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 Independence you can estimate when it's the best time to plant endive by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Endive

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

Endive do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

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

Last Frost Date

In Independence the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -20°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Independence is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Since half of the time in Independence you get a frost after April 15 be ready to protect your endive in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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