One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out 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 should be able to determine when you can plant chard by referring to the USDA zone info for Hammond.

Planting Calendar for Chard

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

Chard are moderately cold tolerant which tells us that you can plant them earlier than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant chard in Hammond 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 chard and expect a good harvest is probably September. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your chard may not have a chance to really do well. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your chard indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average all chance of frost has passed is on March 15 in Hammond. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Just be sure to remember that USDA zone info for Hammond is not always accurate and the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Since half of the time in Hammond you get a frost after March 15 be ready to cover your chard if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Hammond

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 Hammond

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