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 Fort Madison should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant asparagus.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

Frost tolerance for asparagus:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

You can plant asparagus much earlier in the year because they do well in cold.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Fort Madison 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 asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your asparagus may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your asparagus indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Fort Madison the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fort Madison is just an average the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Fort Madison it frosts late in the year after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your asparagus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fort Madison

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-15°F
Highest Expected Low	-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Fort Madison

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fort Madison.