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.

It's possible to estimate when you can plant chard by reviewing the USDA zone info for Adel.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Since chard do well in moderate cold you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Adel 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. If you wait any later than that and 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 March 15 in Adel. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Adel is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Adel there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to protect your chard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Adel

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Adel

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