The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Escondido you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chard by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chard

Frost tolerance for chard:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Chard do well in mild cold which tells us that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Escondido is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant chard and expect a good harvest is probably October. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Escondido the average date of last frost happens on February 15. It might get as low as 25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Escondido is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Escondido last frost occurs after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chard in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Escondido

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	25°F
Highest Expected Low	30°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 30°F.

Plants to Grow in Escondido

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Escondido.