Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to estimate your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The first opportunity to plant chard in South Beloit should be figured out by referring to 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 are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can start planting them earlier than other plants that might not handle the cold.

The earliest that you can plant chard in South Beloit 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 fully mature. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on April 15 in South Beloit. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for South Beloit is just an average and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in South Beloit there is a last frost after April 15 be ready to protect your chard if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for South Beloit

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 South Beloit

You may be interested in your other planting guides for South Beloit.