One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us determine 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 will be able to figure out when to plant asparagus by referring to the USDA zone info for Manhattan.

Planting Calendar for Asparagus

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

Asparagus are one of those plants that can tolerate quite a bit of cold weather which means that you can start planting them much earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant asparagus in Manhattan 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 asparagus and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your asparagus may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a little bit earlier by starting your asparagus indoors.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Manhattan may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Half of the time in Manhattan there is a last frost after April 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your asparagus if you have a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Manhattan

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 Manhattan

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