One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea 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.

It's possible to determine when it's a good idea to plant chard by using the USDA zone info for Bunkie.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard do well in moderate cold which means that you can plant them earlier than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Bunkie is January. However, you really should wait until February if you don't want to take any chances.

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

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost is on February 15 in Bunkie. You should expect an average low temperature of 20°F in the coldest months of winter.

Keep in mind that the actual date of last frost is just an average because it is based on the USDA zone info for Bunkie and it is different every year. Half of the time in Bunkie there is a last frost after February 15 so make sure that you are ready to cover your chard in the event of one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Bunkie

Here is the info for USDA Zone 9a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	February 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	20°F
Highest Expected Low	25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 20°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 25°F.

Plants to Grow in Bunkie

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