One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your 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.

In Eastman you can estimate when you can plant fennel by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Fennel

Frost tolerance for fennel:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

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

The earliest that you can plant fennel in Eastman 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 fennel and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your fennel may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your fennel indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on March 15 in Eastman. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of 15°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Eastman is an average the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Eastman you get surprised by a frost after March 15 be ready to protect your fennel if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Eastman

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 Eastman

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