One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant bloodleaf is to consult the USDA zone info for Crete.

Planting Calendar for Bloodleaf

Frost tolerance for bloodleaf:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost when the weather gets warmer.

Bloodleaf are not cold tolerant which means that you must wait until it warms up after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant bloodleaf in Crete is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant bloodleaf and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your bloodleaf may not have a chance to really do well. Starting your bloodleaf indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Crete. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Crete is just an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Crete there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to protect your bloodleaf in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Crete

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 Crete

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