growing degree days

Here is your Growing Degree Day (GDD) summary ending June 30, 2022. As we turn the page into a new month, the information will be compiled from the months previous. And as always, you can monitor the site more regularly, and compare years by using the summary icon on the webpage.

Here is your Growing Degree Day (GDD) summary ending May 31, 2022.

Here is your Growing Degree Day (GDD) summary ending April 30, 2022. While the calendar says it is spring, our actual outdoor experiences made have said otherwise. We have enjoyed some record breaking summer-like temperatures, but on the flip slide, snow flakes were still flying in April. Hopefully now that it is officially May, things will change - who are we kidding, it is Ohio. Stay tuned for these year-to-date summaries each month in 2022.

Here is your Growing Degree Day (GDD) summary ending March 31, 2022. While the calendar says it is spring, our actual outdoor experiences made have said otherwise. We have enjoyed some spring-like temperatures, but on the flip slide, snow flakes have been flying in the not so distant past. Hopefully now that it is officially April things will change - who are we kidding, it is Ohio. Stay tuned for these year-to-date summaries each month in 2022.

Here is your Growing Degree Day (GDD) summary ending February 28, 2022. While we have definately had some weather - warming temperatures, accumulating snows, more warm temps and even more snow, this summary includes the months of January and February. Stay tuned for these year-to-date summaries each month in 2022.

Years ago, a Growing Degree Day (GDD) article was a reoccuring staple in what was the weekly Buckeye Yard and Garden Line (BYGL) e-newsletter. While the newsletter evolved into a real time, blog-like, format, GDD information still had a presence as an occasional summary, and of course was included in many of the insect alerts. In 2022, you will be seeing monthly summaries, and we will continue to tie in GDDs into other alerts as well.

So what is your GDD - or growing degree day? Before you reach for a piece a paper, a pencil and a calculator to figure out what your number is, check out the OSU's Growing Degree Day website. This website does the 'math' or the calculations to determine your GDD for you. All you need is an Ohio zipcode. The website uses weather stations across Ohio to determine what the accumulations, and provides visitors their GDD and where they are in a biological calendar of certain plant blooms and insect activity. 

Growing Degree Days (GDD) are a measurement of the growth and development of plants and insects during the growing season. Development does not occur at this time unless the temperature is above a minimum threshold value, or what is also referred to as the base temperature. This base temperature can vary for different organisms and is determined through research and experimentation.

Last month, a BYGL Alert was written as an intro or refresher to growing degree days followed by a second alert, Growing Degree Days (GDD) – Part 2, (March 16, 2020), https://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/1455 . And ealier this week, Joe Boggs authored a BYGL Alert, Observations on Phenology (April 13, 2020), https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1504 highlighting the sequence of plant bloom, insect activity and optimal timing for pest management. 

Earlier this week, a BYGL Alert was written as an intro or refresher to growing degree days, Growing Degree Days (GDD) – What Is Your # , (March 16, 2020). As promised, here is part two.