One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us estimate your gardening schedule is the 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.

You should be able to determine when to plant chard by reviewing the USDA zone info for La Grange Park.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do well in moderate cold which tells us that you can plant them a little bit earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in La Grange Park 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. If you wait any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost when the weather gets warmer is on April 15 in La Grange Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for La Grange Park and it can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in La Grange Park you get a frost after April 15 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your chard in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for La Grange Park

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 La Grange Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for La Grange Park.