Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Altoona can be looked at to estimate when to plant beets.

Planting Calendar for Beets

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

Beets are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant beets 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 beets and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your beets may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your beets indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them 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 can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Altoona is just an average and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona last frost occurs after April 15 be ready to cover your beets 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.