One of the first steps you take when you are making a decision about 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.

The best time to plant chard in Mattoon can be estimated by checking out the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard can survive in moderate cold which means that you can plant them just a bit earlier in the year than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Mattoon 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. Any later than that and your chard may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on April 15 in Mattoon. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Mattoon is not always accurate the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Mattoon you get surprised by a frost after April 15 so just be sure to be ready to cover your chard if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Mattoon

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Mattoon

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