One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out 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.

The best time to plant nigella in Franklin should be figured out by looking at the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Since nigella do well in cold you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Franklin 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 nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. Any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your nigella indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Franklin. You can expect an average low temperature of -10°F in the coldest months of winter.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost is an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Franklin and it changes from year to year. Half of the time in Franklin it frosts late in the year after April 15 so always be ready to protect your nigella if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Franklin

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 Franklin

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