One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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.

One way of estimating when to plant chard is to consult the USDA zone info for Oneonta.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard tend to make it in mild cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Oneonta 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. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Oneonta. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 5°F.

Remember that USDA zone info for Oneonta is an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Oneonta you get a frost after April 15 so always be ready to protect your chard in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Oneonta

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 Low	5°F
Highest Expected Low	10°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 Oneonta

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