One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

It's possible to determine when it's possible to plant garden cress by referring to the USDA zone info for Altoona.

Planting Calendar for Garden cress

Frost tolerance for garden cress:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

You really shouldn't plant garden cress until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant garden cress in Altoona is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant garden cress and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your garden cress may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your garden cress indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Altoona. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is not always accurate because it is based on the USDA zone info for Altoona and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Altoona there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to cover your garden cress if you have 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.