How Does Daylight Saving Time Impact Your Gardening Schedule?

Daylight saving time is that annual event that mildly disorients our collective understanding of what time the sun should set for a few weeks. While it is often associated with longer days, it also has a significant impact on gardening schedules, presenting some challenges and opportunities in planning, planting, and maintaining both your indoor and outdoor plants. While there is an ongoing association of farmers and daylight saving time, leaving many to assume there's natural benefits associated with plant care, many farmers actually resisted the practice when it was introduced. Why? Because you can't set nature to a clock. And while it has a lot of impacts on your gardening schedule — some that are pretty obvious — they aren't all positive.

The most blatant impact daylight saving time has on gardening is the extra hour of sunlight it provides in the evening. Since the time of day you water your plants matters, once you figure out the best schedule, it's not always easy to adjust. During daylight saving time, the sun will rise an hour later, which means morning chores can be hindered by the lack of light. That could force you to adjust your watering schedule to a slightly later time in the morning to avoid watering in the dark. If you typically do other important gardening work, like pruning, weeding, or harvesting plants, those activities may also need to shift to the evening. This is all to help prevent temperature fluctuations when the clock changes and ensure healthy plants as they adjust to the changes in light exposure.

One good tip for growing a healthy garden is knowing that daylight saving time doesn't just affect outdoor plants. If you have an indoor garden, the time change could also impact your routine. For instance, you may need to adjust when you open your curtains to let in natural light, or when you turn on the grow lights you use to keep your indoor plants thriving in low light corners of your home. It's no secret that making sure your indoor plants get enough light can be a challenge and the change in daylight hours might mean your plants are getting light at different times of the day. That's why it's important for you to optimize when you let that light in.

Daylight saving time also influences the behavior of pollinators that contribute to a healthy garden. Bees, butterflies and other insects may be active for longer periods of the day, potentially leading to more successful pollination. However, this is usually pretty gradual, and there is some research that suggests it may have more to do with the climate than with the shift in daylight hours. No matter how you look at it, it's important to be even more diligent with your plants' care around daylight saving time and track how the time change impacts their overall health. While it may seem like a minor disruption, it is definitely another variable to consider in the process. Knowing how to adjust may just help you extend the growing season in your garden.