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 determine when it's a good idea to plant radicchio by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Radicchio

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

You can plant radicchio just a bit earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate a little bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant radicchio 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 radicchio and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your radicchio may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your radicchio indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Independence and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence it frosts late in the year after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to protect your radicchio if you have 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.