One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of estimating when it's the best time to plant thyme is to use the USDA zone info for Chariton.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

Frost tolerance for thyme:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant thyme quite a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

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

The last month that you can plant thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your thyme may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your thyme indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Chariton the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Remember that USDA zone info for Chariton is an average and the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Chariton you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Chariton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Chariton

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