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

In Ames you can figure out when to plant jerusalem artichokes by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Jerusalem artichokes

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

Jerusalem artichokes do ok in some cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant jerusalem artichokes in Ames 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 jerusalem artichokes and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your jerusalem artichokes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your jerusalem artichokes indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Ames the average date of last frost happens on April 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Ames you get a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your jerusalem artichokes if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Ames

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 Ames

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