One of the first steps you take when you are estimating 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.

One way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant borage is to check out the USDA zone info for Sheldon.

Planting Calendar for Borage

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

You can plant borage a little 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 borage in Sheldon is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant borage and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your borage may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your borage indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Sheldon the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -25°F.

It's important to remember that USDA zone info for Sheldon is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Sheldon you get surprised by a frost after May 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your borage if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Sheldon

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 Sheldon

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