The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. 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 to plant chard is to refer to the USDA zone info for Deerfield.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do ok in moderate cold which means that you can plant them a little earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Deerfield 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 chard and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in Deerfield. It might get as low as -15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Deerfield and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Deerfield there is a last frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Deerfield

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 Deerfield

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