Figuring growing degree days: hard and easy

For those who love arithmetic, you can work out the number of growing degree days by figuring the cumulative average of the daily minimum and maximum temperatures in Celsius and dividing by two. As the days pass, add up the result of each day’s calculation. The result is the number of growing degrees that season.

For those with less time to push a pencil, click onto a website like http://turf.wisc.edu/growing-degree-day-maps/primo-trimmit-re-application-intervals/ which will do the work for you. Other resources include the several university and commercial websites which work the averages for your specific area. A good one is the University of Wisconsin’s program at turf.wisc.edu.