Slow Food CNY

I recently read an article in Hobby Farms magazine about planning a garden. The article mostly discussed different ways to keep charts and store information, however it touched on phenology as a method of timing plantings. I had never heard of this before so I began to look around and inquire more about it. Phenology, for those not in the know, is basically looking at nature to tell you when to plant things instead of the calendar. It is filled with folksy sayings like “When elm leaves are the size of a penny, plant kindney beans if you’ll have any.” I have found myself incredibly attracted to this method and here’s why:

1. I’m a Romantic (yes, that’s a big R). I am inherently more attracted to these colorful folksy sayings. But that’s not the true reason….
2. Climate change. I just don’t trust freeze dates and frost dates anymore. I’ve even heard it said that Syracuse is not actually Zone 5 anymore, but more a Zone 6. This makes me less likely to trust some arbitrary, averaged-out calendar date for plantings. I think it just makes sense to look and see what the land is telling you.

Of course, nothing is without its problems. I’ve looked around a bit online and haven’t found any good books or websites about this. The ones I have found are clumped in with sayings like “Sliver maples show their lining before a storm” which I find less useful for gardening. It seems like the best source for phenology is the Farmer’s Almanac. If anyone has any other recommendations for books, websites, or has had experience using phenology around here in CNY, post your comments!