What and when to plant in your backyard garden

Now that you have a basic understanding of soil and proper fertilization what is the next step? Many gardeners like to rototill their garden in the early spring to mix in compost, kill pesky weeds and prepare the soil for new plants. When picking plants, it’s important to know what growing region (USDA Plant Hardiness Zones) you are located in. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone is designed to let gardeners and agricultural producers classify their specific area based on the minimum average winter temperature accumulated over decades of climate data. Idaho’s USDA Plant Hardiness Zones range from zones 3 thru 7. In Elmore County, we are in Zones 5b-6a according to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov. These maps are guides for the public, but keep in mind weather may widely fluctuate between years and freak occurrences do happen, much like the old saying “don’t like the weather in Idaho, wait 5 minutes”.

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