One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine your gardening schedule is the 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.

The first chance to plant peanut in Ames can be figured out by referring to the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Peanut

Frost tolerance for peanut:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

You should not plant peanut until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer because they are not cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant peanut in Ames 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 peanut and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your peanut may not have a chance to grow to maturity. If you are starting your peanut indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Ames. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -20°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Ames is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Ames you get surprised by a frost after April 15 be ready to cover your peanut if you have a surprise 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.