One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Soldotna you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant chard by using 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 are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Soldotna 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chard indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on May 15 in Soldotna. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Soldotna and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Soldotna you get a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your chard if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Soldotna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

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

Plants to Grow in Soldotna

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