One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

A common way of making a decision about when it's a good idea to plant corn is to use the USDA zone info for Baton Rouge.

Planting Calendar for Corn

Frost tolerance for corn:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

Since corn do not do well in cold weather you must wait until after all chance of frost has passed before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant corn in Baton Rouge is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant corn and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your corn may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your corn indoors is a great way to get them started a few weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Baton Rouge the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Baton Rouge and it will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Baton Rouge last frost occurs after March 15 be ready to protect your corn in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Baton Rouge

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°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 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Baton Rouge

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Baton Rouge.