One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By reviewing the USDA zone info for Athens you will be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant endive.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

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

The earliest that you can plant endive in Athens 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 endive and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your endive may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your endive indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Athens. You should expect an average low temperature of 10°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Athens and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Athens there is a last frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your endive in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Athens

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	10°F
Highest Expected Low	15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Athens

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