When to Plant Chard in Muscle Shoals, AL

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.

You can estimate when it's the best time to plant chard in Muscle Shoals 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.

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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant chard
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant chard
Probably not a good time to plant chard

The earliest that you can plant chard in Muscle Shoals 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 chard and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and 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

In Muscle Shoals the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Muscle Shoals and it is different every year. Since half of the time in Muscle Shoals you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your chard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Muscle Shoals

Here is the info for USDA Zone 7b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low5°F
Highest Expected Low10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 10°F.

Plants to Grow in Muscle Shoals

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Muscle Shoals.