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

A way of figuring out when it's the best time to plant basket of gold is to use the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Basket of Gold

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

You can plant basket of gold quite a bit earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant basket of gold in Altoona 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 basket of gold and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your basket of gold may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your basket of gold indoors is a great way to get them started a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Altoona the average date of last frost happens on April 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Just be sure to remember that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Altoona and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Altoona it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to cover your basket of gold in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Altoona

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-20°F
Highest Expected Low	-15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -15°F.

Plants to Grow in Altoona

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