One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 getting a good idea when to plant chard is to consult the USDA zone info for Baraboo.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do ok in mild cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

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

The last month that you can plant chard and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Baraboo the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -25°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Baraboo is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Baraboo it frosts late in the year after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your chard if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Baraboo

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°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 -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Baraboo

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