrees. Enter: the growing degree day, a rough calculation of how much the weather has been above 50. It's a useful indicator for gardeners because plants bloom, insects emerge, and celebrities wither at set phenological times. For instance, dandelions first flower at about 50 growing degree days, lilacs at about 238. (Kiddos - enter your phenological data here. Don't mention it to your friends. You'll surely remain dateless at prom if you do.)

Starting last year, all updates on this here "world wide web log" were keyed to GDDs, setting up comparisons (and fodder) for this year's posts.

The link below generates maps GDD across the county, allowing New Englanders to obtain a graphical representation of some of their poorer horticultural decisions as they covet gardens of warmer climes. GDD Maps.

Sources: U. Mass., U. Wisc. Penn St., Project Bud Burst