Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to determine your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Knoxville you can figure out when it's a good idea to plant asparagus by using the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

Asparagus do well in pretty solid cold which tells us that you can plant them a lot earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Knoxville 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. If you wait any later than that and your asparagus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your asparagus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Knoxville is just an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Knoxville you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so always be ready to cover your asparagus if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Knoxville

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 Knoxville

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