What you need to know about microclimates and your garden

Q.  What are microclimates and why are they important in gardening?

Gardeners throughout the U.S. should be familiar with the USDA plant hardiness zones which are based on minimum winter temperatures. Most nursery stock and seeds sold in the U.S. are labeled with the USDA hardiness zone range for that plant. Since the USDA system is based only on winter minimum temperatures, its usefulness is limited. If you want to know your USDA zone, see https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/. 

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