Are there plans to include postal code reports in the PDB?

Hi Dave & Terry,

I have another "can we" request: are there any plans to add postal code reports to the PDB? I'd like to be able to report on our plants, and to have them show up in the "Plants grown happily by ...." portion of our member pages. I'd think the info would be particularly useful as we get lower & lower in the zone numbers - to see just how far north a particular plant can go. It's a point of pride for us sometimes! I searched the DG and DG FAQ fora but didn't find this question - is it at all feasible? Or is tying the postal codes to the gardening zones too unwieldy a project at this point? I'd be happy to volunteer some time to this, if that might be useful.

Hope I haven't duplicated a question - any info would be much appreciated. Thanks very much,

Shannon

Hi!
I think that would be a great idea if possible. I see lots of things in the plant database that are listed for higher zones that I know perform wonderfully up here in zone 3a and for my mother up in zone 2a. I think it would be great to have this info. Spklatt is right, it is a point of pride!
thanks!
Brenda

It's just magpye here (another newbie also) ... and I'm not absolutely sure if this addresses your question/requests to Dave or Terry . . . .

But ... I do believe that you folks may possibly be in reference to something such as this (below) .. of which .. is a feature presently available in the Plants Database ...

(sorry .. I've not yet learned to use the {quote} feature .. nor currently use any screen capture programs)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Have you had success with this plant? Does this plant grow in your area? If yes, please give us your zipcode (U.S. only) so that other members in your region can benefit from your experience.

International postal codes will likely be done one day in the future, but it might not be for many many years.

dave

... (with goofy, but cunning grin) ...

... Whoops!! ...

I definitely need to learn to notice such stuffs ...
(but, mah big ol heart was in the right place - jes mah wee brain twernt!!)

Please fergive me folks!? .. and, excuse mah error Dave!?

Thanks, Dave. If it would help at all, I'm certainly willing to volunteer time in terms of getting postal code data from Canada Post, or whatever other particularly Canadian info might help. If it ever becomes a possibility in the future, please keep my name in mind - I anticipate being a lifetime subscriber of DG if you'll have me! :-) This postal code request is definitely in the "icing on the cake" category - this website is far and away the best I've ever seen, in its wealth of data & functions combined with ease of use.

Thanks, Magpye....yep, we're talking about the good ol' Canadian postal codes eg. J8Y 1K3 (mine) - they aren't linked up in the PDB yet, but maybe someday soon. We just like to see who can get a plant to grow the furthest north! And encourage each other. It's kind of a pride-from-shared-adversity thing sometimes. BTW, Thanksgiving in Canada is this Monday, 11 Oct - hope everyone has a great long weekend!

Cheers,
Shannon

What I need is a database that maps all postal codes to the following information:

Postal Code
City
Province (if applicable)
Country (there are hundreds)
Latitude and Longitude (that's the biggy)
Timezone (and daylight savings time) would be nice.

I require these before I can move forward. It will be at least many years before the world gets this together; everyone seems to want this for so many applications, but the ISO doesn't seem motivated enough to get it done.

dave

Dave this site looks like it might have the information you are looking for: http://www.greatdata.com/canadapostal.php

I don't know how much it will cost tho'. :S

Great link, Pam - thanks. Maybe we wouldn't need ISO...looks like the Canadian postal codes with the latitude/longitude and time zone add-ons would cost US$850. I'd be willing to add the city/rural route myself, given a bit of time.

The database would likely not be needed every year....once every ten years, maybe. I'd pay a surcharge of a few bucks on my membership renewal for that, if enough other people were interested. Anyway I'll leave it out there for general discussion.