One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about your gardening schedule is find your 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.

You should be able to figure out when it's a good idea to plant stocks by checking out the USDA zone info for Decorah.

Planting Calendar for Stocks

Frost tolerance for stocks:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Since stocks are barely cold tolerant you can plant them a bit earlier in the year than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant stocks in Decorah 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 stocks and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your stocks may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your stocks indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is May 15 in Decorah. It might get as low as -25°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Decorah may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Decorah last frost occurs after May 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your stocks if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Decorah

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-25°F
Highest Expected Low	-20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -25°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -20°F.

Plants to Grow in Decorah

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