One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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 making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant thyme is to consult the USDA zone info for Woodstock.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

Thyme do well in quite a bit of cold which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Woodstock 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. If you wait any later than that and your thyme may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your thyme indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in Woodstock. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Woodstock is just an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Woodstock you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your thyme in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Woodstock

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Woodstock

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