Growing season

A season is a division of the year marked

by changes in weather, ecology, and the
amount of daylight. The growing season
is that portion of the year in which local
conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature,
daylight) permit normal plant growth.
While each plant or crop has a specific
growing season that depends on its
genetic adaptation, growing seasons can
generally be grouped into macro-
environmental classes.
Map of average growing season length from
"Geography of Ohio," 1923

Geography
Geographic conditions have major
impacts on the growing season for any
given area. Latitude is one of the major
factors in the length of the growing
season. The further from the equator one
goes, the angle of the Sun gets lower in
the sky. Consequently, sunlight is less
direct and the low angle of the Sun
means that soil takes longer to warm
during the spring months, so the growing
season begins later. The other factor is
altitude, with high elevations having
cooler temperatures which shortens the
growing season compared with a low-
lying area of the same latitude.

Season extension
In agriculture, season extension is
anything that allows a crop to be
cultivated beyond its normal outdoor
growing season. Examples include
greenhouses, polytunnels, row cover, and
cloches.
Locations

North America …

The continental United States ranges

from 49° north at the US-Canadian border
to 25° north at the southern tip of the US-
Mexican border. Most populated areas of
Canada are below the 55th parallel. North
of the 45th parallel, the growing season
is generally 4–5 months, beginning in
late April or early May and continuing to
late September-early October, and is
characterized by warm summers and
cold winters with heavy snow. South of
the 35th parallel, the growing season is
year-round in many areas with hot
summers and mild winters. Cool season
crops such as peas, lettuce, and spinach
are planted in fall or late winter, while
warm season crops such as beans and
corn are planted in late winter to early
spring. In the desert Southwest, the
growing season effectively runs from
October to March as the summer months
are characterized by extreme heat and
arid conditions, making it inhospitable for
plants not adapted to this environment.

Certain crops such as tomatoes and

melons originated in subtropical or
tropical regions, consequently they
require hot weather and a growing
season of eight months or more. In
colder climate areas where they cannot
be directly sowed in the ground, these
plants are usually started indoors in a
greenhouse and transplanted outside in
late spring or early summer.

Europe …

The Pyrenees and Alps effectively divide

Europe into two different regions. The
Mediterranean, which is below the 45th
parallel, has growing seasons of six
months or more and is characterized by
hot summers and mild winters.
Precipitation mainly falls between
October and March, with the summer
being dry. In the southern Mediterranean,
the growing season is year-round.
Mediterranean vegetation is often
evergreen due to the mild winters.

Northern Europe ranges from the 45th

parallel up past the Arctic Circle. The
growing seasons are shorter due to the
lower angle of the Sun and generally
range from five months to as little as
three in Scandinavia and Russia. The
Atlantic coast of Europe is moderated
considerably by humid ocean air, thus
winters are mild and it is rare to see
freezing weather or snow. Summers are
also mild and as a consequence, many
heat-loving plants such as corn will not
grow in northern Europe. Further inland,
away from the ocean, winters become
considerably colder. Despite the short
growing season in Scandinavia and
Russia, the extreme length of daylight
during summer (17 hours or more)
allows plants to put on significant
growth.

Tropics and deserts …

In some warm climates, such as the

tropical savanna climates (Aw), the hot
semi-arid climates (BSh), the hot desert
climates (BWh) or the Mediterranean
climates (Cs), the growing season is
limited by the availability of water, with
little growth in the dry season. Unlike in
cooler climates where snow or soil
freezing is a generally insurmountable
obstacle to plant growth, it is often
possible to greatly extend the growing
season in hot climates by irrigation using
water from cooler and/or wetter regions.
This can in fact go so far as to allow
year-round growth in areas that without
irrigation could only support xerophytic
plants.

In the tropical regions, the growing

season can be interrupted by periods of
heavy rainfall, called the rainy season.
For example, in Colombia, where coffee
is grown and can be harvested year-
round, they don’t see a rainy season.
However, in Indonesia, another large
coffee-producing area, they experience
this rainy season and the growth of the
coffee beans is interrupted.[1]

See also
Frost
Growing degree day
Season
Annual growth cycle of grapevines -
growing season of grapevines
We sow in the wet/rainy season

References
1. "Growing season" . National
Geographic. Retrieved 2 August
 2014.

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