One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate 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.

The USDA zone info for Payette can be read to determine when it's the best time to plant thyme.

Planting Calendar for Thyme

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

You can plant thyme a lot earlier in the year because they are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant thyme in Payette 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 thyme and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your thyme may not have a chance to fully mature. If you are starting your thyme indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Payette the average date of last frost happens on April 15. It might get as low as -5°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Payette may not be accurate from year to year and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Payette you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to protect your thyme if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Payette

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-5°F
Highest Expected Low	0°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -5°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 0°F.

Plants to Grow in Payette

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