Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Independence should be used to determine when it's the best time to plant chicory.

Planting Calendar for Chicory

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

You can plant chicory just a bit earlier in the year because they are moderately cold tolerant.

The earliest that you can plant chicory in Independence 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 chicory and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chicory may not have a chance to grow to maturity. Starting your chicory indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

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

Since the USDA zone info for Independence may not be accurate from year to year the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Independence you get a frost after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your chicory in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Independence

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 Independence

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